The spray was a little thick at times, and the umbrellas occasionally blocked the view, but for anyone seeing his first Harvard football game in three years, Saturday's Baker Field Aquacade provided an eminently satisfying spectacle. A pleasure, indeed, it was to see a Crimson eleven play such alert, aggressive, and, above all, relentless football against a team which, as even the lachrymose Mr. Little once remarked, "Always seems to get the breaks against Harvard."

Columbia got no breaks Saturday simply because the Crimson gave none. It kept the breaks and it kept the ball. Even though Columbia dug in (or slithered in) to stop one second-half Crimson drive, the abortive march only consumed time, not yardage.

The Crimson backs ran with energy, sistence when tackled. They didn't want to stop. And despite the rice-paddy conditions, the backs, particularly Matt Botsford, cut with amazing sureness. Determination and pedal agility seem to be attributes of other members of Mr. Jordan's team, as end Bob Morrison demonstrated on his run for the second Crimson tally, squirming and fighting his way clear for the score after taking Botsford's pass.

Jordan's type of single-wing depends ultimately on the ability of each lineman to move two things: himself and his opponent. The system calls for blockers to travel fairly long distances and sometimes to open holes by permanent physical removal of enemy linemen. Not only did the Crimson line outcharge Columbia consistently, but it was able to get going and head plays, despite the slickness of the mud. The current edition of the Crimson line shows power and speed, both of them in quantities that other local teams unfortunately have not always had.

Crimson tackling provided another pleasant surprise to someone who hadn't watched a game since the 1952 Yale catastrophe. Against Columbia, the defensive enthusiasm and ability matched the spirit of the attack.

One late-game play typified the Crimson's attack-the determination, the technical Improvement, and above all, the refusal to quit. It was a high pass, from Walt Stahura to Ron Elkenberry. While Elkenberry was stretched out, and before he had full possession of the ball, the Columbia safety applied a viclous blook to his midsection, flattening him completely.

After the game, a pessimist refused to acknowledge the excellent Harvard showing. "You should have seen them against Cornell; then you wouldn't have been so happy."

But actually, the Cornell game really did provide a measure of the way Harvard football has changed during the last few years, in the public eye, as well as intrinsically. As a result of his three-touchdown performance at Cambridge, Cornell quarterback Bill De Graaf was named "Back-of-the-Week" by the Associated Press.

It has been a long time since anyone has received this honor just for scoring three touchdowns against Harvard