Last season, Harvard rolled into Polar Park and embarrassed Holy Cross, putting up 38 points en route to an easy win.

This weekend, the Crimson will host the Crusaders in the friendly confines of Harvard Stadium. This is one of the more historic rivalries in the area, with the first contest between these two programs dating back to 1904. Harvard leads the all-time series 46-26-2 and since 2012, the Crimson are 7-2 against the guys in purple and 3-1 at home.

Harvard head coach Andrew Aurich talked about the matchup earlier this week on the Inside Harvard Football podcast with Bernie Corbett.

“They’re a very good team. Their record (3-4) does not reflect how good of a team they are, that’s for sure,” he said. “Their first two games, they played Rhode Island and New Hampshire who are both Top 25 FCS teams right now and then Syracuse was on there as well. Close loss to Yale…so, you watch them and they have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. Their quarterback is a big kid, has a really strong arm and he’ll make plays with his feet now too. He’s just so big, he’ll break a tackle and then take off. Next thing you know, it’s a 15-yard gain.

“I’m a big fan of their running back No. 31 (Jayden Clearveaux), he’s big. He’s from Everett. He’s a big back but he has a little wiggle to him. He gets tough yards and had a great game vs. Fordham. Their receiver core is very good. No. 5 Justin (Shorter) has played a lot of football there. Great ball skills. Then, No. 13 their slot (Max Mosey) is also a really good player, They have another good player on the outside No. 11 (Byron Shipman) who is also a really good receiver. Their tight end is really productive too. The offensive skill is really, really good.”

This will be quite a test for both defenses. While Holy Cross is extremely talented and experienced on offense, Jaden Craig and Charles DePrima currently make up one of the best QB duos in the country. Meanwhile, Scott Woods II and Cooper Barkate are the best wide receiver duo in the Ivy League and probably one of the best in all of FCS. Woods II is also proving to be a significant weapon in the punt return game as well. Don’t forget about Xaviah Bascon in the backfield as well, one of the top backs in the Ivy League.

In other words, expect a high scoring affair on Saturday.

“He’s a definite weapon who just seems to be getting better and better every week,” Aurich said of Barkate. “Scotty has a lot go confidence and we have a lot of confidence that he’s going to make great decisions as a punt returner. He has the green light whereas in other situations another coach may say ‘hey, you’re going to fair catch this one.’ We’re letting him make those decisions and he’s maximizing them.”

Aurich knows that while this is a non-conference game, momentum could swing significantly one way or the other in terms of how the rest of the season plays out with a win in this rivalry game.

“Despite their record, I think that’s deceiving. They’re a very, very good team and there’s a reason they’re 2-0 in the Patriot League,” he added. “As far as they’re concerned, those early season losses probably helped them grow and now, they’re in a position where they can control their own destiny in the Patriot League.

“They’re trying to build some momentum coming into Harvard Stadium.”