A crowd of 12,000 will watch two of the bests quarterbacks in the Northeast this afternoon when the Crimson football team tries to gain its second straight victory of the season against a tough, fast, and underrated Bucknell eleven. Despite a convincing 36-22 win over the University of Massachusetts last Saturday, the favored varsity, led by Charlie Ravenel, will have a difficult job stopping the Bison pilot Paul Terhes, who last year compiled 898 yards passing.

Bucknell will show the Crimson the same dangerous lonesome end formation that Army made famous a year ago, and lonesome end John Eachus could produce a very unpleasant afternoon for the home team.

Passing, however, is not Bucknell's only threat as last week the visitors rolled up 337 yards on the ground in their opening win against Gettysburg. Junior Terhes again excelled, leading the team with 159 yards in total offense. Paired with him will be fullback Ken Twifford, who, though only a sophomore, was the Bisons leading ground gainer with 107 yards.

Bucknell Strong Defensively

On paper the Bucknell offense seems a formidable juggernaught, but where the offense is strong, the defense seems just as strong.

The Bison line, led by center Larry Mathias, the team captain, is fast and aggressive. It limited Gettysburg to only 32 yards on the ground. Averaging 202 pounds, it is not exceptionally large but has more than compensated for this with its great speed. Guard Charlie Negran and tackle Dick Boudreau spent much of their time last Saturday stopping Gettysburg backs before they reached the line of scrimmage.

Harvard coach John Yovicsin, who two years ago left his job as head coach of Gettysburg, remembers the Pennsylvania eague's tough calibre of play and is not taking Bucknell's record lightly. "Bucknell is a really fine team and we'll have to be a lot better than we were last week to beat them," he said yesterday.

For the last five days the Crimson squad has been preparing a tight three-and four-man zone defense, which Yovicsin hopes will quell Terhes' aerial attempts. If successful, the long touchdown basses, which hurt the Crimson last week will be prevented. Yovicsin felt confident hat the backs would do their job. He noted that last year the Crimson ranked fourth in the nation in pass defense, and that the defensive backfield that contributed to this record has returned intact.

A Harvard victory will depend more on whether or not the Crimson can stop the option and belly series run by Terhes. His fake hand-off to either halfback and his keep around the end have resulted in many dangerous runs in the past. Alert and aggressive play by the tackles and ends will be the only way to stop him.

Fortunately for the home team, junior tackle Bob Pillsbury will return to action after a week's layoff with a bad leg. He, along with right tackle Eric Nelson, could do much to insure a victory. Though neither has the size of last years' stalwarts, Bob Shaunessey and Pete Briggs, each has progressed rapidly this season and give the Crimson one of the toughest pairs of tackles in the league.

Boyda to Start

Captain and left end Hank Keohane has still not recovered from a torn shoulder, but his place will be handled by the only sophomore on the starting team, Bob Boyda. One of the best pass receivers on the squad, he did an excellent job on defense against Massachusetts. Dave Cappiello rounds out the exterior defensive line at right end.

These men, along with guards Terry Lenzner and Jerry Weidler and center Jon Christianson, will be the crucial figures in today's contest. "It will be a close game, one decided on the play of the lines. If our line can give us good work, we have enough experience in our backfield to score," said Yovicsin.

Experience and depth and skill are all necessary for a top flight team, and the Crimson backfield is blessed with all of these. Ravenel, whose unorthodox play calling has upset many opponents, and left halfback Chet Boulris, who gained 886 yards last year, provide a dangerous pass-run combination.

Glen Haughie, a steady, hard runner, will replace the injured Halaby at fullback and Albie Cullen, who did an excellent job last week, will be at right half.Coach JOHN YOVICSIN counters a reporter's questions after the varsity's light pre-game practice yesterday afternoon. Looking forward to this afternoon's contest with Bucknell at Soldiers Field, he refused to make an outright prediction of victory, though his team is a 12-point favorite. In an attempt at equanimity, he said simply, "Our sights are set on victory. The game will be won in the line."