In their ninth year under head coach Timothy Murphy, the Crimson compiled a 7–3 record and outscored opponents 267 to 230.

[1] Harvard's 6–1 conference record placed second in the Ivy League standings.

23 in the preseason poll, but dropped out of the top 25 before playing a game; and after opening the year with two wins, they were ranked No.

On November 16, the annual Harvard–Penn game was the first Division I-AA matchup to host an episode of ESPN's "College GameDay", which had only visited Division I-A sites in its first nine years of remote broadcasts.

The Ivy League had called ESPN to suggest highlighting the matchup of two teams with 5–0 conference records.