# 2023 Harvard Crimson football team

The 2023 Harvard Crimson football team represented Harvard University as a member of the Ivy League during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by head coach Tim Murphy in his 29th and final season at Harvard, and played home games at Harvard Stadium in Boston. With a win against the Penn on November 11, the Crimson clinched at least a share of the Ivy League title. The Harvard Crimson football team drew an average home attendance of 11,555 in 2023.

## Preseason
### Ivy League media poll

The Ivy League's preseason prediction poll was released on August 7, 2023. The Crimson were predicted to finish fourth in the conference.
Ivy League media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Yale | 122 (13) |
| 2 | Princeton | 103 (1) |
| 3 | Penn | 90 |
| 4 | Harvard | 84 (1) |
| 5 | Columbia | 62 (1) |
| 6 | Dartmouth | 54 |
| 7 | Cornell | 37 |
| 8 | Brown | 24 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 16 | 1:00 p.m. | St. Thomas (MN)* | | Harvard StadiumBoston, MA | ESPN+ | W 45–13 | 6,217 |
| September 22 | 7:00 p.m. | Brown | | Harvard StadiumBoston, MA | ESPN+ | W 34–31 | 15,838 |
| September 30 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 6 Holy Cross* | | Polar ParkWorcester, MA | ESPN+ | W 38–28 | 7,906 |
| October 6 | 7:00 p.m. | Cornell | No. 21 | Harvard StadiumBoston, MA | ESPN2 | W 41–23 | 10,050 |
| October 14 | 1:00 p.m. | Howard* | No. 19 | Harvard StadiumBoston, MA | ESPN+ | W 48–7 | 7,678 |
| October 21 | 1:00 p.m. | at Princeton | No. 18 | Powers Field at Princeton StadiumPrinceton, NJ (rivalry) | ESPN+ | L 14–21 | 8,345 |
| October 28 | 4:00 p.m. | Dartmouth | | Harvard StadiumBoston, MA (rivalry) | NESN/ESPN+ | W 17–9 | 22,515 |
| November 4 | 12:30 p.m. | at Columbia | | Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien StadiumNew York, NY | ESPN+ | W 38–24 | 3,723 |
| November 11 | 1:00 p.m. | Penn | No. 24 | Harvard StadiumBoston, MA (rivalry) | ESPN+ | W 25–23 $^{3OT}$ | 7,032 |
| November 18 | 12:00 p.m. | at Yale | No. 23 | Yale BowlNew Haven, CT (The Game) | ESPNU | L 18–23 | 51,127 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 21 | 19 | 18 | RV | RV | 24 | 23 | RV | RV |
| Coaches | — | RV | RV | 25 | 24 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 23 | 19 | 19 | 19 | RV | |

## Game summaries
### St. Thomas (MN)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tommies | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| Crimson | 21 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 45 |
at Harvard Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts
* Date: September 16
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 66 °F (19 °C)
* Game attendance: 6,217
* Referee: John Shay
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | STMN | HARV |
| First downs | 21 | 14 |
| Total yards | 312 | 347 |
| Rushing yards | 96 | 255 |
| Passing yards | 216 | 92 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 40:11 | 19:49 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| St. Thomas | Passing | Amari Powell | 15/25, 146 yards, 2 INT |
| St. Thomas | Rushing | Hope Adebayo | 15 rushes, 62 yards, TD |
| St. Thomas | Receiving | Andrew McElroy | 7 receptions, 121 yards |
| Harvard | Passing | Charles DePrima | 7/18, 92 yards, TD, INT |
| Harvard | Rushing | Charles DePrima | 10 rushes, 113 yards, TD |
| Harvard | Receiving | Tyler Neville | 3 receptions, 37 yards, TD |

### Brown

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 10 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| Crimson | 0 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 34 |
at Harvard Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts
* Date: September 22
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear, 61 °F (16 °C)
* Game attendance: 15,838
* Referee: Jeremy DeAngulo
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | BRWN | HARV |
| First downs | 29 | 24 |
| Total yards | 447 | 464 |
| Rushing yards | 81 | 261 |
| Passing yards | 366 | 203 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 34:25 | 25:35 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Brown | Passing | Justin Wilcox | 36/52, 366 yards, TD |
| Brown | Rushing | Jordan DeLucia | 7 rushes, 26 yards |
| Brown | Receiving | Wes Rockett | 9 receptions, 149 yards |
| Harvard | Passing | Charles DePrima | 15/26, 203 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Harvard | Rushing | Shane McLaughlin | 16 rushes, 152 yards, TD |
| Harvard | Receiving | Cooper Barkate | 10 receptions, 132 yards, TD |

