A year ago the Harvard Holy Cross foot ball game was hardly a prime candidate for coverage by one of the major television net works The two teams were members of the NCAA's prestigious Division I-A and their showdown did not represent one of big-time football's hottest contests.

Last winter however the Crusaders and the Crimson (along with the rest of the Ivy league were relegated to Division I-AA status And the NCAA TV contracts require the networks to give a paltry amount of all time to Division I-AA As a result ABC will roll its cameras in Worcester this afternoon when Harvard meets Holy Cross a match up between two stellar teams in the "little" league.

Harvard has not appeared on television since losing to Yale 140 in 1980 Holy Cross on the other hand made the air just three weeks ago when the Crusaders had about as much luck in front of the cameras as the Crimson did two years ago losing to Colgate 21-17.

But ABC has every reason to expect a good show from today's confrontation Both teams are coming off impressive wins last Saturday. Harvard cruised to a 3-4-0 win over Brown and Holy Cross downed Boston University 34-21.

In addition the 7-1 Crusaders who beat Harvard 33-19 at the Stadium last year are currently ranked seventh nationally in Division 1-AA and second in the Eastern Region--the area in which today's game will be televised.

The 5-2 Crimson is not ranked nationally but stands in fourth place in the Division 1-AA Eastern poll, behind the University of Delaware, the Crusaders, and University of Maine.

This afternoon's contest will see Holy Cross test its formidable ground attack (210 yards per game) against a Harvard defense that has allowed an average of 79.5 yards rushing per game and just 51 total yards in its last two games.

Crusader tailback Andy Clivio who has gained 885 yards so far this season should be the Crimson's chief concern but fullback Mark Covington (367 yards) also represents a threat.

In the unlikely event that Clivio and Covington never manage to get beyond the line of scrimmage. Holy Cross can count on quarterback Peter Muldoon Muldoon has not put the ball up frequently but he has completed 73 of his 117 attempts for a 62.4 percent success rate.

And while the Crimson defense contends with perhaps the most balanced attack it has seen all year the Multiflex must face a group of defenders who have surrendered only 9.4 points per game.

The television broadcast has changed the starting time from the original 1:30 p.m. to 12:25 p.m. For those who can't get to Worcester or their TV sets this afternoon, WHRB (95.3 FM) will begin broadcasting at 12:15. THE NOTEBOOK Holy Cross has played three other Ivy League teams this fall. The Crusaders trounced Dartmouth, 28-12, beat Yale, 10-6 and stopped Brown, 17-6...The NCAA contract with ABC requires the network to give Division 1-AA teams 13 appearances over a two-year period. An appearance is defined not as a game but a team, so for example, the Harvard Holy Cross game counts as two appearances. At least two of the division's 13 appearances must go to Ivy League teams.