2003 Harvard Crimson football team

The 2003 Harvard Crimson football team was an American football team that represented Harvard University during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Harvard tied for second in the Ivy League.

2003 Harvard Crimson football
ConferenceIvy League
Record7–3 (4–3 Ivy)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDave Cecchini (1st season)
CaptainDante Balestracci
Home stadiumHarvard Stadium
2003 Ivy League football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 12 Penn $  7 –0   10 –0  
Harvard  4 –3   7 –3  
Brown  4 –3   5 –5  
Yale  4 –3   6 –4  
Dartmouth  4 –3   5 –5  
Columbia  3 –4   4 –6  
Princeton  2 –5   2 –8  
Cornell  0 –7   1 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

In their 10th year under head coach Timothy Murphy, the Crimson compiled a 7–3 record and outscored opponents 317 to 221. Dante Balestracci was the team captain.[1]

The Crimson's 4–3 conference record placed them in a four-way tie for second in the Ivy League standings. Harvard outscored Ivy opponents 212 to 151.[2]

Harvard began the year unranked, but a six-game winning streak to start the season saw it enter the national top 25 in early October and climb as high as No. 16. November losses to two unranked opponents dropped the Crimson from the rankings, and they finished the year outside the top 25.

Harvard played its home games at Harvard Stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 20 at Holy Cross*
W 43–23 10,312 [3]
September 27 Brown
W 52–14 9,460 [4]
October 4 No. 10 Northeastern*
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA
W 28–20 10,017 [5]
October 11 at Cornell No. 23
W 27–0 6,123 [6]
October 18 Lafayette* No. 22
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA
W 34–27 8,326 [7]
October 25 Princeton No. 20
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA (rivalry)
W 43–40 OT 14,086 [8]
November 1 Dartmouth No. 16
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA (rivalry)
L 16–30 12,186 [9]
November 8 at Columbia No. 23
L 13–16 3,470 [10]
November 15 No. 8 Penn
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA (rivalry)
L 24–32 12,585 [11]
November 22 at Yale
W 37–19 53,136 [12]

References
  1. "Football Record Book: Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  2. "Year-by-Year History". Ivy League Football Media Guide (PDF). Princeton, N.J.: Ivy League. 2017. pp. 40–41. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  3. May, Pete (September 21, 2003). "Fitzpatrick Hits the Books". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. C13 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Blaudschun, Mark (September 28, 2003). "Fitzpatrick and Crimson Drive Home Their Points". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. C15 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Vega, Michael (October 5, 2003). "NU Given the Old 1-2". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. C9 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Harlan, Aaron (October 12, 2003). "Nothing New for Crimson". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. C15 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Indrisano, Ron (October 19, 2003). "Crimson Are Perfectly Fine". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. C22 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Powers, John (October 26, 2003). "Crimson Show Fight". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. C18 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Chamberlain, Tony (November 2, 2003). "Green Crash Crimson's Stadium Party". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. D15 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Denman, Elliott (November 9, 2003). "Crimson Take One on the Chin". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. C16 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Jensen, Mike (November 16, 2003). "Penn Makes Up for Bad Memory, Beats Harvard". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. D5 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Hine, Tommy (November 23, 2003). "No-Delivery Zone; Missed Chances Haunt Yale". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. pp. E5, E6 – via Newspapers.com.
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