The Harvard Crimson (2-1) travel to Ithaca, NY, to do battle with the Cornell Big Red (1-2) on Friday, Oct. 11. This game kicks off at 6 p.m. ET and can be seen live on ESPN2.
The Crimson are coming off a five-point, 28-23, win over New Hampshire, while the Big Red got crushed by Albany, 31-10.
Harvard is a favorite of 11.5 points on the spread with a total of 48.5 points.
Here's my Harvard vs. Cornell predictions and college football picks for Friday, Oct. 11.
Harvard vs Cornell Prediction
- Harvard vs Cornell Pick: Harvard -11.5
My Harvard vs Cornell best bet is on the Crimson spread, with the best line currently available at BetRivers, according to our live NCAAF odds page.
Harvard vs Cornell Odds
| Harvard Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-11.5 -110 | 48.5 -112 / -109 | -530 |
| Cornell Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+11.5 -110 | 48.5 -112 / -109 | +380 |
- Harvard vs Cornell Point Spread: Harvard -11.5 (-110) · Cornell +11.5 (-110)
- Harvard vs Cornell Total: Over/Under 48.5
- Harvard vs Cornell Moneyline: Harvard -530 · Cornell +380
Harvard vs Cornell Preview
Harvard Crimson Betting Preview: Attack the Front Seven?
Harvard comes into this one after a home win against New Hampshire. The Crimson fell behind 10-0 but rallied to take firm control behind a solid rushing effort from Xaviah Bascon, who recorded a pair of touchdowns.
The Harvard pass game wasn't overly efficient, but it made up for that with explosive plays, including a 65-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jaden Craig to Scott Woods II.
Craig has an impressive 6-1 touchdown to interception ratio, while throwing for 599 yards on the season.
The Crimson offense will undoubtedly seek to get the running game firing on all cylinders this week against a struggling Cornell front seven.
Cornell Big Red Betting Preview: Recapping Albany Game
Cornell enters fresh off a frustrating 31-10 home loss against Albany. The game was back and forth in the first half, with Cornell holding a 7-6 lead at the halftime despite not forcing an Albany punt.
Cornell really wore down late in the game, providing little resistance to an Albany offensive attack that saw four of its five second-half possessions end with points.
The Big Red offense was able to move the ball against the Great Danes, but it was unable to make plays when it counted. The key difference was two trips inside the Albany 35-yard line, where Cornell was stopped on downs.
Harvard vs Cornell Pick & Prediction
I'm going to play the Crimson here at -11.5. I have some major concerns with the Cornell run defense, and its big win over Yale a couple of weeks ago is looking more and more like an anomaly.
Harvard is going to run the ball a ton in this game, as it has all season. For the season, the Crimson are running on 66% of their offensive snaps.
Going up against a Cornell defense that's given up 674 rushing yards and 5.7 yards per carry in three games is a recipe for success for Harvard.
In three games against FCS competition before playing Cornell, Albany had averaged 69.33 rushing yards per game with an average of 2.6 yards per carry. Colgate was averaging just 3.7 yards per carry before playing Cornell and has deployed a pedestrian rushing attack since.
I look for Bascon and Shane McLaughlin to have big games and for Harvard to stay on the field and extend drives on the ground.
The Harvard defense rebounded nicely coming off of a demoralizing loss at Brown and really did a solid job controlling the New Hampshire passing attack last week. While Seth Morgan did throw for 267 yards, the UNH passing attack was completely shut down for seven straight possessions after scoring on its first three.
Harvard is very familiar with Cornell quarterback Jameson Wang and has had success defending this passing attack the last two years.
It's really concerning to see the Cornell defensive unit getting shredded on the ground week after week. With only two starters back from a unit that was already at the bottom of the Ivy league in total defense, we can't trust the Big Red to step up here.
The offense really showed poorly in its last game against Albany, and Cornell is now going up against a stronger Harvard defense that's dominated the series in recent memory.
Cornell isn't a complete football team, and with the advantages Harvard has on offense and defense, the only way I could play this one would be to back the Crimson.
Pick: Harvard -11.5
How to Watch Harvard vs Cornell Live: Start Time, TV Channel, Location
| Location: | Schoellkopf Field |
| Date: | Friday, Oct. 11 |
| Kickoff Time: | 6 p.m. ET |
| TV / Streaming: | ESPN2 |
Harvard vs Cornell Betting Trends
- One sharp bettor in our Action PRO system is currently on Harvard to cover the spread at -11.
