The Cornell Big Red take on the Harvard Crimson in an Ivy League showdown on Friday, Oct. 10. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Harvard is favored by 34.5 points on the spread, while Cornell comes in as a +34.5 underdog. The over/under sits at 58.5 total points.
Here’s my Cornell vs Harvard prediction and college football picks for Friday, October 10.
Cornell vs Harvard Prediction
- Cornell vs Harvard Pick: Harvard -34.5
My Harvard vs. Cornell best bet is on the Crimson to cover the spread. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Cornell vs Harvard Odds
| Cornell Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+34.5 -110 | 58.5 -110o / -110u | N/A |
| Harvard Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-34.5 -110 | 58.5 -110o / -110u | N/A |
Cornell vs Harvard College Football Betting Preview
Cornell Big Red Betting Preview: QB Needs Sorting
Cornell comes in at 0-3 this year and has struggled to find its footing offensively.
Quarterbacks Garrett Bass-Sulpizio and Devin Page had big shoes to fill replacing multi-year starter Jameson Wang, and neither has taken control of the starting quarterback job up to this point.
Combined, the two quarterbacks are completing just 55% of their passes and averaging 215 passing yards per game.
There's very little offensive punch to rely on, as Cornell has recorded just four explosive pass plays and has just one rushing play over 20 yards this season. This team struggles to convert on third down, and only half of its red-zone possessions have ended with touchdowns.
Equally concerning is the flippant nature of the quarterback play; the Big Red have already thrown nine interceptions this season.
The Cornell defense has been serviceable this season, albeit against lesser competition than they're due to line up against on Friday night.
Cornell is allowing 4.9 yards per play and 316 yards per game, and last week against Colgate, the turnovers really put this defense in a bad spot. This defense has faced short fields all season and has done well at times to bow up in the red zone.
This could be an underrated stop unit in Ivy League play, but the Big Red are likely to struggle against the premier teams in this conference.
Harvard Crimson Betting Preview: A Step Above
Harvard has been the cream of the crop in Ivy League play this season, easily winning each of its first three games while averaging 53 points per game in the process.
Quarterback Jaden Craig has made an early case to be named Ivy League Player of the Year, throwing for 773 yards on a 75% rate with nine touchdowns in three games.
Running back Jordan Harris has been electric carrying the ball and has averaged 11.3 yards per attempt to lead a trio of Crimson ball-carriers who can score from anywhere on the field.
Harvard already has 11 explosive pass plays this season, and the weapons on the outside can stretch the field and put pressure on opposing secondaries.
Defensively, Harvard has been stout, giving up only 2.6 yards per rushing attempt and a 50% completion rate this season.
The stop unit has been excellent situationally, as opponents have converted just 9-of-38 third-down attempts against the Crimson. Only two of six red-zone attempts have resulted in touchdowns.
A team playing this well is going to be very hard to beat. Harvard looks like a legitimate contender to make some noise in the FCS Playoffs this season if it can run through the Ivy League.
Cornell vs Harvard Weather Pick, Betting Analysis
This is a steep number to lay in a conference game, but Harvard is head and shoulders above Cornell in all three phases of the game and should win this game handily.
I would lay -34.5 for a half-unit here. I would also consider a first-half play on Harvard if it's at -20.5 or better.
Harvard has been such a dominant team over its first three games and has dispatched its opponents with ease. The Crimson rank at or near the top of the Ivy League in every major advanced metric, and many power ratings have them as a top-five program at the FCS level.
The Crimson grade out as the top defensive team in the Ivy League with the second-best secondary in all of FCS.
Cornell has struggled to move the football through the air and has very little explosiveness in its passing game. I can't imagine the Big Red stringing together enough successful plays to move the ball consistently to sustain possessions or score points.
The Crimson have been excellent this year in terms of causing Havoc and creating negative plays in the opposing backfield. Harvard has six sacks and 15 tackles for loss this season. Harvard has also allowed one rushing play over 10 yards all season on 81 attempts.
The Crimson will host Merrimack next week before stepping back into league play on Oct. 25, so this isn't a look-ahead spot.
At some point, Harvard will sub in the second team platoon, but the Crimson have scored 42 second-half points this season after jumping out to early first-half leads.
While there will be some level of pullback in the second half, I would expect that to be long after the outcome has been decided and the spread has been cleared.
I'll lay it with the Crimson for a half-unit.
Pick: Harvard -34.5 (+110 via ESPN Bet · Half-Unit)
Cornell vs Harvard Weather Betting Trends
