Harvard though plans to disrupt Rahne with more than its wits. It also will rely upon its strong, senior laden front-seven to make it a long day for the quarterback.

"The key [to defending the pass] is getting pressure up front on the quarterback and disrupting their [pass] routes," said sophomore cornerback Willie Alford, who made nine tackles and batted down two passes against Colgate.

Alford has to hope that the Crimson get to Rahne because he and senior corner Kane Waller, who are 5'10" and 5'9" respectively, have the unenviable task of matching up with the 6'6" Splendorio.

"We're going to play lots of man to man coverage on him," said Alford, "He is 6'6" but he also weighs 200 pounds and so he's not as fast as some of the receivers we see. Because he's not as fast [as we are] we can play bump and run on him to try and disrupt his timing. The key to that match-up is being physical."

It will be crucial for the corners to throw off Cornell's timing because a lot of its offense involves Rahne lofting jump balls to Splendorio that no one else can come down with except him.

"We're going to play good defense and mix-up our blitzes to try to get to the quarterback. I'm confident that our defensive line can get to Rahne." said senior linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski

Putting pressure on the quarterback is crucial because it will force him to rush his reads and passes and perhaps throw interceptions.