### At No. 6 Holy Cross

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Crimson | 14 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 38 |
| No. 6 Crusaders | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
at Polar Park, Worcester, Massachusetts
* Date: September 30
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 62 °F (17 °C)
* Game attendance: 7,906
* Referee: Paul Matt Overton
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | HARV | HC |
| First downs | 20 | 19 |
| Total yards | 360 | 468 |
| Rushing yards | 209 | 148 |
| Passing yards | 151 | 320 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 5 |
| Time of possession | 33:46 | 26:14 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Harvard | Passing | Charles DePrima | 9/20, 151 yards, 2 TD |
| Harvard | Rushing | Charles DePrima | 16 rushes, 89 yards |
| Harvard | Receiving | Cooper Barkate | 5 receptions, 73 yards, TD |
| Holy Cross | Passing | Matthew Sluka | 15/26, 320 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT |
| Holy Cross | Rushing | Matthew Sluka | 20 rushes, 83 yards |
| Holy Cross | Receiving | Jalen Coker | 7 receptions, 176 yards, 2 TD |

### Cornell

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Big Red | 0 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| No. 21 Crimson | 7 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 41 |
at Harvard Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts
* Date: October 6
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear, 67 °F (19 °C)
* Game attendance: 10,050
* Referee: Alexander Randolph
* TV: ESPN2
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | COR | HARV |
| First downs | 27 | 20 |
| Total yards | 354 | 452 |
| Rushing yards | 111 | 243 |
| Passing yards | 243 | 209 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 35:19 | 24:41 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Cornell | Passing | Jameson Wang | 21/34, 165 yards |
| Cornell | Rushing | Jameson Wang | 14 rushes, 25 yards, 2 TD |
| Cornell | Receiving | Nicholas Laboy | 5 receptions, 66 yards |
| Harvard | Passing | Charles DePrima | 12/19, 209 yards, 3 TD |
| Harvard | Rushing | Charles DePrima | 9 rushes, 152 yards, 3 TD |
| Harvard | Receiving | Tim Dowd | 2 receptions, 73 yards |

### Howard

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| No. 19 Crimson | 7 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 48 |
at Harvard Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts
* Date: October 14
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 61 °F (16 °C)
* Game attendance: 7,678
* Referee: Antonio Marcella
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | HOW | HARV |
| First downs | 15 | 24 |
| Total yards | 274 | 469 |
| Rushing yards | 139 | 341 |
| Passing yards | 135 | 128 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 29:03 | 30:57 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Howard | Passing | Quinton Williams | 11/22, 111 yards, 2 INT |
| Howard | Rushing | Eden James | 13 rushes, 47 yards |
| Howard | Receiving | Richie Ilarraza | 4 receptions, 43 yards |
| Harvard | Passing | Charles DePrima | 11/17, 128 yards, 2 TD |
| Harvard | Rushing | Isaiah Abbey | 16 rushes, 120 yards, 3 TD |
| Harvard | Receiving | Scott Woods II | 3 receptions, 60 yards, TD |

### At Princeton

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 18 Crimson | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Tigers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Powers Field at Princeton Stadium, Princeton, New Jersey
* Date: October 21
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 60 °F (16 °C)
* Game attendance: 8,345
* Referee: Todd Boyd
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | HARV | PRIN |
| First downs | 14 | 15 |
| Total yards | 220 | 327 |
| Rushing yards | 68 | 83 |
| Passing yards | 152 | 244 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 31:52 | 28:08 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Harvard | Passing | Charles DePrima | 15/36, 152 yards, TD, 3 INT |
| Harvard | Rushing | Shane McLaughlin | 17 rushes, 65 yards, TD |
| Harvard | Receiving | Kaedyn Odermann | 4 receptions, 57 yards, TD |
| Princeton | Passing | Blake Stenstrom | 21/36, 244 yards, 2 TD |
| Princeton | Rushing | Ja'Derris Carr | 14 rushes, 56 yards, TD |
| Princeton | Receiving | Luke Colella | 5 receptions, 98 yards |

