If he doesn’t cause enough trouble, Yale will have trouble stopping the senior combination of Dan Farley and Sam Taylor. Each has had a monster game this season, and both are legitimate deep threats. Farley averages 16.2 yards per catch. Taylor averages 17.6.

Yale’s starters do not come close to matching those numbers.

ADVANTAGE: HARVARD

OFFENSIVE LINE

Yale’s running backs average 3.3 yards per carry. Harvard’s average 4.0.

Yale’s quarterbacks have been sacked 25 times this season. Harvard’s helmsmen have been sacked 16 times.

Yale averages 23.9 points per game. Harvard averages 32.3 ppg.

The Crimson’s combination of seniors Steve Collins, Jason Hove, Justin Stark, Danny Kistler and junior Jamil Soriano have pancaked and pummeled opponents all year long. Yale has had to rely on freshmen and sophomores to fill in for injured starters throughout the season. Pity the Elis.

ADVANTAGE: HARVARD

DEFENSIVE LINE

Only Penn’s defensive line could possibly rank with Harvard’s dominating cast of characters.

The Crimson overwhelmed the Quakers in the second half, using its scary defensive line to shut down potential NFL draftee quarterback Gavin Hoffman and running back Kris Ryan. Harvard’s senior defensive ends Mark Laborsky and Phil Scherrer may both receive All-Ivy League First Team selections.

No one has been better than Laborsky on the pass this season. Using his 6-4, 230 lb frame and his Mark Gastineau-like quickness, Laborsky leads the Ivy League with 10 sacks, averaging more than one per game. In the middle, captain Ryan FitzGerald and senior Kyle Sims have been impenetrable this year. Any tailback success this season has occurred from running to the outside, as FitzGerald and Sims dominate the line of scrimmage.