The return and coverage teams are solid, butthe losses of Skelton and Troy Jones hurts thisarea as well.
Three games in consecutive weeks could decidethe championship. Harvard travels to Dartmouth onOct. 31, hosts Brown on Nov. 7 and travels to PennNov. 14. No one on the schedule beat Harvard lastyear.
That mental edge and the confidence of winningteam means that Harvard remains a favorite despitethe recent bad luck.
"We're not concerned--it's just going to makeus tougher and give the second- and third-stringguys more work," Kacyvenski said. "I think that'sthe best way to look at it."FOOTBALL
LAST SEASON
9-1, 7-0 lvy
COACH
Tim Murphy, fifth year
CAPTAIN
Brendan Bibro
KEY RETURNERS
Senior DT Brendan Bibro; Junior LB IsaiahKacyvenski; Junior QB Rich Linden; Junior RB ChrisMenick; Junior WR Terence Patterson
KEY LOSSES
OT Matt Birk; WR Jared Chupaila; S Jeff Compas;DE Tim Flesizer; DT Jason Hughes; DT ChrisSchaefer; WR Colby Skelton; DE Chris Smith
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
"Because of our personnel hits, we're facingmore adversity than we did last year." --Harvard Coach Tim Murphy
OUTLOOK
Winning back-to-back titles is supposed to betough, but this is ridiculous. Coach Tim Murphybrings a M.A.S.H. unit into the season opener atColumbia, and both Joneses--senior tailback Troyand junior fullback Damon--are out for the season.Stopping the run has always been a priority underMurphy, but his first new defensive line in fouryears has had little practice time together due toinjury. Harvard's depth and experience,particularly its talent-laden junior class--whichincludes third-year starting quarterback RichLinden--make it the favorite to repeat as AncientEight champs, but Murphy would do well to take alittle Maalox along for the ride.
DATE OPPONENT9/19 Columbia9/26 Colgate10/3 LEIGH10/10 CORNELL10/17 HOLY CROSS10/24 Princeton10/31 Dartmouth11/7 BROWN11/14 Pennsylvania11/21 YALE