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As Harvard’s football team put the finishing touches on an unlikely 28-23 upset over No. 16 New Hampshire last Friday, head coach Andrew Aurich was already looking ahead and thinking about improvements to make for the next game.

Aurich’s squad will head to Ithaca, N.Y., to face Cornell University (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) for a pivotal conference game under the Friday night lights as the Crimson hopes to secure its first Ivy League win of the season and keep its championship hopes alive.

In the history of the Ivy League, no team has ever been a sole champion with two losses. Only in three seasons has there even been a share of the Ivy title where the champions had two losses: 1963, 1982, and 2023. Last year, Harvard stumbled to a 5-2 conference finish down the stretch and tied for the title with Dartmouth and Yale — a fact that, oddly enough, could give the team solace early in the 2024 campaign.

Harvard (2-1, 0-1 Ivy) came close to winning its Ivy League opener against Brown University in Providence, but a botched snap that sailed over the head of rookie punter Kieran Corr during a routine field goal attempt led to a game-winning touchdown for the Bears.

The Big Red had a stronger start in conference play. Cornell trounced the Yale Bulldogs 47-23 two weekends ago, as the Big Red handily defeated the Ivy League’s preseason pick to win the title.

But Cornell will be looking to regroup on Friday following an embarrassing loss of its own last week, allowing 500 yards to the University of Albany in a home loss against its in-state rival.

The Crimson, however, will roll into Ithaca with momentum following their bounce-back win against the University of New Hampshire, riding a breakout performance by sophomore running back Xaviah Bascon.

Now, Aurich is hoping that his team can build on that victory to secure the first win of his young head coaching career against an Ivy opponent.

But Aurich won’t be the only one in Ithaca looking to prove himself as a first-year head coach.

Standing across the sidelines from Aurich on Friday will be a familiar face: Cornell’s new head coach Dan Swanstrom. The former University of Pennsylvania offensive coordinator took charge of the program after longtime head coach David Archer was relieved of his duties following a disappointing 3-7 finish to the 2023 season.

The pair of freshman coaches have a shared history.

“I know Dan very well. I’ve known him since he was at Johns Hopkins as the offensive coordinator,” Aurich said. “He would come and work camp when I was working at Princeton.”

“He’s a very good guy, a very, very good football coach, great offensive mind,” Aurich added.

To keep the dream of sole possession of the Ivy League crown alive, Harvard must march into Ithaca and knock off an explosive Cornell squad.

Junior quarterback Jaden Craig acknowledged the intensity of the Ivy League in an interview ahead of the Cornell game.

“When you play an Ivy League team, it’s a championship weekend,” Craig said. “You can’t afford to lose any games.”

The Big Red are poised to attack the Crimson with experienced offensive skill players and a tenacious defensive line.

Cornell’s senior quarterback Jameson Wong, who posted the highest completion percentage in the Ivy League and ranked third in passing yards last season, threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns in the win over the Bulldogs.

Wong’s primary targets, sophomore wide receiver Brendan Lee and senior Samuel Musungu, each caught five passes for over 75 yards.

“Their quarterback has not turned the ball over once yet. He’s a very good player,” Aurich said. “We got to disrupt him and get the ball out.”

Adding to Harvard’s defensive challenges, Wong poses a threat on the ground, rushing for 55 yards and a touchdown against Yale. Alongside Wong stands speedy sophomore running back Ean Pope, who rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries in the same game.

Aurich highlighted the importance of ball security heading into a hostile environment.

“The biggest thing is we got to make sure that we execute at a high level, and we take care of the ball on offense, and we're creating takeaways,” he said. “We do a ball to ball security circuit two days a week, and we make it very hard on them. We challenge them.”

Harvard will be getting a boost on both sides of the ball as senior captain and running back Shane McLaughlin and senior defensive back Gavin Shipman, both key players for the team, return to the field.

The offensive line will be key for determining how effective McLaughlin will be now that he can get his hands back on the ball. After struggling in the second half of the Brown game, the line looked strong against UNH — providing Craig with essential protection and allowing sophomore running back Xaviah Bascon to maneuver past the line of scrimmage.

Senior Charles Deprima will be another asset for the team. The former quarterback has been slotted in at wide receiver, resulting in chunk plays the past three games, and his flexibility has been Harvard’s secret weapon in confusing opponents’ defenses.

Capturing the importance of the moment, McLaughlin reflected, “I think if we've proven anything to ourselves this year, it's that we have all the talent in the world, and the only time we fail to execute is when we make mental mistakes on our end. It's not necessarily dealing with a better opponent. We’re not worried at all. Every Ivy game is a championship game, more or less, so that's how we're viewing this game.”

In this pivotal conference game, the Crimson will travel to Ithaca, N.Y., and face off against Cornell at 6:00 p.m. on Friday Oct. 11, streaming on ESPN2.

—Staff writer Jo Lemann can be reached at jo.lemann@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Praveen Kumar can be reached at praveen.kumar@thecrimson.com.