Harvard comes into this weekend ranked third in the Ivy League in scoring and has put up more points than any Crimson team in the 20th century. The potent Crimson offense, led by junior quarterback Neil Rose, has scored more than 30 points in a game six times, equaling a mark set in 1894.

Rose, who stayed in Cambridge this summer to learn the Crimson offense, has reaped the dividends of his off-season work this fall. In last week's game at Penn, Rose became Harvard's single-season leader in completions, passing yards and total yardage, eclipsing such Crimson luminaries as Tom Yohe '89 and Mike Giardi '94.

One reason for Rose's success this season is the complement of top-notch receivers at his disposal. Headlining the receiving corps is sophomore Carl Morris, who set the Harvard single-game receiving yards record with 224 against Brown early in the year. His efforts garnered him Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors.

After that breakout performance, many of Harvard's opponents decided to double-team the elusive Morris. This proved to be a fatal strategy, as Rose was able to spread the ball around to other receivers, such as sophomores Kyle Cremarosa and Sean Meeker, and juniors Dan Farley and Sam Taylor. Also, senior tight ends Chris Stakich and Brandan Kramer provided additional threats for the prolific Rose.

"I believe that we have more depth at receiver than any other team in the Ivy League," Morris said. "We have multiple receivers who have led the team in receiving in different weeks including two very talented tight ends. Our depth makes it tough to defend us."

Perhaps the most surprising element of the Crimson offense is not the thriving wide-open passing scheme, which is ranked 10th in the country, but rather the hard-nosed run game that has come as a great surprise this season.

After the loss of Harvard's all-time leading rusher, Chris Menick '00, and the early injury to returning starter Chuck Nwokocha, the Harvard running game seemed doomed to falter.

In fact, the only backs healthy enough to start behind Rose were third-string sophomore Matt Leiszler and fourth-stringer Palazzo. Although the two sophomores weigh in at a combined 360 pounds, their style of aggressive north-south running has established the Crimson's rushing offense as the best in the Ivy League

"I think that all year we've been at our best when we've made defenses defend both the run and the pass," Leiszler said. "Obviously, Neil and all of the receivers have done a great job this year in passing the ball, which I think has helped open up some of the running game. Hopefully, we can do the same against Yale."

The success of both Harvard's running and passing games will depend on arguably one of its best components--the offensive line. Anchored by left guard Clare, the O-line has thoroughly dominated the opposition this year, giving Rose extra time to find open receivers and providing large holes for Leiszler and Palazzo. In order to roll on offense, Harvard will have to be strong up front.

"We've always tried to own the trenches in order to establish the run and then develop the pass," Clare said.

Clare, who will graduate this year, continues a strong tradition of leadership from the line. His predecessor, Matt Birk '98, is a starting offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings.

All of these offensive elements have allowed this season's squad to set school records in most significant scoring categories. With one game left, Harvard has already equaled the total yardage record for a season and has eclipsed the 1997 team's scoring record to become the most prolific Crimson team in the modern era.

And what makes tomorrow's edition of The Game so interesting will be the competition between Harvard's high-powered offense and Yale's stingy defense. While the Crimson begins tomorrow as the Ivy leader in rushing and third in total offense, Yale will be able to counter with the second best rushing defense in the league and one of the best passing defenses in the country.

The Eli defense is led by captain Peter Mazza, who leads the team in tackles with 98 and has recovered two fumbles, and by junior defensive back Ryan LoProto, who is second with 73 tackles and has three interceptions for the season.