Advantage: Harvard

Receivers

Receiver is probably the deepest position on Harvard's roster. All of Harvard's top five receivers are scoring threats and Yale's defense will have to be aware of them on every play. Sophomores Carl Morris, Kyle Cremarosa and Sean Meeker, along with juniors Dan Farley and Sam Taylor form the best group of wide receivers in the Ivy League. Along with senior tight end Chris Stakich, they give Neil Rose a number of options on every passing play.

All season long, the Crimson receivers have specialized in turning short passes into long touchdowns. Speed merchants Morris and Cremarosa have been especially effective at it.

In the last few games, Harvard's passing repertoire has widened as Taylor has stepped up and made several tough catches over the middle.

Taken as a group, these receivers are very difficult to defend. Any one of them has the speed and the moves to beat opposing cornerbacks. Because all the receivers are talented and the Crimson lines up in a lot of multiple-receiver sets, Yale won't be able to concentrate on Morris alone unless it wants to get beaten by the other wideouts.

The Elis will bring a pair of effective senior receivers to The Game. Eric Johnson is second in the Ivy League with an average of 97 yards per game receiving and 874 total receiving yards to go with 12 TD catches. Tommy McNamara adds 51.6 yards per game and has 465 yards on the season with one TD reception.

After those two, though, the cupboard is mostly bare for the Elis. Yale's third-leading receiver is its fullback, junior James Keppel.

When Lee drops back to pass, Johnson will be his only credible threat downfield.

Advantage: Harvard

Offensive Line

The big guys up front for the Crimson are both talented and experienced. Captain Mike Clare leads the offensive line from his position at left tackle. Clare is a very effective pass blocker and devastating when blocking for the run. Whenever Harvard really needs to get a tough couple of yards, count on Leiszler or Palazzo to run right behind Clare.

The line remained largely unchanged from last season, but a vital new addition this year is new Offensive Line Coach Jim Turner, who installed new pass- and run-blocking schemes.

Much of the credit for Harvard's 184.5 rushing yards-per-game average this season must go to the offensive line, which has consistently been able to open large holes for the running backs.

The O-line has also been very good at protecting Rose. Against Penn, which has the best defensive line in the Ivy League, the offensive line gave Rose a lot of time in the pocket, especially late in the game.

Yale's offensive line has contributed to the Elis' 4.33 yards-per-carry average. At the same time, however, Yale's offensive line has given up several sacks at inopportune times this season.

Thanks to Turner's coaching and the line's two seasons worth of experience together, the Crimson gets the nod here as well.