Both Harvard and Brown enter tomorrow's football game coming off surprising victories and riding waves of momentum.

The Crimson's 35-12 win over Dartmouth, albeit an upset, was somewhat predictable considering the Big Green's injury situation and Harvard's potential. The case with which the Crimson handled the Big Green was a surprise as Harvard put together its most complete game all season.

The Crimson's win, no matter how big it was, pales in comparison to Brown's performance last Saturday. The Bears, previously sitting alone and winless in the Ivy basement, traveled into Ithaca and knocked off undefeated and nationally-ranked Cornell, 16-3.

Brown effectively shut down the potent Cornell running game to 76 yards and capitalized on Big Red turnovers to solidify the win.

Aside from last week's performances, the Bears and the Crimson share other striking similarities.

Each team is in its first year with a new head coach. Harvard, of course, is headed by Tim Murphy, and Brown, by Mark Whipple.

Whipple is known throughout the college ranks as an outstanding offensive stategist. He returned to his alma mater this season after a six-year stint at the University of New Haven.

Harvard and Brown both sport 4-3 records, with only a slight difference in their conference marks. Harvard is 2-2 in league play, while Brown is 1-3.

Ironically, it is the first time either team has had a winning record after seven games since 1987.

Additionally, both teams have high-scoring offenses and suspect defenses. Given this, it is likely that the teams will continue the tradition of shoot-outs it has established the past few season; an average of 68 points has been scored in the last four Harvard-Brown games.

Finally, both teams are desperately trying to enter the Ivy's upper division.

For Brown, any hopes of realizing its goal of a finish in the league's top four live and die with a win over Harvard.

Despite its slow Ivy start, the Bears racked up a perfect non-conference record with wins over Colgate, Holy Cross and Rhode Island. The non-league wins were sandwiched between Ivy losses to Yale, Princeton and Penn. Then, of course, there was last week's huge win over Dartmouth.

Brown's success this year has depended on its offense's ability to put points on the scoreboard. In wins, the Bears have averaged 23 points-per-game compared to just nine points-per-game in its three losses.

The Bear attack is led by sophomore quarterback Jason McCullough. McCullough has passed for 160 yards-per-game this season and has tossed eight touchdowns on the season.