"We've had some problems this season playing ahead," Mazza said. "We get up by a bunch of touchdowns and then we go and give up some points."

Nevertheless, the Elis seem to have found the most outlandish ways to win those close games, despite their fourth quarter woes.

Harvard's last minute collapse against Penn and Yale's uncanny ability to survive Princeton this past week epitomize the differences in the two teams' seasons.

Taking the lead, 17-14 on a 42-yard field goal by senior Mike Giampaolo and appearing to seal the deal on senior linebacker Jeff Svicarovich's interception with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth, Harvard somehow found a way to lose.

Trying only to run out the clock with just 2:19 left in the game, Harvard fumbled the ball deep inside Penn territory when senior quarterback Brad Wilford went one way and freshman running back Brent Chalmers went the other way on a routine handoff.

Despite Harvard's inability to hold onto the ball on offense, however, the Crimson defense appeared to have stopped Penn on its last chance drive.

Facing 4-and-10 from midfield with a minute left in the half, it looked as though Penn's day was done. But true to form, Harvard would once again prove that no matter what the odds, there always enough time on the clock to lose the game.

Scrambling out of the pocket, the Harvard pass rush forced senior quarterback Gavin Hoffman to throw up a desperation Hail Mary pass in the end zone.

Leaping over senior cornerback Kane Waller, Penn wideout Brandon Carson brought down Hoffman's bomb, and with the touchdown, brought Harvard's title hopes crashing back to reality.

On the other hand, Yale appears to be living under a charmed sky, outlasting Princeton this past week by virtue of a number of lucky bounces.

Leading 23-9, Yale's defense took a vacation in the final minutes of the game, surrendering a pair of touchdowns in the final four minutes that should have tied the game.

Characteristic of the Bulldogs' luck all season, however, the extra point, that would have pulled Princeton to within seven, failed and the two-point conversion, that would have sent the game to overtime, never materialized.

Despite the apparent mismatch between the Harvard defense and the Bulldogs' multifaceted offense, Saturday's match up isn't going to be won by the team that stacks up better against the other heading into The Game.

"Are chance are pretty good, but it's always a toss up because it's a game of emotion," said Yale junior free safety Than Miller. "It doesn't matter what team's more skilled."

With 116 years of tradition behind The Game, single season records invariably give way to the raw emotion of the moment and Saturday should be no different.

The winner is going to be the team that wants it more.

And in the tradition of America's greatest intercollegiate rivalry, it shouldn't happen any other way.