Harvard beats New Hampshire 31-7

Team pages: Harvard · New Hampshire

Harvard1-031
New Hampshire1-37Final
Sat, Sep 19 · Wildcat Stadium, Durham, N.H. · Crowd 5,169FloSports

Harvard beat New Hampshire 31-7.

We had New Hampshire favored. Harvard won.

Next: Harvard beat Brown 14-10, Fri Sep 25

Next: New Hampshire lost to Sacred Heart 20-13, Sat Sep 26

How it swung

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Harvard a 49% chance, and the closing betting line (Harvard was a 14.5-point favorite) put it at 88%.

Favored the whole way: Harvard never fell below 67%.

New Hampshire never had better than a 33% chance.

FinalHarvard 31-7 New HampshireHarvard wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.
50%75%90%Q1Q2Q3Q497% at halfHarvardWon31-712+11−14Scores
50%75%90%Q1Q2Q3Q497% at halfHarvardWon31-712Scores
50%10%25%Q1Q2Q3Q43% at halfHarvardLowest 0%Lost7-3112−11+14Scores
50%10%25%Q1Q2Q3Q43% at halfHarvardLowest 0%Lost7-3112Scores

The two plays that swung it

  1. 1Q2 11:47Flannery 1-yd TD run, Harvard goes ahead 7-0Harvard 80% → 91% (+11)
  2. 2Q2 6:44Bentley 1-yd TD run, ties it 7-7Harvard 88% → 74% (−14)

The two plays that swung it

  1. 1Q2 11:47Flannery 1-yd TD run, Harvard goes ahead 7-0New Hampshire 20% → 9% (−11)
  2. 2Q2 6:44Bentley 1-yd TD run, ties it 7-7New Hampshire 12% → 26% (+14)
Harvard’s chance to win after every play.
How to read this chartStarts from the pregame line (Harvard -14.5), at 81% for Harvard (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores.

Every drive

Harvard scored on 5 of its 14 drives; New Hampshire on 1 of its 14.

Harvard’s drives are teal, New Hampshire’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

own goalgoal lineQ1New Hampshire: Punt, from 75 yards out to 77PuntHarvard: Punt, from 61 yards out to 59PuntNew Hampshire: Punt, from 77 yards out to 39PuntHarvard: Punt, from 99 yards out to 97PuntNew Hampshire: Turned over on downs, from 39 yards out to 36DownsHarvard: Punt, from 64 yards out to 62PuntNew Hampshire: Punt, from 84 yards out to 90PuntQ2Harvard: Touchdown, from 32 yards out to 0TouchdownNew Hampshire: Touchdown, from 75 yards out to 0TouchdownHarvard: Punt, from 75 yards out to 68PuntNew Hampshire: Turned over on downs, from 53 yards out to 29DownsHarvard: Touchdown, from 71 yards out to 0TouchdownNew Hampshire: Interception, from 75 yards out to 67InterceptionHarvard: Touchdown, from 13 yards out to 0TouchdownNew Hampshire: End of half, from 75 yards out to 77End of halfQ3Harvard: Missed field goal, from 75 yards out to 37Missed FGNew Hampshire: Interception, from 63 yards out to 37InterceptionHarvard: Interception, from 80 yards out to 65InterceptionNew Hampshire: Turned over on downs, from 45 yards out to 10DownsHarvard: Field goal, from 90 yards out to 6Field goalQ4New Hampshire: Punt, from 85 yards out to 91PuntHarvard: Touchdown, from 25 yards out to 0TouchdownNew Hampshire: Punt, from 88 yards out to 94PuntHarvard: Turned over on downs, from 45 yards out to 38DownsNew Hampshire: Fumble, from 62 yards out to 45FumbleHarvard: Punt, from 55 yards out to 52PuntNew Hampshire: Turned over on downs, from 45 yards out to 35DownsHarvard: End of game, from 65 yards out to 68End of game

From New Hampshire’s side

New Hampshire’s best moment: Bentley 1-yd TD run, ties it 7-7 (Q2 6:44). It lifted New Hampshire’s win chance by 14 points.

