NEW HAVEN--It ought to be a sacred shrine of Eli football, this building on 1303 Chapel St. midway between Yale's playing fields and classrooms.

But someone tried to pry the plaque off the wall. The plate itself no longer lies secure against the building's exterior. Long ago, the metal turned putrid green.

The weather-beaten white house behind the plaque has a "For Lease" sign planted out in front. The sign, too, is rusting. On the grass rests the wrapper from a bag of onion rings, and a discarded box of wild-cherry-flavored cough drops.

Down the block, a sign warns that this is a "Block Watch Neighborhood. We report all suspicious activity to the New Haven Police." Someone vandalized the sign.

Much is changed in New Haven since then--since the man who started Yale's football tradition was born at 1303 Chapel St. It takes a lucky passer-by to notice the plaque that says:

Birthplace of Walter Camp This father of the great American Game of Football April 17, 1859-March 14, 1925.

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HARVARD 23, YALE 2: A note of history here, something the oddsmakers like to look at--since the mid-'60s, the team that's entered. The Game with the better season record has won ten times out of 14. There's no reason for history to fail this time around.

DARTMOUTH 24, PENN 24: It's either a tie here, or a tie for the Ivy title I'd rather see a tie here. Hey.c'mon. stranger things have happened.

BROWN 11, COLUMBIA 0: Brown Coach John Anderson is stepping down after 11 years at the helm of the Bruins' football program. The pressure to win, he says, has been too great--but today the pressure will be on graduating Columbia quarterback John Witkowski. Looks like Anderson will satisfy the alumni one last time.

PRINCETON 35, CORNELL 0: Doug Butler's arm won't get tired until he's thrown for five TD's First-year Cornell Coach Maxie Baughn will wind up 2-7-1.

LAST WEEK--1-3, SEASON TO DATE--28-19: Give me 100 more games.