Last year Cornell downed the varsity football team 20 to 7, with all-Ivy quarterback Bill DeGraaf scoring every point for the Big Red. This year DeGraaf is gone, but Cornell still has perhaps the most formidable backfield the Crimson will encounter this season.

The Big Red will undeniably miss DeGraaf, but converted halfback and Captain Art Boland may prove a more than adequate replacement. The lightest member of the squad at 152, he led the team in rushing average as a sophomore (6.4) and was second last season (6.0). More important in view of his quarterback responsibilities is the fact that he completed eight out of eleven passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns last year.

The chief offensive weapon of this backfield is its speed. Besides Boland, who ran the third leg on a record-tying American Championship 80-yard relay quartet at the Penn Relays last Spring, the Big Red boasts two of the fastest halfbacks in its history.

At left half is Junior Irv Roberson, who can cover 100 yards in 9.7 seconds. He anchored the championship relay team at Penn and won the Heptagonal 220-yard low hurdles title. As the team's leading ground gainer last year, he rushed 503 yards in 83 attempts for a 6.11 average per carry.

Flanking him at right halfback is another junior, Bob McAniff. Also a track man, he was sprinter and a quartermiler on the freshman track team, but did not run last year. McAniff started at fullback in the last five games a year ago and ended up the season third in team rushing with 338 yards for a 4.5 average.

When it comes to reserves, however, Cornell is not so well set. Steve Miles, a highly-regarded linebacker and a strong runner, gives adequate strength at full-back, but at the other backfield positions the Big Red lacks depth. Behind Boland, Coach Lefty James has an untried sophomore in Tom Skypeck. Moreover, the Big Red lacks depth. Behind Boland, Coach Lefty James has an untried sophomore in Tom Skypeck. Moreover, the Big Red has less depth at the halfback slot than in recent years. Bob Hazzard, another sprinter, heads the list of sophomore candidates for this position.

All the speed is not confined to the backfield, however. "The line will not be big," Coach James said before the season opened. "but it should have good speed and more depth than in recent seasons."

James has nine returning lettermen on the line, covering every position but right tackle. All-Ivy end Stan Intihar will of course be missed, but James has three experienced men in Bob Blake, Chuck Knight, and Gerry Knapp. Blake and Knight were leading reserves last season, while Knapp, an all-around track man, was a regular.

The tackle slot poses the biggest problem for the Big Red. Junior Roger Garrett is the only returning letterman. He was the starting left tackle last year. At right tackle, James is forced to call on Dave Carl, a sophomore who played on last year's freshman team.

The guard position is somewhat more solid, with three lettermen who have seen considerable action battling for the job. Against Navy, juniors Paul Boguski and Chris Hatton started, but senior A1 Suter, a regular for the past two seasons and Cornell's most experienced lineman, will open against the Crimson.