Michael Griffin, director of football operations for Columbia, said yesterday that he was pleased to have the chance to finish ahead of Harvard this season.

“To finish ahead of a team that was picked near the top of the league and that went 6-0,” Griffin said. “That would be great.”

Of course, there are some other implications that go along with a loss to Yale. A defeat would ensure a fourth place (or lower) finish for the Crimson for the first time since 1999, as the winner of Brown-Columbia would sneak into the third spot behind Penn and Yale. No current Crimson senior has finished that low in the standings.

It would also drop Harvard’s Ivy League record below .500 for the first time since 1999, something else the seniors have never experienced.

Senior defensive tackle Brendan McCafferty said he does not want this to be a first.

“There’s no way we would want to finish behind Columbia and Dartmouth, too,” McCafferty said. “Penn and us have been the top dogs since we got here. It would definitely be a disappointment to finish [that low].”

If Princeton beats Dartmouth, that would put Harvard in a four-way tie—with the loser of Brown-Columbia, Dartmouth and Princeton—for second-to-last, ahead of only 0-6 Cornell. Harvard has not finished second-to-last since 1998.

None of this happens, of course, with a Harvard win over the Elis. With a win, the Crimson would cruise into second place in the Ivy League, and players and fans would be free to consider the season a success.

Plus, said senior cornerback Benny Butler, a win would end the year on a high note.

“We’d definitely put a positive spin on our season,” Butler said.

If Harvard loses, however, it would languish near the bottom of the standings until a new season starts in 2004, leaving all to look back at late October and wonder, “what if...”

Overall, one thing is definitely certain. In The Game, there’s always something at stake.