* * * * *

After watching the Big Red run at will most of the afternoon, defensive tackle Barry Ford had a word of caution.

"Our team has a problem," be confided. "Let me tell you what it is.

"We're inconsistent."

No shock there, to be sure Friday after practice, Ford was pleasantly surprised to learn that he'd been elected Senior Class Second Marshal (first vice-president)

"It was a mild distraction last night," he grinned. And Saturday' "Well, it just put me in the right frame of mind."

* * * * *

Even intended receivers had a few scares. Harvard quarterback Brian White, under duress on the Cornell 32 toward the end of the third quarter, picked out sophomore Joel Seay on the 16, was popped by a rushing Cornell lineman and lobbed the ball almost straight into the air.

"When the play started I wasn't really the intended receiver," said the split end. "Once he had to scramble in the backfield...we made eye contact. I fortunately was able to get to it."

Seay, unchallenged, snagged the ball and made for the end zone, before being forced out at the nine-yard line. "I was surprised that it came down that open," he remarked.

* * * * *

The mildest of distractions may have been the handful of the 11,500 spectators usually concerned with the fortunes of the men's basketball team.

"It's just sort of camaraderie," said senior guard Kevin Boyle, who sailed through the post-game rush with Arne Duncan, Keith Webster and Bob Daugherty. "They don't know we're there or anything."

That might be best. Asked about his comrades' performance, Boyle characterized it as "a mediocre defensive effort on both parts.

"But they got it together in the end," he conceded. "A W is a W."