After two disappointing seasons in which Harvard finished with 5-4 (1971) and 4-4-1 (1972) records, many Crimson football fans were ready to give up on coach Joe Restic and his innovative multiple offense system. The fans were yearning for a return to the much more conservative, but winning, days of John Yovicsin, Restic's predecessor.

However, Harvard's 7-2 record in 1973 demonstrated that Restic's daring brand of football could produce success in the Ivy League.

The offense, led by All-Ivy quarterback and Player-of-the-Year Jim Stoeckel, averaged 25 points a game and churned out 358 total yards per contest. The attack was neatly balanced with both strong passing and running games.

But despite this offensive firepower, Harvard could still muster only a 5-2 second-place Ivy finish. The reason was the porous defense. Nationally ranked after the season's first three games by allowing just seven points, the defense gave up an average of 27 points per game for the remainder of the year. Every Harvard game became a free-for-all, with both teams marching up and down the field, scoring almost at will.

The coming season promises to be more of the same. The offense is strong, with many returning veterans and quality at the skill positions. In addition, the offense has depth just about everywhere.

The defense is another story. Only five starters are back, and even assuming that Restic can fill the remaining gaps, there will be an all-around lack of depth.

Below are the individual position evaluations.

The Offense

QUARTERBACK: The key to Harvard's attack will be the extent of southpaw quarterback Milt Holt's ability to fill the shoes of Jim Stoeckel. Holt has seen limited varsity experience the last two years, and whether he can do the job is uncertain. His best efforts last year were a 25-minute stint in the Columbia game in which the lefty completed 14 of 27 passes, and the Penn game, in which Holt was 13 for 26 and 172 yards.

Restic has faith in Holt's ability. "Milt is a good leader and has a strong arm. I have every confidence that he can do the job," he said.

In addition, Holt should add a new dimension to the Crimson attack with his excellent speed and running ability, a quality Stoeckel lacked. "I think you'll find that Milt will turn out to be one of the best running quarterbacks in the League," Restic said.

Quarterback prognosis: Good to excellent.

RUNNING BACKS: The entire Crimson starting backfield is returning with the incomparable Neal Miller at fullback and Alky Tsitsos and Ed Cronin at the halves. Miller, a human cannonball (he's listed at 5'9", 210 but he's about 2" shorter) is simply dynamite. He came out of nowhere last year to lead the team in rushing with 661 yards on 130 attempts, despite missing the Brown and most of the Yale games because of an injury. Tsitsos was second on the team in rushing, with 319 yards on 91 carries. Alky doesn't have great speed, but has excellent balance. Cronin also lacks speed, but can do a lot of things well--especially blocking and receiving.

The backups for these three, and perhaps even some potential starters, are Tom Lincoln, Burrelle Duvauchelle, Tom Winn and Steve Dart. Running backs: Good to excellent.

OFFENSIVE TACKLE: Harvard has a potential great one in mammoth junior (6'5", 260) second-team All-Ivy Dan Jiggetts. The Crimson has a good tackle in captain Brian Hehir, who earned a letter by playing all three offensive line positions last year. The only problem here is no real depth. Offensive tackle: Good to excellent.