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VILLANOVA, Pa. — After 105 years away from postseason play, Harvard football finally stepped back into the spotlight — only to see its dreams become nightmares in the Philadelphia suburbs as Villanova steamrolled the Crimson from the opening snap.

For Harvard, it was a game of “almosts.” Three almost-touchdowns from an offense that couldn’t finish, even more almost-turnovers from a defense that couldn’t capitalize, and a barrage of almost-catches from receivers who never showed up. Had even a few breaks gone its way, it might have been competitive by halftime.

Instead, the Crimson (9-2, 6-1 Ivy) trailed by 31 — and the collapse kept snowballing from there. On a campus that counts Pope Leo XIV among its alumni, Villanova (10-2, 7-1 CAA) didn’t need divine intervention to punish Harvard, taking advantage of Crimson mistakes to handle that part itself.

“We actually dropped three touchdown passes. So that's 28 points, and we dropped the interception,” Harvard Head Coach Andrew Aurich said. “You can't necessarily linger in those but I mean that turned a game that could have been a close game into a 31-0 halftime score.”

Star senior quarterback Jaden Craig played his part for most of the game, firing strikes into the unusually slippery hands of a receiving corps that never found its footing. And the Crimson’s defense offered little opposition to Villanova’s ground game, allowing 319 rush yards to a backfield that cut through Harvard defenders like a hot knife through butter.

“The reality is that's a very good offense that we just played, and they played at a really high level,” Aurich said. “They played more physical than us, so that was leading to big chunks of yards in the run game and putting themselves in very manageable third downs, and that's how you end up giving up a ton of first downs.”

Harvard will end its otherwise perfect season with two back-to-back gut-punch losses when it mattered most. The Crimson’s rival Yale mounted a comeback down 28 against Youngstown after the first half to be the sole representative of the Ivy League in the FCS playoffs after the conference entered the postseason for the first time since 1945.

The losses will raise questions about future at-large bids for Ivy League teams after Harvard nabbed a coveted spot this year.

“I apologize to the rest of the league, because we did not do our part, and this will impact the Ivy League's ability to get two teams in the future because of how we perform,” Aurich said.

On a day full of mistakes for Harvard, Villanova hit the turf running and never looked back, steamrolling the Crimson with an opening salvo that set the stage for a dominant — and demoralizing — afternoon.

The Wildcats took charge with a rotating crew in the backfield, with five consecutive runs for 30 yards by sophomore running back Ja’briel Mace. An explosive 45-yard tear down field for a touchdown by sophomore running back Isaiah Ragland that the Crimson’s defense could not stifle capped off the drive.

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Craig and company took the field and relied on a series of short passes and runs. A pass interference call on Villanova’s defense set the Crimson up 30 yards from scoring.

Then came a disastrous drop — the first of the more than seven drops that plagued Harvard’s receiving corps all afternoon.

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Craig attempted a flea flicker for a long touchdown, but deep in the endzone, the ball bounced off the hands of senior tight end Ryan Osborne and into those of Villanova cornerback Newton Essiem, giving the Wildcats possession at the 20-yard line.

Villanova’s offense capitalized on the turnover, with a 32-yard run from Ragland and two short runs by Mace setting up a 4th down 30-yard dart from Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide to wide receiver Lucas Kopecky.

The Wildcats shut down Harvard’s offense on the next drive, forcing a three-and-out. The Crimson’s defense allowed McQuaide and the Villanova offense to trudge down field with short runs and a 26-yard catch-and-run by Mace, but pulled off a stop 12 yards out from the end zone, forcing a field goal to put the Wildcats up 17-0 at the start of the second quarter.

On the next drive, Craig tossed a dime down field, momentarily landing in the hands of senior wide receiver Cam Henry who could not hold on. After a sack, and another drop, Harvard retreated from another embarrassing drive.

Harvard’s tired defense, who stayed on field for more than 70 percent of the first half, let Villanova trample all over them on the next drive, offering little resistance to the Wildcats’ 65-yard march that culminated in a 10-yard keep-and-run from McQuaide for a touchdown.

The Crimson — at this point 24 points short — simply could not muster a response. A third straight three-and-out meant Harvard had just a tenth of the Wildcats’ offensive yardage in the first half.

The Wildcats did not relent. With their now customary aggression, McQuaide and crew plowed through Harvard’s defense with a series of short passes and runs and a final tush push into the end zone — making the 31-0 difference on the scoreboard appear increasingly insurmountable for the Crimson.

On the next drive, Craig — steady for most of the afternoon — took a nine-yard sack, swallowed up in the backfield with no receiver shaking free. Harvard limped into halftime still searching for its first score.

Twenty minutes and a pep talk from Head Coach Andrew Aurich later, the Crimson took the field again — now finally seeing some success. Short, efficient gains moved Harvard to the 6-yard line, and on fourth down, Craig salvaged the drive and zipped a ball into the end zone to finally put the Crimson on the board 31-7.

Harvard’s defense, too, finally showed some fight of its own. After allowing a 28-yard run by Mace, senior safety Ty Bartrum forced a fumble, and for a moment it seemed like things were, at last, turning around.

But the fumble was recovered by the Wildcats, and McQuaide followed with a 29-yard touchdown pass to widen the gap.

Craig responded aggressively, throwing 31-yard and 23-yard passes in quick succession. But a sack on fourth down — followed by a scuffle and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties — led the Crimson to yet another scoreless drive.

Harvard never saw success after its sole touchdown drive, and it allowed Villanova to keep piling on to the score against what was one of the best defenses in the nation until two weeks ago.

The offense continued to struggle, with Craig throwing a pick, and Aurich benching him for junior quarterback Dante Torres. In Harvard’s final drive, Harvard turned the ball over with a fumble by junior running back Jordan Harris — the Crimson’s third turnover of the day emblematic of the nonstop mistakes all afternoon.

“We weren't tackling as well as we had for the first half of the season. I know we weren't executing as well as we had been for the first half of the season,” Aurich said.

“I know we're dropping more passes than we were in the first half of the season, so there's some disconnect there that we got to kind of get figured out quickly so we can move forward and make sure that's not an issue,” he added.

The scoreboard at the end of the game read 52-7, and two weeks after the Crimson looked poised to nab a bye for the first round of the playoffs, it was out of the tournament as quickly as it got in.

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

​​—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

—Staff writer Saketh Sundar can be reached at saketh.sundar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @saketh_sundar.