What's more, the offensive line this year has repeatedly failed to open holes for Harvard's talented running backs.

At this point last year, the combined yardage of Harvard's top two runners was more than the combined yardage of all 12 Crimson runners who appear on this year's stat sheet.

And, if anything, this year's Harvard runners are as talented as last year's crop. All of which points to one source of the problem--the offensive line.

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Penn, which hasn't lost an Ivy game since a 28-0 drubbing at the hands of Harvard in 1983, is on target to become the second team in Ancient Eight history to win four straight Ivy crowns.

Dartmouth captured five straight between 1969 and 1973.

And what's more, the Quakers--winners of 12 straight Ivy games and 14 straight Division I-AA contests--are rapidly approaching the Division I-AA mark for consecutive victories. Eastern Kentucky won 18 straight between 1982 and 1983.

Four straight season-ending victories would give Penn its second straight one-loss season, its fourth straight Ivy title, its second straight undefeated Ivy campaign and a share of the Division I-AA mark for consecutive victories.

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More than 13,000 fans are expected for Saturday's crucial showdown between Harvard and Brown (3-2-1 overall, 2-2 Ivy).

Harvard leads the series, 61-21-2, that started with a 58-0 Crimson win in 1893. The Crimson won the first 21 games before a 0-0 tie in 1914 snapped that streak.

The Cantabs have won the past five meetings between the two clubs. Before that, the Bruins owned a four-game winning streak over Harvard.

Harvard, a 24-10 victor over Brown a year ago, has won the last two games at Brown Stadium and holds a 10-5 edge when the Bruins host the game.

From the not that it means anything, but file: the Crimson has an 8-1 record against Brown when the game is played in a year ending with 5. This is tied for the second-best winning percentage after years ending with 0 or 1. Harvard is 8-0 in those situations. The only '5' loss came in 1955, when Brown posted a 14-6 victory over Harvard.

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