FOXBORO--Former Harvard All-American guard Roger Caron returned to a football field in New England Sunday for the first time in over a year.

A lot had changed.

Last year he wore the crimson and white of the Harvard. Now he wore the space-age blue and white of the Indianapolis Colts.

Last year he played in front of 10,000 cheering Harvard students and friends. Now some 58,000-plus crazies were on hand to root against the Norwell native and his team.

And last year he had been the star, the leader of the Crimson offensive line which paved the way for a Harvard rushing game that averaged 251 yards per game This year he stood on the sidelines, his horseshoed helmet tucked under his right arm, waiting for a chance to show his family and friends that he had finally made it to the big time.

It was a chance that never came.

The Colts got 44 of their 45 players into the game Sunday.

Everyone but the Harvard boy.

But for Roger Caron, it was still a homecoming.

"It was good to see all my friends here," Caron said after the Patriots clobbered the visiting Colts, 34-15. "A lot of friends from home as well as school were here."

"I wanted to get in today," Caron--who has played in three or four games this year--added. "But our lines are playing well. Usually you don't get to play unless someone's not playing well or someone gets hurt."

Actually, the Indianapolis line, along with the rest of the Indianapolis offense, is struggling this year. The Colts have topped 20 points only twice in 10 games this year, and the offensive line allowed six sacks Sunday.

But this is designed to be a learning year for Caron, who quit the Crimson squad in his sophomore year only to come back to the team the following fall.

"It's not like in college where they play everyone," Caron said. "[In the NFL] they play only the starters."

"This year is going to be tough [for Roger]," Colts Offensive Line Coach Tom Lovat said. "We want to give him a good off-season and get him into a lot of pre-season games next year and get him some game experience."