Certainly the success of last season sets a high standard. For the Crimson and Quakers, one of which has finished atop the league for the past five years, an Ivy title merely reaffirms a precedent. Even with the loss of key players to graduation—and not just the position players but also the hard-working veterans like McKibben, Jenkins, and Tracy—the 2005 Harvard squad retains enough talent that expectations remain high.

If eight first-place votes from the Ivy media weren’t a sufficient example, the presence of those guys in the stands server as an added reminder—not only of last season’s successes, but of the standard that must be attained.

“You can’t be focused on that,” junior wide receiver Corey Mazza said, “you gotta be focused on what’s going on in the field.”

And ultimately, what happens on the field in the coming weeks will do the most to push the 2004 season into the history books and out of the minds of players and fans alike. It’s time to stop looking back to last season and start looking ahead to what the Crimson is working with now—which is quite a bit. Liam O’Hagan’s scrambling ability will be measured against that of his predecessor, but he’s going to do that independent of any comparison you may draw. Bobby Everett is watching in the stands, but the defensive line is hard-hitting, the young secondary energetic and aggressive. Clifton Dawson is still here, remember?

Time marches, seniors graduate, and a new slate of games goes up across the river on Blodgett Pool’s brick façade. The reality of the new season, like the adjustment from gridiron to groupie, is rapidly dawning.

It’s 2005’s time. It’s about time.

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennelly@fas.harvard.edu.