The preliminaries are over. Harvard must turn into a winning football team today or forget about the Ivy Championship.

With one League defeat already charged against it, the Crimson is in a must situation. Wins against Dartmouth, Princeton and Yale later in the season would be enjoyable, but they won't mean much unless Columbia is defeated in New York City today.

Fortunately, the Columbia lion is a very different animal from the one that chewed Harvard last year and hung on to tie the Crimson for the Ivy crown.

This year coach Buff Donelli's pride is seriously depleted. Last season he had a large group of senior Lions that hunted Ivy prey with great skill. Cubs dominate the current pride, and some of them are apparently still teething.

Columbia does have a football team, however, and it is one that conceivably could beat Harvard if the Crimson isn't careful.

Harvard will have to be especially careful with Archie Roberts, a sophomore quarterback who leads the League in total offense. If Columbia has nothing else, it usually has a good passing quarterback, and that always gives them a win potential. For the last three years it was Tom Vasell who disturbed the sleep of opposition coaches. Roberts has already made some people forget about Vasell.

Roberts is an unusual fellow. Even while his team was being totally destroyed by Princeton he maintained his poise and agressiveness. Last week he led his team to victory over Yale when Columbia had no business winning.

Roberts, by the way, is a quadruple threat. He passes, runs, plays good defense, and interviews teammates on a New York radio station after each game.

But like everyone else, Roberts can not do much when he is tackled. Every other team Harvard has played this year had both a fine quarterback and a good line to protect him. The Lions have the quarterback, but not the line.

For a man who needs time to throw, like Roberts, a line is essential. The only dependable man on the Columbia first line is guard Tony Day, a genuine pro prospect. The Columbia second line, our scouting reports indicate, is virtually nonexistent.

The Crimson line, on the other hand, is not bad now and getting better daily. In addition, it comes in two complete ready-to-use units.

Platoon System

Hoping to exhaust the thin Columbia forces, coach John Yovicsin plans to play both the first and second units an equal amount of time. As the Lions do only about two things well--slant off tackle and race downfield for Roberts' passes--fresh line units should have a definite advantage.

Aside from Roberts, the Crimson has only two major worries from the Columbia offense. Converted fullback Tom O'Conner plays this year at halfback, and he usually gains yardage on each line assault. Fullback Mike Hassan is the Lion's top ground gainer, but scouts say he is inconsistent.

A Harvard victory today will depend a great deal on whether the backfield gets coordinated. Mike Bassett will run the first unit, and the rumor is that Bill Grana will get the ball more often than in the past. Attempts will also be made to spring Hobie Armstrong loose.

Terry Bartolet commands the second team, and passing should be his order of the day, with ocassional runs by Scott Harshbarger and sophomore Tom Bilodeau.

Sources in New York report that the game will not be the only battle today. The Columbia meeting is traditionally the scene of the major band riot of the year, and plans have apparently been laid for another one.

To prepare for the New York rumble, the band marched through Yale at 3:30 a.m. this morning. Once in New York, strategy will be mapped to protect individual bandsmen and the Big Drum. On the last trip to New York, the band held off hundreds of townies who assaulted the musicians on the march. Two cymbals and several drumsticks were bloodied in the melee.

Despite these difficulties, today should be a successful one for Harvard. Look for the football team to win by a touch-down or more, and the band by a cymbal.MIKE BASSETT gets off pass despite absence of blocking.