On the eve of the Crimson's last warming-up game, for such it is generally conceded to be, it behooves the football enthusiast to do a little looking ahead toward the five real battles which lie between Harvard's present clean slate and the possibility of an undefeated season.

The Big Blue team, at the moment apparently the weakest of Harvard's coming opponents, has too much potential strength to be lightly discounted, if indeed anyone would ever do that to either of the traditional rivals in a mutual conflict. Brown, Army, Dartmouth, and Holy Cross have all showed a capable row of teeth so far this season.

Starting with Dartmouth, Harvard's next opponent, we find a team which has already surmounted the first major obstacle of its season in last Saturday's game with Lafayette. However, the present Dartmouth eleven remains as much a mystory as it did two weeks ago. The defensive power of the Big Green team is unquestionable, but Coach Jack Cannell's vaunted new style of attack, evolved after and out of his experience with Pop Warner's Stanford outfit last year, added little to the offensive power of the Indians last weekend after the first surprise had worn off. From the result of the Lafayette game, one would almost say that Jack Cannell is purposely nursing his team along slowly in the hope that it will reach its peak on the successive Saturdays when it meets Yale and Harvard.

The astonishing defensive strength which Dartmouth has already evinced bodes ill for the Crimson cohorts. Last Saturday the Big Green eleven smothered practically everything that the Maroons put on in the way of running plays after the first period, with Glazer, Michelet, Trest, and Captain Hoffman doing great work in the Indian's forward wall. In addition, the backfield showed up well on pass defense, and Bill Clark, Sophomore halfback, got off some splendid kicks. Sammy Fishman, flashy Hanover quarterback, looks as if he would provide some real trouble for the Crimson players once he gets loose in the Stadium, for the Malden boy has shown himself to possess all the qualities of an eel so far this season. The Indians meet Pennsylvania this afternoon, and neither team is conceded any particular edge.

Turning next to the Army eleven, which last year rose to the pinnacle of football fame in its battle with Notre Dame, we discover the Cadets minus the three mainstays of last season: Stocket, Price, and Suarez. The nucleus of veterans around which Major Sasse, in his last year of coaching, must build a team includes Captain Summerfelt at guard, King and Kopesak at ends, Evans at center, and Brown and Kilday in the backfield. The West Pointers have piled up a total of 70 points in their first two games, and get their first test today against an outstanding Pitt eleven in the Michie Stadium. With his splendid material, however inexperienced it is, Major Sasse will undoubtedly be able to show today that the Army coaches do not need to have all their letter men back in order to produce good teams.

Harvard football fans will probably be more interested in this afternoon's battle between Brown and Yale, two prospective Crimson opponents, than in the Penn State clash which bids fair to be not much more than a second team tester, even though the Nittany Lions have been pointing all their noses towards this contest. When the Bruins emerge from their lair to tackle the Elis, who appear to have been in complete hibernation so far, there is no doubt but that fur will fly in the 37th meeting of the two aggregations. Brown sees its first real chance of a victory over Yale since 1926, while the Blue players, on the other hand, realize that it is practically their last opportunity to snap out of the lethargy in which they have hitherto been sunk. A drastic switching around of the Blue linemen has apparently pepped up the Elis considerably, while leaving them with the same old backfield of Parker, Crowley, Lassiter, and Levering. On the whole, the odds are about even on the clash; Brown has already shown its machine a capable one against Springfield, and is well provided with a style of play which held Yale at bay in the Round Robin series last December; Yale, on the other hand, outweighs the Bruin line and has all the force of its past season's records behind it, not to speak of a perfectly good field of material which has not yet been weeded out and cultivated, and which only needs a little fire to get it clicking.

Holy Cross, which meets Harvard in their annual encounter right after the West Point game and just before the epic Crimson-Blue clash, has had one touchdown scored on it in every game thus far, although it has piled up a total of 71 points against its opponents' 18. Its last victim was little Maine, which came out on the tail end of a 32-6 score. The Crusaders will meet Brown the week before they travel to Cambridge, so there will be plenty of room for a comparison of scores, but so far the Hely Cross players have not shown much on which their standing could be very exactly rated.

In conclusion, when the dust has settled on the five gridirons where Harvard's five major opponents are today playing, it is only natural that a better estimate can be made of their strength. But at the moment Harvard, with its preponderance of backfield material and its splendid A team line, looks like the best bet of the six teams to come through the season with a whole skin. Coach Casey in his second year with the Varsity has the advantage of not having to worry over what men he should put in the first team, but rather which players are most worthwhile being developed into reserve strength.  BY TIME OUT.