### Dartmouth

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Big Green | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Crimson | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
at Harvard Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts
* Date: October 28
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 78 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 22,515
* Referee: Jeff Pumphrey
* TV: NESN/ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | DART | HARV |
| First downs | 21 | 18 |
| Total yards | 325 | 264 |
| Rushing yards | 83 | 228 |
| Passing yards | 242 | 36 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 28:27 | 31:33 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Dartmouth | Passing | Dylan Cadwallader | 24/37, 186 yards, INT |
| Dartmouth | Rushing | Q. Jones | 11 rushes, 50 yards |
| Dartmouth | Receiving | Paxton Scott | 7 receptions, 72 yards |
| Harvard | Passing | Charles DePrima | 4/9, 23 yards, 2 INT |
| Harvard | Rushing | Shane McLaughlin | 24 rushes, 156 yards |
| Harvard | Receiving | Cooper Barkate | 2 receptions, 9 yards |
Starting quarterback Charles DePrima was benched in the second quarter after throwing his second interception of the game. Jade Craig would step in at quarterback for the rest of the game. With the win, head coach Tim Murphy broke the record for most Ivy League wins by a coach, with 136.

### At Columbia

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Crimson | 17 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
| Lions | 0 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 24 |
at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium, New York City, New York
* Date: November 4
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 54 °F (12 °C)
* Game attendance: 3,723
* Referee: Paul Matt Overton
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | HARV | COLU |
| First downs | 16 | 22 |
| Total yards | 401 | 330 |
| Rushing yards | 137 | 115 |
| Passing yards | 264 | 215 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 28:48 | 31:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Harvard | Passing | Jaden Craig | 13/18, 264 yards, TD |
| Harvard | Rushing | Shane McLaughlin | 18 rushes, 89 yards, 2 TD |
| Harvard | Receiving | Tim Dowd | 3 receptions, 123 yards, TD |
| Columbia | Passing | Joe Green | 24/40, 215 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Columbia | Rushing | Joey Giorgi | 19 rushes, 92 yards, TD |
| Columbia | Receiving | Edan Stagg | 7 receptions, 82 yards |

### Penn

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | Total |
| Quakers | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| No. 24 Crimson | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 25 |
at Harvard Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts
* Date: November 11
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 48 °F (9 °C)
* Game attendance: 7,032
* Referee: Henry Wimberg
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | PENN | HARV |
| First downs | 18 | 24 |
| Total yards | 341 | 384 |
| Rushing yards | 109 | 131 |
| Passing yards | 232 | 253 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 23:56 | 36:04 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Penn | Passing | Aidan Sayin | 21/36, 215 yards, INT |
| Penn | Rushing | Malachi Hosley | 22 rushes, 109 yards, 2 TD |
| Penn | Receiving | Bryce Myers | 8 receptions, 66 yards |
| Harvard | Passing | Jaden Craig | 23/36, 253 yards, TD, INT |
| Harvard | Rushing | Shane McLaughlin | 27 rushes, 88 yards |
| Harvard | Receiving | Cooper Barkate | 8 receptions, 125 yards, TD |

### At Yale

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 23 Crimson | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 18 |
| Bulldogs | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
at Yale Bowl, New Haven, Connecticut
* Date: November 18
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 50 °F (10 °C)
* Game attendance: 51,127
* Referee: Tim Barker
* TV: ESPNU
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | HARV | YALE |
| First downs | 16 | 20 |
| Total yards | 318 | 260 |
| Rushing yards | 73 | 170 |
| Passing yards | 245 | 90 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 24:33 | 35:27 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Harvard | Passing | Jaden Craig | 20/33, 245 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Harvard | Rushing | Shane McLaughlin | 13 rushes, 50 yards |
| Harvard | Receiving | Tim Dowd | 2 receptions, 71 yards |
| Yale | Passing | Nolan Grooms | 10/23, 90 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Yale | Rushing | Joshua Pitsenberger | 23 rushes, 99 yards |
| Yale | Receiving | Ryan Lindley | 4 receptions, 39 yards, TD |