During what has come to be known as Rivalry Week, millions of college football fans will gather in stadiums and around television sets throughout the nation to watch such marquee match-ups as No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 4 Florida and No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 8 Oregon State.

But only 31,000 lucky people will be able to witness personally the epitome of the college football rivalry tomorrow--the 117th playing of The Game between the Harvard Crimson and the Yale Bulldogs.

"This game is what college football is all about," said sophomore tailback Nick Palazzo. "There is so much history and tradition involved. This game is one of the reasons I came to Harvard."

Of the 116 prior contests, which date back to a 4-0 Harvard win in 1875, Yale leads the series 63-45-8, and has won the last two versions of The Game. The Harvard-Yale rivalry is the third most played in collegiate football history, ranking only behind the 136 games between Lafayette and Lehigh and the 123 games between Princeton and Yale.

Although this year's installment of The Game will not feature the possibility of an Ivy title for either school for the first time since 1996, both teams understand the significance of the annual contest.

For Harvard (5-4, 4-2 Ivy), The Game represents an opportunity to close out a dominating season with a win at Harvard Stadium. Despite two disappointing one-point losses to Cornell and Penn, the Crimson can finish tied for second in the Ivy League and with its best Ivy mark since 1997 if it tops the Elis tomorrow.

For Yale (6-3, 3-3), a win in The Game would end a sobering season in which the Elis were picked to finish first in the league in most preseason polls. The defending Ivy champs were also the victims of a couple of close Ivy defeats as they lost to Cornell by one and to Princeton by five.

Either way, both teams will want to win for reasons beyond records or standings.

"I try to treat every game like every other game, but this rivalry is so great that we're really playing for pride out there," said freshman linebacker Dante Balestracci.

In addition to pride or bragging rights, Harvard, which is 1-3 at home this season, will also be seeking retribution for last year's Game with one final home win this weekend.

In 1999, the Crimson traveled to the Yale Bowl to face the Ivy-leading Elis with the hope of playing the role of spoiler and denying Yale its first Ivy title in 10 years.

Despite being ahead 21-17 with 2:53 left in the fourth quarter, Harvard could not hold on for the win. Then-senior Joe Walland, Yale's all-time leading passer, drove the Elis the length of the field and then hit wide receiver Eric Johnson for the winning score with only 29 seconds remaining in The Game. The now-infamous catch was Johnson's 21st reception of the day, and the junior ended up with 244 receiving yards--both numbers shattering existing Yale records.

The stinging come-from-behind defeat was typical of the Crimson's 1999 campaign. Last year, Harvard was either ahead or tied in the fourth quarter of all of the games it lost. In addition, its five losses last year came by a combined margin of only 18 points. Such frustration leaves indelible marks and one wonders if memories of last year will effect tomorrow's performance in The Game.

"Last year is definitely in the back of my mind," said captain Mike Clare. "But it won't be an issue the day of The Game."

Psychology aside, the season statistics for both teams point to many interesting subplots and match-ups that will undoubtedly make this edition of The Game one of the more explosive in recent years.