PRINCETON, N.J.--Tim Murphy has been dreaming of a game like this one for nearly three years.

When he took the helm of Harvard football in December 1993, Murphy seemed like the person most qualified to return Harvard football to its former glory. Thirty-four months later, at the end of October 1996, with the reality of two or possibly three consecutive losing seasons on his hands, one wondered if the young football whiz kid recruited from Cincinnati could deliver.

The answer appears to be yes. Quite simply, the Harvard football team's 24-0 drubbing of Princeton (1-5, 0-3 Ivy) in Princeton, N.J. on Saturday is the kind of football game that Harvard (3-3, 1-2) and Murphy have been trying to serve up for three years.

It's hard to know where to begin because a win like this one has been unseen in these parts of Cambridge for a long, long time. Harvard hasn't even won consecutive games in the same season since 1991. (To top it off, the Tigers were last shutout at home by an Ivy League school in 1973...say it again...1973.)

The Harvard defense, perhaps the best in Division I-AA, was simply overpowering for 60 minutes. The Crimson shut down the Tiger running attack to the tune fo 54 yards and pressured Princeton quarterback Brett Budzinski from all angles.

Add to the defensive mix an offense that was stagnant in the first half but bursting with 17 points of Harvard  24 Princeton  0

life in the second, and you have the foodstuffs of a legendary victory.

"I feel like we had a total team effort today," Murphy said.

"This is the best feeling we have had this year by far," Harvard captain and offensive tackle Sean Riley said. "We needed this more than anything--especially the shutout. Our defense deserves it, they played a great game."

"We're on a roll now," said junior wide receiver Colby Skelton, who had four receptions for 65 yards. "We're turning the corner. We have four big Ivy League games left and we're looking forward to each one."

Harvard's control of the game was so absolute that the offense could have not shown up and the Crimson would have still garnered the victory. In the first half, sophomore cornerback Derek Yankoff and the defense fed Harvard all of the points that the Crimson would need to win.

Yankoff stepped in front of a Budzinksi pass at the Harvard 37-yard line, and then the circus act began. Yankoff ran from one sideline to the other, then back to the center of the field and then into the end zone. Sixty-three yards and 11 juked Princeton players later, Harvard had the six (Ryan Korinke's extra point made it seven) points the Crimson would need for the victory.

"I just ended up with the football. The return was fun not just because of the run, but it was fun just watching the whole defense get a block," Yankoff said.

Thanks to the defense (the Tigers went three and out on their first five drives of the game) and strong field position (Princeton did not start a drive outside of its own 30-yard line in the entire second half), the rest of the game seemed like a cakewalk.

Harvard's offense put it in high gear in the second half, and the demoralized Tigers seemed to crumble. Harvard struck three times in the final nine minutes of the fourth frame.

Freshman quarterback Rich Linden, who appears to have wrested the starting job from junior Jay Snowden, eluded a vicious Princeton pass rush, heaving a 16-yard strike to junior wide receiver Mark Drakos in the right half of the end zone for the first offensive score of the game.

Linden (12 completions in 17 attempts for 127 yards) twice made third down conversions on third-and-10 to save the drive, a 14-yard gain on a draw and a something-from-nothing 11-yard pick-up. Korinke connected on his 12th point after attempt for the season in as many tries.