That play set up Steinberg's heroics, the pinnacle of an outstanding day for the senior kicker. Steinberg, who received the game ball for his performance, averaged 40 yards on five punts, his best outing of the season. In addition to his game-winning field goal, Steinberg also had a 19-yarder, two extra points, and two kickoffs that sailed out of the end zone, one of which actually split the uprights.

When the game was on the line Harvard got the breaks, but the Big Red--one of the finest 0-4 teams in the land--could easily have upset Harvard with a couple of lucky breaks. For the fourth week in a row, however, those breaks never came.

Before falling to Harvard, the Big Red lost heartbreakers to defending Ivy champion Penn, 10-6, and to powerful Colgate, 21-20.

"We get something out of every game. Every mistake, we learn from it," Cornell Coach Maxie Baughan said. "But I'm tired of learning right now. I'd like to be able to celebrate a little bit."

The frustration of the Big Red was perhaps best symbolized by quarterback Shawn Maguire, a mediocre passer who completed just 12 of 29 attempts with three interceptions. Maguire, who has 28 career interceptions and only four touchdown passes, faced a hostile hometown crowd that repeatedly chanted "We want Chip," second-string quarterback Chip Knapp.

Knapp has replaced Maguire in every game this season. Saturday, Knapp played the final Cornell offensive play after Maguire was banged up by a Bill Ross sack.

The swarming Harvard defense never really let the Big Red explode, as Greg Williams (two sacks), Wilkinson (six tackles) and Frank Ciota (one interception) teamed up with Ross and Cox to stymie the Cornell attack.

The Crimson, which will square off against Dartmouth next Saturday, plays the remainder of its Ivy schedule in ascending order of difficulty.

The quest for the Ivy League crown has barely begun, but for the moment the Crimson is definitely stayin' alive.