It is hard to believe, but here is Harvard about to play its fourth game of the season, and yet nobody has the faintest idea just how good the Crimson are.

Columbia, which still has not won a game, proved to be a lesser opponent last week than its 14-12 loss to Princeton indicated at first. Princeton, after being soundly defeated by Dartmouth last week, is now clearly recognizable as a patsy and should finish in the lower regions of the Ivy League for the first time since 1959.

But there is no question about Cornell. The Big Red are a first-rate, big, powerful team and the number-one threat to Dartmouth's claim to the Ivy title. Like Harvard, Cornell stands at 3-0 for the season; unlike Harvard, Cornell has faced stiff competition and prevailed on each occasion.

Cornell opened with a 28-21 comeback victory over Buffalo, followed by a 15-14 decision over otherwise undefeated Colgate, and then outscored Penn last week, 45-28.

Incredibly enough, Harvard and Cornell are the East's only two undefeated major college teams. Both have been defensive powers in the past, depending on a running game for any offensive thrust. When they faced each other at Ithaca last year, it was a beautiful example of offensive futility. Both teams geared their defenses to stop the other's rushing, passing attempts on both sides were failures, and the game ended in a 3-3 tie.

This year both teams have more balanced attacks, with Cornell's offense probably a little more high-powered than Harvard's. The Crimson is leading the nation in total offense (442 yards per game) and rushing offense (346 yards per game), while the Big Red, against stiffer opposition, ranks second in rushing offense (252 yards a game).

The fellow who makes Cornell's ground game work is Pete Larson, a 195-pound halfback who is a powerful runner with breakaway speed. He ranks fifth among the nation's rushers and has picked up over 100 yards in each of the games this season. Watch Number 40 today; that's Larson, Cornell's own Bobby Leo.

Cornell has its version of Vic Gatto, too. He is sophomore Ed Zak, a powerful runner and blocker who plays out of the wingback position in Cornell's slotted-I formation.

The key to Cornell's balanced offense, however, is quarterback Bill Abel, who has taken some of the pressure off of Cornell's runners this year with a sound passing attack. First-year coach Jack Musick has opened up Cornell's attack and moved halfback Ron Grevase out to a split-end position. Abel's principal receiver, Grevase has caught 11 passes this season for 213 yards and one touchdown.

Abel has completed 25 of 48 passes for 403 yards and two touchdowns. Like Harvard's Ric Zimmerman, he is a lefty and often rolls out on the option play.

On defense, Cornell's rugged forward wall averages 240 pounds per man, including Craig Gannon, who weighs in at 290. He'll be opposite Harvard tackle Bob Brooks (a slender 225), one of the linemen most responsible for opening up running room this season for the Crimson backs.

Coach John Yovicsin was particularly pleased with the performance of the interior linemen against Columbia: Joe O'Donnell at center, Al Bersin and Bob Flanagan at the guards. Cornell has checked opponents' rushing to 380 yards in three games, and so Zimmerman may find it a necessity to go to the air for the first time this season.

Cornell employs a defense with five men up front, two linebackers, two halfbacks, a safety, and a "rover" to follow the play. The Big Red have yielded five touchdowns and 659 yards through the air this season. That may prove the way for Harvard to travel today.