Though John Yovicsin and a good many Harvard fans are geting excited about Saturday's game with Dartmouth, it is only one of three important Ivy League contests this weekend. Cornell plays Yale in New Haven, and Penn will play at Princeton.

Cornell, riding high after its 41-24 upset win over Harvard, must worry about Yale's defense against rushing. the passing of Eli quarterback Joe Massey, and a psychological letdown.

"It'll be a match between our strength and their strength," said Big Red coach Jack Musick yesterday. Spearheaded?y Ed Marinaro, Cornell's offense relies upon a strong rushing game. The sophomore tailback's average of 211 yards per game is tops in the nation, but Yale has been allowing only 63 yards per on the ground in each of its first four games.

Musick feels his team is vulnerable to the pass and he is concerned that Massey will exploit this weakness with passes, mainly to Rich Maher and Lew Roney.

Cornell must win this game to stay in the Ivy League race, and Yale cannot really afford to lose any of its early games since its schedule becomes much more difficult later in the season.

One obstacle which Penn must overcome if it is to heat Princeton is an injury problem. Phil Procacci, the Quaker's third quarterback who filled in after the first two were injured, is out of the lineup indefinitely with a broken jaw. There is a possibility, however, that second-stringer Mike Hickok will return to play. There are a score of other injuries, too.

Princeton is as healthy as Penn is ailing. "We're sound physically, and we're going to do a lot of hitting this week," said Tiger coach Jake McCansdless. "We've got to have both the defense and the offense mesh on the same Saturday," he added.

The Tigers made costly mistakes early in last weekend's game with Colgate, and despite a rally, lost, 35-28. Five Quaker interceptions and field goals by Eliot Berry enabled Penn to squeak by Lehigh, 13-7. Princeton is likely to be more fired-up than the Quakers, and the game will be in Palmer Stadium.

But most coaches acknowledge that the Harvard-Dartmouth clash is the most important of the three. Most were reluctant to predict a winner, but Darmouth seems to be the favorite from their collective point of view. All emphasized the importance of the Crimson defense; which must stop the triple threat of John Short, Jim Chasey, and Bob Mlakar. The Big Green is averaging 365 yards per game rushing.

Many people think more of Dartmouth's offense than its defense. But the defense is statistically one of the top five in the country and has allowed less than five points each game. On the other hand, the Indians have not faced a really strong team yet.