1985 Harvard Crimson football team

American college football season

1985 Harvard Crimson football

Conference| Ivy League
Record| 7–3 (5–2 Ivy)
Head coach|

* Joe Restic (15th season)

Captain| James B. Wilkinson
Home stadium| Harvard Stadium

Seasons

<- 1984

1986 ->

1985 Ivy League football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
Penn $  | 6  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 2  | - | 1
Harvard | 5  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 3  | - | 0
Princeton | 5  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 5  | - | 0
Brown | 4  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 4  | - | 1
Yale | 3  | - | 3  | - | 1 |  |  | 4  | - | 4  | - | 1
Dartmouth | 2  | - | 4  | - | 1 |  |  | 2  | - | 7  | - | 1
Cornell | 2  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 7  | - | 0
Columbia | 0  | - | 7  | - | 0 |  |  | 0  | - | 10  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

The 1985 Harvard Crimson football team was an American football team that represented Harvard University during the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Harvard tied for second in the Ivy League.

In their 15th year under head coach Joe Restic, the Crimson compiled a 7–3 record and outscored opponents 192 to 136. James B. Wilkinson was the team captain.[1]

Harvard's 5–2 conference record tied for second-best in the Ivy League standings. The Crimson outscored Ivy opponents 140 to 92.[2]

The Crimson briefly appeared in the weekly national top 20, achieving No. 16 in the poll released October 1, but fell out of the rankings the next week and remained unranked through the end of the season.

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

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|

September 21 | at Columbia |

* Wien Stadium
* New York, NY

| W 49–17|  7,921 |  [3]
September 28 |  No. 17 UMass* |

* Harvard Stadium
* Boston, MA

| W 10–3|  16,500 |  [4]
October 5 |  No. 5 William & Mary* |

* Harvard Stadium
* Boston, MA

| L 14–21|  6,500 |  [5]
October 12 | at Cornell |

* Schoellkopf Field
* Ithaca, NY

| W 20–17|  15,300 |  [6]
October 19 |  Dartmouth |

* Harvard Stadium
* Boston, MA (rivalry)

| W 17–7|  15,800 |  [7]
October 26 |  Princeton |

* Harvard Stadium
* Boston, MA (rivalry)

| L 6–11|  18,000 |  [8]
November 2 | at Brown |

* Brown Stadium
* Providence, RI

| W 25–17|  10,600 |  [9]
November 9 | at Holy Cross* |

* Fitton Field
* Worcester, MA

| W 28–20|  14,697 |  [10]
November 16 |  Penn |

* Harvard Stadium
* Boston, MA (rivalry)

| W 17–6|  18,040 |  [11]
November 23 | at Yale |

* Yale Bowl
* New Haven, CT (The Game)

| L 6–17|  54,647 |  [12]

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

## References

[edit]

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. p. 31. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
3. ^ Duffy, Bob (September 22, 1985). "Harvard Gets Going, 49-17". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 68 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ Cadigan, Barry (September 29, 1985). "Harvard Tips UMass, 10-3". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 52 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ Concannon, Joe (October 6, 1985). "Harvard Falls Short Against Wm. & Mary". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 68 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ Concannon, Joe (October 13, 1985). "Harvard, Steinberg Kick Cornell, 20-17". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 62 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ Monahan, Bob (October 20, 1985). "Harvard Grinds Down Dartmouth, 17-7". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 70 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ Monahan, Bob (October 27, 1985). "Princeton Bursts, 11-6". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 66 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ Concannon, Joe (November 3, 1985). "Brown Denied; Harvard Posts a 25-17 Victory". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 71 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ Concannon, Joe (November 10, 1985). "It Was Really a Rally; Harvard Tops HC with 21 in :41". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 57 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ Longman, Jere (November 17, 1985). "Harvard Snaps Penn Streak, 17-6". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 1-E, 18-E - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ Concannon, Joe (November 24, 1985). "Yale Undermines Harvard Quest; Crimson's Final Rally Fails, 17-6". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 57 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

Harvard Crimson football

Venues|

* Boston Baseball Grounds (1877–1881)
* Holmes Field (1881–1882, 1888)
* Jarvis Field (1883–1893)
* Soldier's Field (1894–1903)
* Harvard Stadium (1903–present)

Bowls and rivalries|

* 1920 Rose Bowl
* Dartmouth
* Penn
* Princeton
* Yale

Culture and lore|

* "Ten Thousand Men of Harvard"
* 1874 McGill game
* 1921 Centre game
* 1968 Yale game (Harvard Beats Yale 29–29)
* 2004 Harvard–Yale prank

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1873
* 1874
* 1875
* 1876
* 1877
* 1878
* 1879
* 1880
* 1881
* 1882
* 1883
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* 1885
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National championship seasons in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties