The average play sounds like this on the radio: "Giardi takes the snap, fakes to Cote up the middle, fakes to Sprinkle going right, fakes the pass, heads left with Ponosuk the trailer...."

That's overblown, sure, but the central idea of the offense is to keep the defense on its heels, not sure of where the ball will come from next.

In the stands, the crowd has an advantage: its view is not blocked by large 250-pound men aiming to squash the viewer to a pulp. The crowd can see the fakes and follow the action.

Is Harvard on its game? This is a guide of clues to look for.

1)Senior quarterback Mike Giardi (wearing #13, 106 carries for 299 yards and six touchdowns rushing, 97 completions in 214 attempts for 1455 yards passing with seven touchdowns and six interceptions). Giardi is the Multi-Flex Master, the player that Makes It All Happen. The success of the offense depends on how well Giardi can run, fake and throw.

Giardi is extraordinarily adept at running and faking; often he fakes out the camera and defensive backs at the same time with his smooth moves. His passing can be streaky, however.

But when Giardi is out of the game, the Crimson suffers. The entire offense has hinged on Giardi throughout the season and this Game will be no exception. If he is hit hard and doesn't get up, worry.

Restic does.

2)Running backs Nick Isaacson (wearing #5, 48 carries for 234 yards), Mark Cote (#37, 104 for 520), David Sprinkle (#44, 81 for 418) and Jon Ponosuk (#2, 50 for 164). Entering the season, the running game was supposed to be a huge question mark. Simply put, it ain't so.

Any one of this fearsome foursome can handle the load although their styles complement each other: Isaacson and Sprinkle are the bruising (and speedy) fullbacks, Cote is the workhorse halfback and Ponosuk is the explosive tailback who creates excitement on the field.

With these four runners and Giardi, Harvard had the second-best rushing offense in the league and 17th-best in the nation three weeks ago.

If these runners are getting their yards, it's a good sign.

3)The speed of the defensive secondary. Cornerbacks Jae Ellis (wearing #15, 45 tackles, five interceptions) and Chris Andre (#26, 63 tackles, two interceptions). Opposing teams this year have been successful throwing against a secondary geared more toward stopping the run.

Only Ellis has the speed to cover the Ivy League's top pass-catchers, and when Harvard goes to the man-to-man defense it has been burned frequently. Good passing teams have much more of a chance to run up the score.

Yale likes to run the ball, but, with superstar tailback Keith Price out the whole season with an injury, Yale Coach Carm Cozza has gone to the pass with occasional great effect. (Right now the Bulldogs are in a scoring slump, scoring a total of 14 points in their last three games.)