Box score

Harvard 31, New Hampshire 7

Harvard covered −14.5 by 9.5. The total, 38, stayed under 51.5.

Harvard leaders

  • Passing Charlie Smith 11 of 19, 71 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
  • Rushing Cole Allen 12 for 62 yds; Xaviah Bascon 15 for 51 yds, 1 TD
  • Receiving Maddux Reid 1 for 22 yds; Nate Bailey 2 for 16 yds, 1 TD

New Hampshire leaders

  • Passing Brooks Bentley 18 of 37, 186 yds, 2 INT
  • Rushing Jocquez Smith 10 for 50 yds; Myles Thomason 12 for 32 yds
  • Receiving Ty Carlson 3 for 56 yds; Josh Fillion 3 for 42 yds

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games · 2025 season

Harvard · 9-2

Rated 195th in our preseason ratings.

L 7-52 @ Villanova #84 of 667

lost by 45 as a 2-point favorite

L 28-45 @ Yale #161 of 667

lost by 17 as a 6.5-point favorite

W 45-43 vs Pennsylvania #217 of 667

won by 2 as a 23-point favorite

W 31-14 @ Columbia #239 of 667

won by 17 as a 29.5-point favorite

W 31-10 vs Dartmouth #180 of 667

won by 21 as an 11.5-point favorite

W 35-14 @ Princeton #218 of 667

won by 21 as a 17.5-point favorite

W 31-7 vs Merrimack #217 of 667

won by 24 as a 27.5-point favorite

W 34-10 vs Cornell #247 of 667

won by 24 as a 32.5-point favorite

W 59-24 @ Holy Cross #225 of 667

won by 35 as a 14-point favorite

W 41-7 vs Brown #250 of 667

won by 34 as a 16.5-point favorite

W 59-7 @ Stetson #265 of 667

won by 52 as a 35.5-point favorite

Last three games

New Hampshire · 1-2

Rated 173rd in our preseason ratings, 203rd now.

1-2 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

W 42-35 vs Stonehill #236 of 668

won by 7 as a 13.5-point favorite

New Hampshire won 42-35 vs Stonehill. Chance to win started at 89%, low 64%, high better than 99%.

L 3-66 @ Syracuse #133 of 668

lost by 63 as a 35.5-point underdog

New Hampshire lost 3-66 at Syracuse. Chance to win started at 1%, low under 1%, high 2%.

L 14-28 @ UAlbany #221 of 668

lost by 14 as a 10-point favorite

Power rating by week

New Hampshire is rated 0.7 points ahead as of week 2. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

-7.9-8.6-9.2Wk 0Wk 1Wk 2New HampshireHarvard

The series

Harvard leads the series 8-0

8 meetings since 1929 · Harvard has won the last 8

New Hampshire wonHarvard won1929: Harvard by 351931: Harvard by 391932: Harvard by 401933: Harvard by 341934: Harvard by 441935: Harvard by 411939: Harvard by 462024: Harvard by 519292024
  • 2024Harvard 28-23
  • 1939Harvard 46-0
  • 1935Harvard 41-0
  • 1934Harvard 47-3
  • 1933Harvard 34-0

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Our model and the betting line don’t fully agree on New Hampshire’s chances here.

50-50Model · 51%Line · 12%HarvardNew Hampshire

Harvard favored by 14.5 · Total 51.5

How games like this usually go

Harvard by 14.5, and it went to form

50%90%Q1Q2Q3Q450%90%Q1Q2Q3Q4

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 251 games since 2025 with a favorite of 14.5 to 21.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 1 point toward New Hampshire.

opened +15.5now +14.5

The total fell 1 point.

opened 52.5now 51.5

Spread: +15.5 → +14.5 · Total: 52.5 → 51.5

The books’ cut: 5.3%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

New Hampshire is worth +12.2 points (±10.8) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top tenth of FBS, 100th percentile.

33% at home, 0% on the road against FBS opponents (1-2 home, 0-11 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -2.8 at home vs. away over 58 games — inside the ±8.0 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

The visitors travel about 54 miles to get here.

Where next