Photo – Harvard Athletics

Just a year ago, Harvard took down Holy Cross in pretty dominant fashion at Fitton Field.

Now, the Crusaders have a chance to return the favor as the No. 11 team in the country when they visit historic Harvard Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Harvard is off to a 2-0 start and the preseason Ivy League favorites have every intention of handing Holy Cross its first loss of the season.

The Crimson have already had two very different types of games, which could help if and when any adversity hits this weekend. Chances are, it will.

“Like Coach Murphy says, overcoming adversity, you’re always going to face it whether it’s on the field or in life,” said defensive back Victor Tademy during Harvard’s weekly media availability on Wednesday evening. “Our coaches did a great job keeping us in check with emotions going both ways. Keeping us grounded and getting that real game experience situationally, especially late in games with our back against the wall and also having to hold back Brown when they were driving on us, I think getting those situations under our belt, especially for the younger guys is really helping us mature as a team.”

Tademy and the defense will have their hands full with the likes of Matt Sluka, Jalen Coker, Ayir Asante, Jordan Fuller, Peter Oliver and others. So, what are the Crimson expecting?

“They’re a great team,” added Tademy. “They’ve returned 10 or 11 starters from last year. A really great offense, and really both sides of the ball. It was awesome playing them last year. The speed of the game is serious. They’ve played some big time games, they’ve beaten some big time opponents this year. It’s always a big game whether we go there or they come here with the in-state rivalry.

“Really excited for this game, really excited for everybody to show out at home, have the crowd come out and support us Saturday at one. We’re just really excited to play them again. We had a blast playing them last year and we’re excited to play them again this year.”