Harvard has lost two football games this year. One the Crimson should never have lost, the other should have been much closer. There is, unfortunately, one striking similarity between the two defeats-Harvard was outcoached.

When Columbia scored a quick touchdown in the third period to go ahead, 14-7, Harvard coach John Yovicsin reverted to a tactic that had worked well in the season opener against Northeastern-he changed quarterbacks.

Sophomore Rod Foster, who had played only one series in the second half, was replaced by classmate Eric Crone. But Columbia was not Northeastern, a team that Harvard should have beaten with ease, but didn't.

When Yovicsin replaced Foster, there was a very subtle but important change in the offense. It seemed that some of the team's spunk was lost in the transition from one quarterback to another, and Columbia took full advantage of the Crimson's sag in morale.

This is not to say that the offensive unit has less confidence in Crone than in Foster. But as one offensive starter put it. "When you change quarterbacks like that, there's a slight feeling of a lack of confidence in the whole offensive process."

This, indeed, is the essential point. To win consistently, a coach has to choose one quarterback and stick with him all the way, win or lose. Not one established football power in the country has the least bit of uncertainty about who is its starting-and finishing-quarterback.

Football is a team sport, and it demands the unity and direction which can only be provided by strong leadership. The team captain, of course, is a natural leader. But the quarterback is the man who directs the offense, and he is therefore an unspoken co-leader.

There are few, if any, examples of football teams winning without a quarterback who commands the respect and confidence of his teammates. This give-and-take relationship between quarterback and team is one which takes time to develop. It is also one which can be easily disrupted.

Certainly there were other factors that contributed to the loss to Columbia. The Crimson was forced to miss its scheduled practice, session on Friday, and the team arrived in New York tired and unsettled on Friday night due to travel difficulties.

The fact is, however, that Harvard kept pace with Columbia through the first half. At halftime the score was 7-7, and the feeling was that Harvard would simply outlast the Lions in the second half. The converse proved to be true.

Harvard has been notorious over the past several seasons for its endless shuffling of quarterbacks. Partly this has been due to a lack of talent-a problem which clearly does not exist this year-and partly to the coaches' hesitancy to go all the way with one man at quarterback.

Of course, there have been exceptions. Frank Champi came on in the last minutes against Yale to salvage a preposterous 29-29 tie, but another quarterback directed the Crimson to that final confrontation of undefeated teams.

George Lalich had quarterbacked eight straight victories for Harvard. Only in the direst situation was he replaced, and Champi's performance can only be termed miraculous.

Last year, Harvard managed to run through five quarterbacks in one season. No one ever knew who to expect to be calling signals on any given Saturday, and not surprisingly, only two of those quarterbacks put up with the uncertainty.

The same problem exists this season, only the differences and dissension are more pronounced. Foster and Crone "alternate" at quarterback during the week, and the offense is never quite sure of (1) who is starting on Saturday, or (2) who is the team leader.