Then there is explosive wideout Ryan McManus and linebacker Will McNamara, who is averaging two more tackles per game than anyone else in the league.

Murphy said it’s the most athletic, talented team he has seen in Hanover in a long, long time. And it will be the biggest test for Harvard before The Game—only matchups with 1-5 Penn and 0-6 Columbia stand in between.

So will the Crimson get to Week 10 with a chance of going undefeated for the first time in 10 years? I think so.

Dartmouth’s record and star players are eye-catching, but there are concerns too. The Big Green only beat Holy Cross by three at home and Columbia by 20 (that sounds like a lot, but it is the closest game the Lions have played this year). Harvard has posted better offensive and defensive numbers in terms of yards, and with quarterback Conner Hempel back healthy behind a still-dominant offensive line, expect that gap to grow wider Saturday.

Dartmouth has relied on a bend-but-don’t-break defense. Saturday, the Crimson will break them, and Teevens will head back to Terminator for more clues about how to go back in time to wipe out the last 15 years.

Prediction: Harvard 41, Dartmouth 27

Now for those other games…

PRINCETON AT CORNELL

After last week’s 49-7 loss to Harvard, Princeton (3-3, 2-1 Ivy) would probably fall to No. 4 in the Ivy Power Rankings, but it is far from out of contention with games against Yale and Dartmouth remaining. Look for the Tigers to lick their wounds this week and lick Cornell (0-6, 0-3 Ivy) in the process.

Prediction: Princeton 45, Cornell 6

YALE AT COLUMBIA

The battle of the Blues will probably end with the Lions (0-6, 0-3 Ivy) singing the Blues, again. The much more competitive contest will take place on The Daily Spectator’s website afterwards, where the comment section is always a treat. Here are a couple from last week after a 27-7 loss to Dartmouth:

Anonymous: “Horace Mann could beat this Mangurian coached team. Please wake up alumni and demand change immediately!” (I assume he is referencing the K-12 independent school, but I’m also not sure Columbia could score on the 19th-century education reformer. Despite graduating from Brown in 1819, I bet Mann still has a couple years of eligibility left.)

They weren’t all negative though.

Rich Forzani ’66: “Whatever the reason, I was finally able to see passes caught, interceptions made, and runs stopped. It looked like a football game and I hope it continues.”