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The Harvard Crimson will face the Villanova Wildcats in the suburbs of Philadelphia on Saturday — marking the first time Harvard has set foot on a postseason football field since its narrow 7-6 victory against the University of Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1920.

Last winter, after the Ivy League reversed a 1945 agreement and started to allow its member schools to play postseason games, Harvard (9-1, 6-1 Ivy) received the conference’s first ever at-large bid to the FCS playoffs and will play 15th seeded Villanova (9-2, 7-1 CAA) for the first time in school history.

A day after a heartbreaking 45-28 loss to Yale in The Game, the Crimson was given just one of 13 at-large bids to the 24-team tournament that will crown the FCS Football Champion in just over a month. One of the last four teams in, Harvard was thankful for the opportunity to keep its season alive, but the team has quickly focused back on its one-week-at-a-time mantra.

“We watched the Yale tape because we’ve got to get corrections if we want to be better this week, and then the focus moved right to Villanova, watching tape and going through our normal weekly preparation,” head coach Andrew Aurich said. “It’s going to be a really good challenge for us for sure, but our guys are preparing the right way and are excited about the opportunity.”

The Crimson offense is led by senior quarterback Jaden Craig, the all-time program leader in passing touchdowns and passing yards. Deep receiving threats such as sophomore Brady Blackburn and junior Seamus Gilmartin spread opposing defenses, giving rushers such as junior Xaviah Bascon and sophomore D.J. Gordon room to move the ball on the ground and extend drives.

Harvard’s plethora of offensive weapons have led the team to the ninth highest scoring mark in the country (39.4) on the seventh most yards gained (461.2). In addition to its pure firepower, the Crimson sits in the top 15 nationally in third-down and fourth down conversion percentage as well as penalties per game, making it difficult for defenses to capitalize on any mistakes.

On the other side of the ball, captain Ty Bartrum leads a Harvard defense that — until the last two weeks — held opponents to one of the lowest scoring marks in the country. Even with the last two games included, the Crimson is top 15 in scoring defense (13) and total defense (10), with all-Ivy first team linebacker Sean Line and defensive end Alex DeGrieck anchoring one of the strongest front eights in the tournament.

For Villanova, their play style is much safer and more conservative than Harvard, giving up the least amount of turnovers in the country (5) and utilizing a mixed offensive attack. With three rushers totaling over 500 yards and seven pass catchers with double-digit receptions, defenses are tasked with trying to limit several different types of packages on any given snap.

Even though his squad will play as the underdog for the first time this season, Aurich believes his team is prepared to show out as it has done all year.

“People are questioning whether we should be in the playoffs, so as a team, we need to have a different mindset,” Aurich said.

“It’s about going out there and demanding respect, and that happens throughout the week with the work we put in, to put ourselves in that position, and then go out there and play with that level of intensity knowing that we’re out there to prove something,” he added.

—Staff writer Connor Castañeda can be reached at connor.castaneda@thecrimson.com.