It's time again for filling out study cards, buying books and following football.

Alongside the perennial rituals presented to incoming freshmen and returning upperclassmen is--or definitely should be--the start of the football season. For it has nearly as long of a tradition.

Due to the lack of national recognition the team receives, people forget Harvard was one of the progenitors of the game. The shape of Harvard Stadium was one of the factors for instituting the forward pass.

Yet another aspect of the team that few notice is the successes the team had in years past. In 1919, the team won a Rose Bowl, topping Oregon 7-6.

The team appearance today is stark contrast to the team that took the field for the National Championship. In that game, the quarter-back which threw the winning touchdown was listed as 150 Ibs., today our QB, senior Jay Snowden, weighs in at 200 Ibs., while the team captain, tackle Sean Riley, tips the scales at 285 Ibs. It is quite a different game now.

Harvard is hoping for a strong season this year after last year's disappointing season of 2-10.

"We're always looking to win," sophomore defensive back Derek Yankoff said. "We're always looking to win anything we can."

This year's team should play a stronger yet calculated game with its 28 returning lettermen giving guidance to newer players as they adjust to their responsibilities.

In fact, almost every aspect of the team appears stronger this year than last. The defensive line has all four starters returning, while the offense returns six starting players and has an experienced player at nearly every position.

Even the often-overlooked special teams gains strength with sophomore Ryan Korinke returning as the starting kicker.

One player who needs no time to adjust to the grueling schedule is Eion Hu. This season marks his third as a varsity running back.

In his first season, he was Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Last year he was named New England Division I Player of the Year for carrying the ball for 1,101 yards, including eight touchdowns.

Eighteen yards short of the school all-time rushing record, Hu will try to break it in the opening game of this season against Columbia.

Columbia is a favorite Ivy League. cellar dweller, and they take that aspiration to the limits, forcing even their band to dwell in mediocrity, nay abomination. To the uninitiated, the Lions' band looks to be a fraternity prank. In actuality, it is Columbia trying their hardest.

Today's game at Columbia will be played in the Baker Field Complex, a stadium that opened in 1984 with a 35-21 loss to Harvard, and later, perhaps mistakenly, lost its virginity with a win in 1988.

In today's game, the Lions will start Bobby Thomason, their quarterback who had some experience last year as the backup QB throwing for 467 yards.

Catching the ball for the Lions will be David Ramirez, who caught for 708 yards last year with five touchdowns. It will be up to this year's more aggressive Crimson defense to box up them up.

Last year's matchup saw the Crimson lose a nail-biter here in Cambridge by the score of 28-24. Harvard still leads the series overall 34-5-1 in Ivy League play, and will definitely be looking to smash a few facemasks in New York. SPORTS CUBE PREDICTS Michael E. Ginsberg, Assoc. Sports Ed. Harvard  27 Columbia  24 Todd F. Braunstein, President Columbia  7 Harvard  2 Elizabeth M. Angell, Assoc. Mag. Editor Columbia  21 Harvard  14 Jeffrey N. Gell, Senior Editor Harvard  20 Columbia  17