On the other side of the ball, junior linebacker Dante Balestracci is to the defense what Rose and Morris are to the offense. After winning the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award his freshman season, Balestracci continued to dominate league foes last season, earning himself unanimous All-Ivy First Team recognition.

Senior John Perry also returns alongside Balestracci as part of arguably the strongest linebacker corps in the league. The defensive line and secondary, though, will be almost completely revamped from last year due to the graduation of numerous All-Ivy contributors.

If Harvard is to win consecutive Ivy League championships, the team must survive one of the most difficult schedules in recent history.

Harvard’s three non-conference games will all be major challenges. The Crimson begins the year against Holy Cross, a team that last week defeated Division 1-A opponent Army 30-21. The Crusaders recently displaced Harvard as the 25th ranked team in the nation, according to the Sports’ Network Division 1-AA Poll.

Harvard also plays Northeastern, a scholarship Atlantic-10 school that defeated Division 1-A MAC member Ohio University 31-0. The Huskies are currently ranked No. 22 in the country.

Finally, the Crimson’s third non-conference opponent is Lehigh, currently No. 2 in the nation. The Crimson must travel to Pennsylvania to take on the Mountain Haws. Harvard has lost its last two games to Lehigh, falling 45-13 in 2000.

Last season, Harvard’s game against Holy Cross was cancelled due to the attacks of September 11th. Additionally, the Crimson played Lafayette in lieu of Lehigh. Harvard has outscored Lafayette 80-33 in its last two contests.

In the Ivy League, Brown and Princeton, as well as Penn and Dartmouth, are thought to be Harvard’s toughest competition this season by the coaching staff and media onlookers. Unfortunately, the Crimson must play all four teams on the road.

“Since we’ve been here, I can’t remember playing a tougher overall schedule, especially a tougher early season and road schedule,” Murphy said. “We’ve got a long road ahead of us but we know we certainly have some strengths.”