But Harvard has allowed only three sacks in its last 87 passing attempts. And Varney and Eissler are pretty much the only bright spots for this struggling Dartmouth team.

Starting quarterback Brian Mann has thrown 10 interceptions and only two touchdowns all season. Tailback Reggie Belhomme is averaging a paltry 2.9 yards per carry. And Mann has yet to complete a touchdown pass to a wide receiver this season.

Harvard is also riding the momentum off a huge win of its own. Last week's victory over Princeton, combined with Cornell's loss, propelled the Crimson right back into the thick of the Ivy League race, leaving it tied for second place with Yale and Penn and only one-half game behind Cornell and Brown with three games remaining.

Tomorrow's game, then, could be easily written off by some as a final tune-up before the big three games against Penn, Brown and Yale end the season. But both Murphy and Wilford refuse to see it that way.

"We're going to have to play our best football to win our next four games," Wilford said.

Besides the motivation to move up in the standings, the Crimson has some additional incentive to notch an easy victory tomorrow. Senior tailback Chris Menick and senior wide receiver Terence Patterson are both closing in on huge team records.

Menick, who has 3,037 rushing yards over three and one half seasons, needs 37 more to break Harvard's all-time mark for career rushing yards, held by Eion Hu '97. He already holds the school record for most rushing yards in a season with 1,267 yards, which he set in 1997.

"I've been trying not think about it too much," said Menick. "This week I'm just trying to go out play hard and get a win and whatever happens happens."