When the two-time defending Ivy League champion Harvard football team opened its season this fall, there were serious questions about the Crimson's defense, and worries about its inexperience.

One thing was certain, though, Senior Barry Ford would start at right tackle for the second straight year.

And thanks in large part to Ford's consistently outstanding play, Harvard's defense is ranked first in the league, allowing an average of only 330 yards a game.

With more than half the defense composed of juniors, Ford's three years of varsity play are a big bonus.

"We look at him as the cog of the front five," explains junior linebacker Brent Wilkinson. "With his experience, the linesmen look to him for guidance."

So far this season the Quincy House resident has made 30 tackles and recorded four sacks. More importantly, the Senior Class Marshall's finest games have come when Harvard has needed it most.

Ford's performance in last Saturday's Ivy championship game was one of the Crimson's few bright spots in Harvard's loss to Penn. Early in the second quarter, Ford's sack of Quarter quarterback John McGeehan resulted in a missed Penn field goal and his five unassisted tackles stalled several other Quaker drives.

"He was coming out of now here to make tackles." Wilkinson recalls. "It was incredible watching him now people down."

His achievements become even more incredible when you consider the fact that at 6-ft., 3-in., and 220-Ib., Ford is about 20 or 30 pounds lighter than most of the offensive linemen he faces. But what he lacks in size he makes up for with quickness and an attention to fundamentals.

"I get off the ball well," the soft-spoken Ford explains. "When you can engage an opposing player before he engage you, then you dictate the action."

And that's exactly what Ford does "He's very quick,"marvels junior cornerback Ken Tarczy. "He's always in pressuring the quarterback on a pass."

Defensive coordinator Georg Clemens has made use of Ford's taler by placing him at right tackle. "Clemens has made use of Ford's taler by placing backside tackle. "He's a good quick backside tackle." Clemens says. "We have him on the right side since most of the people we play are right-handed."

While his natural ability has been one of his biggest assets, it's his concentration and attention to fundamentals that have made him so valuable to the line.

"He has very, very good technique,"Wilkinson says. "He does a fantastic job keeping us (the linebackers) free to do our job."

Ever since his arrival in Cambridge in the fall of 1981, Ford has been a crucial member of the Crimson defensive corps. After a successful freshman year as a defensive end, the Peekskill, N.Y. native returned sophomore year and shifted to right tackle, a position he played in all 10 varsity games that year.

"It was hard to adjust from playing end to tackle," says the articulate government major. "I didn't have the confidence to play against bigger guys until late in the season."

He returned junior year with his newfound confidence, determined to devote himself tn football, and opened the season with a strong performance in the Crimson's 43-14 victory over Columbia. Then in the second quarter of the UMass game, what promised to be Ford's best season became his most frustrating.

"I had tackled the back for no gain when his knee or his foot when into my gut." Ford recalls. "Five of my teammates were behind me and fell on top of us. It hurt a lot, and as I stood up I felt dizzy and nauseous. I lined up for the next play but when the ball was snapped. I crumpled up like a ball to protect myself and left the game when the play was over."

The injuries he had received to his spleen and colon forced him to spend the next four days in the hospital and the next three weeks on the sidelines. Though he returned to play in four of the Crimson's final five games, including last year's Yale game, he had lost between 15 and 20 pounds and never fully regained his strength.

The injury changed his attitude towards the game. "It was very difficult last year. During the second part of the season I was underweight and weak," he says.

"My goal this year was to stay healthy," he adds. "If I could do that, I figured that everything else would come."

And almost everything else has come, except perhaps for sole possession of Ivy crown. But, despite last Saturday's disappointing loss to Penn, Ford doesn't foresee any problems heading into this weekend's showdown.

"This is THE Game," he emphasizes. "I've never lost to yale as a varsity player and I don't intend to now. Although Penn was for the championship, this is the rivalry. There won't be any letdown."

Ironically, four years ago, Ford was contemplating playing for the team he is now determined to beat. After earning High School, Ford was heavily recruited by a number of schools ranging from Holy Cross to Penn State. But, in the end, his choice came down to Harvard or Yale.

"My junior year in high school I was planning on a basketball career, Penn was my first choice, "the two-time high school basketball captain explains. "But when I realized that I wasn't going to play college basketball, my changed."

Former Eli and Dallas Country star Calvin Hill did his best to convince Ford that New Haven was the place to be, but in the end family pressure and Cambridge bridge got the best of him.

"My brother Brian Harvard in '80 and my parents fell love with the place," he explains, "I also didn't want to spend four years in New Haven."

So after four years as a Crimson standout. Ford will hang up his clents after tomorrow's, game and will turn My attention to the many other appear of his life.

The government major says he'll spend much of his free time working on his thesis, a critique of nuclear strategies, and as Class Marshal he'll be busy organizing the Senior Class commencement activities.

After graduation, Ford hopes to travel in West Africa and eventually to attend law school. Though he speaks optimistically about the future, he admits it's difficult to picture the future without football.

"I won't miss it this year, But next football season will be the first fall in 11 years that I haven't played.

"Maybe, I'll take up racquet half..." he sighs.