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The last time that Harvard football competed on its home field, the date was November 22, 2014. The opponent was Yale. The result was historic.

Those memories may still linger—but not for much longer.

This Saturday in Cambridge, the Crimson (1-0) will finally fill Harvard Stadium with a new set of sights and sounds when it faces off against Brown (0-1) in both teams’ league opener.

At the 7 p.m. kickoff Harvard will consign the last remnants of 2014 to the past, but what will remain are lofty expectations and loftier goals—in particular the goal of winning a third consecutive Ancient Eight title. No Crimson squad has ever achieved that feat.

“We won the last two, se we have a target on our backs,” said junior wide receiver Joseph Foster. “People know that. We have to come out motivated and hungry, ready to get after it again.”

The first obstacle to three-peat excellence is a deep Bears squad that returns a slew of crucial starters from last year’s 5-5 finish.

Perhaps the most crucial is quarterback Marcus Fuller. A fifth-year senior, Fuller successfully petitioned to earn an extra year of eligibility after a junior-year injury condemned him to watching from the bench.

After that year of inactivity, Fuller exploded onto the scene during the 2014 campaign. He racked up 2,618 yards and 15 touchdowns, good for third in the Ivy League in both categories.

“A year later, he’s a much more polished quarterback,” Crimson coach Tim Murphy said. “The ball’s going to be in the air a lot on Saturday night.”

To complement Fuller, Brown returns running backs Andrew Coke and Seth Rosenbauer, a pair of juniors who saw significant game action last year.

Still the Bears show signs of being a pass-first offense. In the first game of the 2015 season, Fuller threw 403 yards on a whopping 52 attempts.

That effort wasn’t enough to prevent a slouching effort from Brown, which lost to Bryant, 20-16, at home.

Last Saturday, the Bears committed four turnovers in the red zone, including a backbreaking interception in the end zone in the final minute. Fuller threw another interception in the first quarter, and Brown lost three fumbles, two of which came in the red zone.

“They tend to be the team that, at times, looks dysfunctional in their opener,” Murphy said. “But when they show up for their game against Harvard, they look like the Patriots.”