The varsity football team will be a two-touchdown underdog as it squares off against Princeton in Palmer Stadium this afternoon. Kickoff time is 1:30 p.m.
These odds are not altogether a cause for lamentation, since on previous occasions the Crimson has shown itself best prepared, psychologically, for games in which it was rated the underdog. Conversely, the team has been singularly unable to handle the favorite's role--witness its listless performance against Penn last week.
The varsity's main problem today will be a defensive one. The Tigers have an extremely fine backfield, and their precise, single-wing attack is always a source of worry for teams (like Harvard) accustomed to defending against the T.
Tiley Leads Tiger Offense
Captain Fred Tiley will be the leading offensive threat for Princeton. This 200-pound fullback, who is structured like a small army tank, gave last year's Harvard line a relentless pounding between the tackles. He was a key figure in the second-half comeback that carried Princeton to a 28-20 victory over the Crimson.
Tiley is most dangerous on plays run from Princeton's "fullback-spin" series. These maneuvers begin with Tiley spinning half-way around to his left and faking a handoff to the tailback. This delays the run briefly, while the Tiger linemen attend to opening a hole at the desired spot among the defenders.
Unfortunately, however, Tiley is far from the whole of the Princeton attack. Brown, defeated by the Tigers last week, tried to pack the middle of its defensive line, in order to stop Tiley; but the winners then shifted to a series of end-run calls with great success.
Speed on End Runs
Princeton has plenty of speed with which to run the ends, too, even without Dan Sachs, its starting tailback at the beginning of the season.
But his two replacements, Hugh Scott and Jack Sullivan, are both very fast and hard-driving runners; and they will doubtless give the Crimson ends a rough afternoon, if the varsity defense is too insideminded.
The one possible weak point in the Princeton offense is passing. The Tigers have thrown only infrequently this year, and even then without a great deal of success. Their tailbacks have been quite unspectacular here, completing an aggregate of only 13 out of 44 attempts.
Ippolito Best Passer
Actually, Princeton's best passing has come from blocking-back Mike Ippolito, out of the buck-lateral series, and Coach Yovicsin definitely expects to see at least a few Tiger aerials develop from this pattern in today's game.
Harvard compares most favorably with Princeton along the line of scrimmage, and there is some reason to hope that the varsity may be able to muster a fairly effective attack against the middle of the Princeton line. In addition, the Tigers have not seemed strong on pass defense (Brown's Frank Finney completed 15 out of 23 against them last week), and it's quite likely that Crimson quarterbacks Ravenel and Johanson will attempt to exploit this weakness, too.
Offensively, then, the varsity figures to do all right. But first it will have to get the ball away from Princeton. And this will likely prove a very difficult job.
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