The Crimson has recently been carried by its own running game. Freshman Treavor Scales and junior Gino Gordon have combined to rush for eight touchdowns in the past two games. But the duo should have a tougher time tomorrow. Penn has allowed only one rushing touchdown all season and hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 21 games.

If Gordon and Scales can’t get anything going on the ground, junior quarterback Collier Winters may need to prepare for an aerial assault.

But this will be no easy task, either. Winters’ receivers will be going up against against Penn corners Jonathan Moore and Chris Wynn, who have combined for six interceptions this season.

On the Harvard defensive side, the Crimson secondary will focus on shutting down Matt Tuten, the junior wideout who leads Penn in receiving.

“[The secondary is] doing a really good job as a unit communicating,” Ehrlich said. “They’re all really good athletes with a lot of experience and football intelligence, and I think them playing together [for so long] has been a formula for success.”

Tomorrow’s game may also end up being a battle inside the 20-yard line. Penn has the highest red-zone efficiency in the Ancient Eight, but kicker Andrew Sampson has only hit eight out of 17 attempted field goals.

Though the stakes are high, many Harvard players have experience in a game of this magnitude. It was just two years ago that Harvard blew out Yale in a battle of Ancient Eight undefeated teams, 37-6, to win the 2007 Ivy championship.

“I think that game was good because it gave kids on the team experience in big time games like that,” Ehrlich said. “[But] we’re well aware we’re only our team, we’re nothing like the team before.”

Though the team is different this year, the path is the same. As Murphy said, the road still goes through Penn.