After a disappointing second-place finish in 2009, Harvard is determined to reclaim its position atop the Ivy League. But before the Crimson can begin its quest for the Ancient Eight crown, the squad is focusing on getting off on the right foot against its first non-conference opponent.

After coming up short last year, the Harvard football team is ready to return to the top of the Ivy League.

Brown and Penn have frustrated the Crimson in the last two seasons, respectively. The Bears forced a tie for the crown in 2008, and the Quakers took it outright after a 17-7 win in Cambridge late in the 2009 season.

But according to preseason polls and the Harvard players and coaches, 2010 will again be the year of the Crimson.

The season will open with a bang, as Harvard matches up with Holy Cross, which handed the Crimson its first loss last year.

Although the Ivy League title is the ultimate goal, Harvard has its focus on its upcoming rematch and the chance for redemption.

“Right now, we’re looking at Holy Cross,” says senior running back Gino Gordon, “because we lost to them last year, and we flat out don’t like losing two years in a row.”

“As soon as you step into the locker room, there’s a sign up that says, ‘Beat Holy Cross,’” sophomore teammate Treavor Scales adds, “and there’s no other sign up. You don’t see any other team up.”

The Crusaders are coming off a 31-7 loss to the University of Massachusetts last weekend, the squad’s first defeat following the graduation of standout quarterback Dominic Randolph last spring.

After the game against Holy Cross, the Crimson will open its conference schedule in Rhode Island.

Brown finished the 2009 season third in the Ivy League, just behind Harvard, and boasts four returning All-Ivy players on the roster. The squads will face off in the first night game in Brown history.

Then, once more, the Crimson will venture into the Patriot League to challenge Lafayette, which, like Holy Cross, defeated Harvard last season, 35-18.

“It was the first time [Lafayette] beat us in nine years,” Crimson coach Tim Murphy says, “and I realized at the time how big an accomplishment that was, because they were always that tough. We thought every year we were very fortunate to beat them. So teams like Lafayette and Holy Cross are very good in terms of our non-league schedule.”

The Crimson will follow with another Ivy matchup against Cornell at Harvard Stadium before hosting Lehigh University, which it beat, 28-14, in 2009.

After the game against Lehigh, Harvard will close its season with a string of five conference games.

The Crimson will enjoy three of the easier contests on its slate when it travels to face Princeton and Dartmouth before returning home for its matchup against Columbia.

But just like the opening of its season, Harvard will finish its schedule with a bang: the rematch against the 2009 Ivy League champion, Penn, on Nov. 13, and of course, The Game against Yale.

In its win over the Crimson last year, the Quakers were in control of the game from the opening drive and held a commanding 17-0 lead at halftime.

Harvard was able to get on the scoreboard in the third quarter, but the effort was not enough to capture the Ivy League title.

Notably, Penn led the nation in scoring defense and had the strongest defensive line in the Ivy League in 2009.

From a title rematch to its most celebrated rivalry, the Crimson will cap off conference play and the season in traditional fashion with the 127th playing of The Game, held in Cambridge.

Harvard won the matchup last year after a fourth-quarter comeback and is currently on a three-year winning streak. But the Bulldogs lead the all-time rivalry with 65 victories to the Crimson’s 53.

The road to the title and an undefeated season will not be an easy one, as Harvard faces difficult opponents both within and outside its conference.

“I don’t see any team in the [Ivy] League getting weaker,” Murphy says. “They’re all going to be challenging.”

Aside from its tough schedule, the Crimson has to deal with struggles within the team, such as graduating four players from its offensive line and losing its starting quarterback, senior Collier Winters, to a preseason injury.

But with senior LSU transfer quarterback Andrew Hatch, returning running backs Gordon and Scales, and returning safety and captain Collin Zych, Harvard has a chance to overcome its personnel obstacles and contend for the title that eluded it last year.

“All of us are very competitive—we want to get the season started and just get going,” Gordon says. “We feel like we have a lot to prove—we didn’t win the championship last year. Every year that we don’t win a championship, it’s just not good enough.”

Beginning with Holy Cross, the run for another Ivy championship and an undefeated season begins.

—Staff writer B. Marjorie Gullick can be reached at gullick@college.harvard.edu.