2001 Harvard Crimson football team

{{Infobox college sports team season

| year = 2001

| team = Harvard Crimson

| sport = football

| image =

| image_size =

| conference = Ivy League

| short_conf = Ivy

| record = 9–0

| conf_record = 7–0

| champion = Ivy League champion

| head_coach = Tim Murphy

| hc_year = 8th

| off_coach = Jay Mills

| oc_year = 6th

| off_scheme = Multiple pro-style

| def_coach =

| dc_year =

| def_scheme =

| captain = Ryan FitzGerald

| stadium = Harvard Stadium

}}

The 2001 Harvard Crimson football team was an American football team that represented Harvard University during the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Harvard was undefeated and won the Ivy League championship.

In their eighth year under head coach Timothy Murphy, the Crimson compiled a 9–0 record and outscored opponents 293 to 184. Ryan FitzGerald was the team captain.{{cite web |title=Football Record Book: Year-by-Year Results |publisher=Harvard University |location=Cambridge, Mass. |access-date=June 20, 2020 |url=https://gocrimson.com/documents/2020/6/17//FBL_RecordBook_Year_by_Year_Results.pdf}}

Harvard's undefeated (7–0) conference record placed first in the Ivy League standings. The Crimson outscored Ivy opponents 220 to 150.{{cite book|url=https://ivyleague.com/documents/2017/8/23/3_Year_By_Year_History_2017.pdf|title=Ivy League Football Media Guide|chapter=Year-by-Year History|publisher=Ivy League|location=Princeton, N.J.|date=2017|access-date=July 10, 2020|pages=39–40}}

Like most of the Ivy League, Harvard played nine games instead of the usual 10, after the school made the decision to cancel its September 15 season opener against Holy Cross, following the September 11 attacks.{{cite news |title=After Prodding, Correct Choice Finally Made |first=Mark |last=Blaudschun |date=September 14, 2001 |page=E6 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59393901/2001-games-canceled/ }} It was the first year in more than two decades without a Crimson-Crusader football game, and the only year without the intrastate matchup between 1981 and 2015.

The Crimson began the year unranked, and did not enter the national top 25 until they had recorded its seventh win without a loss. Harvard entered the season's penultimate week at No. 24 and rose to No. 19 after defeating a ranked Penn Quakers team.

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

Schedule

{{CFB schedule

| attend = y

| source = y

| rankyear = 2001

| rankdivision = NCAA Division I-AA

| poll = The Sports Network

| September 15 | @ | Holy Cross

| Fitton Field | Worcester, MA | Canceled

| |

| September 22 | | Brown

| Harvard Stadium | Boston, MA | W 27-20

| 8,511 | {{cite news |title=Staph Has Right Stuff |first=Peter |last=May |date=September 23, 2001 |page=C21 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60568368/2001-brown-harvard/ }}

| September 29 | | Lafayette

| Harvard Stadium | Boston, MA | W 38-14

| 5,803 | {{cite news |title=This Time, Crimson Finish Job |first=Paul |last=Harber |date=September 30, 2001 |page=C18 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60571028/2001-harvard-lafayette/ }}

| October 6 | | {{cfb link|year=2001|team=Northeastern Huskies|title=Northeastern}}

| Harvard Stadium | Boston, MA | W 35-20

| 6,513 | {{cite news |title=NU Gets Scooped by Harvard |first=Marvin |last=Pave |date=October 7, 2001 |page=C21 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60597951/2001-harvard-nu/ }}

| October 13 | @ | Cornell

| Schoellkopf Field | Ithaca, NY | W 26-6

| 14,148 | {{cite news |title=Harvard Gets the Red Out |first=Chris |last=Snow |date=October 14, 2001 |page=C17 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60599812/2001-cornell-harvard/ }}

| October 20 | | Princeton

| Harvard Stadium | Boston, MA (rivalry) | W 28-26

| 9,326 | {{cite news |title=Crimson Dig Deep; Substitutes Save Day vs. Tigers |first=Frank |last=Dell'Apa |date=October 21, 2001 |page=D18 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60601409/2001-harvard-princeton/ }}

| October 27 | | Dartmouth

| Harvard Stadium | Boston, MA (rivalry) | W 31-21

| 12,324 | {{cite news |title=Crimson Get Message, Deliver; Harvard Roars Back to Stop Dartmouth |first=Marvin |last=Pave |date=October 28, 2001 |page=C17 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60602520/2001-dartmouth-harvard/ }}

| November 3 | @ | Columbia

| Wien Stadium | New York, NY | W 45-33

| 4,011 | {{cite news |title=Crimson Set the Stage for an Ivy Showdown |first=John |last=Powers |date=November 4, 2001 |page=D18 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60603575/2001-columbia-harvard/ }}

| November 10 | | #19 Penn

| Harvard Stadium | Boston, MA (rivalry) | W 28-21

| 14,818 | {{cite news |title=Penn Loses to Harvard |first=Joe |last=Juliano |date=November 11, 2001 |page=C6 |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |location=Philadelphia, Pa.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60604628/2001-harvard-penn/ }}

| November 17 | @ | Yale

| Yale Bowl | New Haven, CT (The Game) | W 35-23

| 51,634 | {{cite news |title=Ending Is Just Perfect: Harvard (9-0) Beats Yale for First Unblemished Season Since 1913 |first=Bob |last=Duffy |date=November 18, 2001 |page=D1 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60605988/2001-harvard-yale/ }}

}}

References

Harvard

Category:Harvard Crimson football seasons

Category:Ivy League football champion seasons

Category:College football undefeated seasons

Harvard Crimson football