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UNH Advance: Harvard

By Allen Lessels

So here’s a piece of good news for the team that comes up on the short end of the score this Friday night in Harvard Stadium when the University of New Hampshire and Harvard University at long last renew their football rivalry: The losing team will not have to wait four score and five years for a shot at redemption.

The Crimson knocked off the Wildcats, 46-0, in Harvard Stadium in front of 31,002 fans on November, 18, 1939, a little over two months after Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland marked the start of World War II.

UNH STATISTICS | HARVARD STATISTICS

Friday night’s game will be the first since between Harvard and UNH, which is 3-1 and on  three-game win streak and ranked No. 16 and No. 21 in FCS national polls.

“It’s an incredible opportunity,” Wildcat coach Rick Santos said. “The Ivy League has some of the most iconic venues and iconic institutions in the world. “This is a team that has been at the top, if not one of the top three, teams in New England for a long, long time at any level. They’re extremely well coached. They’re disciplined. It’s an institution when you cross over in the recruiting battle, if they have a committable Harvard offer, you don’t really look at those guys any more because they’re going to pick that school for the right reasons. They’re talented.”

Friday night’s game can be seen on NESN and is the first of a two-game set between the teams.

Harvard is scheduled to play in Durham for the first time at Wildcat Stadium on Sept. 19, 2026.

The Ivy League teams play 10-game schedules and the league rules do not allow them to play in the FCS playoffs. They begin their season later than most FCS schools and Harvard opened with a 35-0 win over Stetson at home on Sept. 21.

The Crimson fell at Ivy rival Brown last Saturday, 31-28, in agonizing fashion.

Harvard led 28-23 in the final minute and lined up for a field goal at the Brown 9-yard line. The snap from center went over the head of the holder and the ball was scooped up by a Brown defender and brought back to the Harvard 27.

Brown scored on a TD pass on the next play and held on for the win.

“They lost a heartbreaker and they’re going to be ready to go,” Santos said.

“What I like about it is they’re a great team, a really great team, and we’re going to be tested,” said UNH junior defensive end Zach Garron.

The Crimson has dominated the limited series between the two schools and all the games have been in Harvard Stadium.

Harvard won the first game, 35-0, on Oct. 12, 1929. The teams met seven times total between 1929 and 1939 and the Crimson won them all, six by shutout.

The only points UNH scored in the seven games came in a 47-3 loss on Nov. 17, 1934.

As for the rest of the Ivy League, UNH has played in-state Dartmouth College by far the most often. Dartmouth dominated the series early, UNH took charge of it for a while and lately it has been more even. Overall, UNH leads the series with 21 wins, 19 losses and a pair of ties.

UNH and Dartmouth are scheduled to play in 2025, 2027 and 2028.

The Wildcats are 1-14 in games against Brown and have lost the single games they have played against Cornell and Yale. UNH has never played Columbia, Penn or Princeton.

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