On Bucknell’s last drive of the game, backup quarterback Trey Lauletta drove the Bison, trailing by a touchdown, down the field into Holy Cross territory, but a late interception sealed the victory for the Crusaders.

“They’re a team that clearly, on paper, isn’t a great offensive team,” Murphy said. “[But] if you play great defense, no matter who you play, you’re going to be in every game, and they have been.”

Some of Bucknell’s struggles can be attributed to a recent slew of injuries. But Brandon Wesley—the Bison’s starting quarterback who was recently sidelined due to a lower leg injury—and tailback Tyler Smith—coming off of a high ankle sprain—should both be at full strength by Saturday.

The Crimson, which has a top-ranked rushing defense that rivals Bucknell’s, looks to repeat its strong defense against the pass as well. A week ago, Harvard sacked Big Red quarterback Jeff Mathews four times, pressuring the explosive quarterback into an interception and holding him to just one passing touchdown.

While the offense has been running up the score, the defense has made sure that it is predominantly the Crimson getting onto the scoreboard—Harvard has been winning games by an average of almost 30 points.

“We practice hard, that’s one thing that we pride ourselves on,” captain Bobby Schneider said. “The coaches do a great job of getting us ready, and all that we have to do by the time Saturday rolls around is go out there fly around and have fun, and the rest of it’s been taken care of during the week.”

Despite Bucknell’s less-than-stellar record, the Crimson is approaching the last of its three-game home stand with the same focus that they would a conference game.

“[Bucknell is] definitely a tough team,” Schneider said. “We’re not taking them lightly, we’re coming in just like we would any other game.”