Despite walking away with a share of the Ivy League title last season, the Harvard football team was dissatisfied with its 8-2 record. A win over Yale in The Game would have given the Crimson the league title outright.
“That definitely left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth on what was a very good season,” said coach Andrew Aurich. “That can be a very motivating factor for the guys coming back this year.”
The Crimson graduated several starters but will welcome 30 freshmen to the roster in Aurich’s second season at the helm.
It also will be the first season Ivy League teams can compete in the FCS playoffs, putting extra pressure on Aurich to deliver results.
But Aurich isn’t looking ahead to the potential of the postseason. He said the development of his team is what excites him most.
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“They are self-driven and motivated and willing to be coached, and they can grow from Week 1 to Week 10,” he said.
One big hole left from the 8-2 squad is wide receiver Cooper Barkate, who transferred to Duke to finish his career. Barkate’s 11 touchdowns and 1,084 receiving yards made him by far the Crimson’s most important weapon.
Senior quarterback Jaden Craig returns. Craig passed for 2,430 yards and 23 touchdowns despite suffering a shoulder injury in the penultimate game. He returned to face Yale but wasn’t the same. He said he’s spent the offseason recovering and reviewing the offense, with a goal on cleaning up the mistakes that caused the team to fall short.
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“Those two losses, as the competitor I am, weigh heavier than the wins,” he said.
Harvard opens the season at Stetson on Saturday against a team it steamrolled last year (1 p.m., ESPN+). In Week 2, the Crimson host Brown as they look to avenge one of their two losses from a year ago. To start November, they’ll host Dartmouth then travel to face Columbia — the teams with which they shared the Ivy League title last year. The Crimson will close out the season at Yale in the 141st edition of The Game.
Aurich said his players are preparing to enter the year with a target on their backs. Their only losses in 2024 were by single digits.
“Both opponents’ fans rushed the field and that’s because everybody wants to beat Harvard in the Ivy League,” he said. “That urgency is going to happen every week.”
Auzzy Byrdsell can be reached at austin.byrdsell@globe.com.