In the first start of his college career, Perry, a junior, faced the best in the Ivy League.

"I was a lot less nervous with Hinz coming back and Reidy playing the way he's been playing," Perry said. "And I think we have the best offensive line in the league. So I didn't feel as nervous as I probably should have."

Harvard Coach Joe Restic's Multiflex offense requires both a master technician, and a master athlete. A master technician, someone who knows the offense inside and out, someone who can change a play at the line of scrimmage after seeing a subtle shift in the defensive secondary, cannot be trained in a week, the amount of time Perry had to work with the Multiflex. Saturday, Perry was most successful on broken plays. He set up Harvard's first touchdown with a 17-yd. scramble.

"I was very pleased with how Tim handled himself," Restic said. "I'm pleased with what he did with the football."

Harvard's loss Saturday was the culmination of a disappointing season. After the game, Penn students stormed the field, tearing down the goalposts, celebrating the Ivy championship many observers thought Harvard would win this year.

Harvard will need to do something dramatic to erase the bitterness of Saturday's blowout. A victory over Yale in next Saturday's season finale would help. But a victory in The Game, even a convincing victory, a 100-0 Harvard triumph, would not dispel the gloom that prevades the Harvard locker room these days.

Only another season, a winning season, will cure that.