Advertisement

Position By Position, Harvard Will Have to Work for a Win

the Harvard defense.

Seniors Jeff Svicarovich and Aron Natale flank Kaceyvenski and are excellent players in their own right.

Yale's linebackers are not nearly as impressive. The leading tackler on the defense is the free safety--a sure sign that the linebackers aren't making enough plays. The linebacker with the most tackles, Peter Mazza, has only 66, a far cry from Kacyvenski's total

enter>Defensive Backs

Harvard cornerbacks Kane Waller, a senior and Willie Alford, a sophomore, stand 5'9" and 5'10", respectively. With their diminutive height, they have been victimized downfield this season.

Although Waller was the Ivy League defensive player of the week in the second week of the season, the Crimson's corners have been a liability at times this season.

Advertisement

Several teams have executed fourth quarter comebacks this season through the air indicating that the secondary isn't what it should be.

Yale defensive backs have snagged 13 interceptions this year and given up only 205 yards per game through the air. Yale beat Cornell this year and held that pass happy attack to only twenty points.

enter>Intangibles

The best Harvard can hope for in this game is to play the role of a spoiler. Harvard has no chance to win the Ivy League this year and this game is entirely for pride.

Yale, on the other hand, has a chance to at least share or perhaps win the Ivy title outright with a win on Saturday.

Also, the friendly confines of the Yale bowl, even filled with its share of Harvard fans, will surely be an emotional lift for the Bulldogs eager to avenge its loss the last time The Game came to New Haven.

enter>Coaches

Harvard Coach Tim Murphy, the Scottie Whitelaw ECAC Division1-AA Coach of the Year as well as the New England Coach of the Year in 1997, brings his entire playbook to each and every game.

Murphy is always unpredictable. His offensive philosophy, to balance the offense between running and passing while throwing in a few trick plays makes Harvard tough to predict and defend against.

However, Yale Coach Jack Siedlecki is enjoying his finest season at the helm in New Haven and is the probable Ivy League Coach of the Year. He has turned the Yale program around from a 1-9 team his first year to a potential champion this season. Siedlecki has brought a new spirit of winning back to New Haven and should have something extra to cap off the season.

enter>

Recommended Articles

Advertisement