“With two really strong defenses, we expect that the punting team will get on the field for both teams,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “It’s huge. So, we’ll see how it goes in the early going, but it’s going to be a field-position game. It’s going to be, among other things, the team that makes the least mistakes, and the team that plays the best field position football [that will win].”

A year ago in Cambridge, Penn defeated Harvard, 17-7, to take the 2009 Ivy League title, a fact that is not lost on the Crimson.

“Coach’s mood is a little bit different this week,” Hanson said. “The press has been talking about how great Penn’s defense is and how great Penn’s offense is, so he’s trying to piss us off a little bit. He reminds us about what happened last year, and we definitely don’t want that to happen again.”

Historically, Harvard has not fared well at Franklin Field. The Crimson is 2-12 at Penn since 1982 but defeated the Quakers on their home turf in 2008.

Harvard must overcome its Philadelphia blues in order to maintain its shot at capturing another Ivy League title.

“It doesn’t change our game plan or how we prepare at all,” said Hanson of playing on the road. “We like playing there; it’s a nice stadium. If there’s a hostile crowd, we look forward to it. It’s always a good atmosphere.”