FIGHTING HARVARD LINE CAN STOP ELIS

In the following article, written for the Crimson by R. B. MacPhail of Dartmouth, the Big Green captain sets forth his views of the Harvard and Yale teams as they appeared on successive Saturdays against Dartmouth. He expects Yale to win but belives that there is a narrow chance for a fighting Crimson team to stem the powerful Blue tide.

In the opinion of one who has had the good fortune of playing against both Harvard and Yale this fall, the annual gridiron after between the Crimson and the Blue will be considerably more of a contest than the casual observer might except. There is no doubt but that Yale has the stronger team in so far as potential possibilities are concerned, and the records for the season show that the New Haven aggregation has had the greater success by a wide margin. Yale has defeated Army, Princeton and Dartmouth, three of the strongest teams in the East. Harvard, has had but one outstanding victory to its credit, that over Indians, but has fallen before Purdue, Pennsylvania and Dartmouth by no uncertain margins. On paper, as the sporting fraternity is prone to express it.

Excepts Yale to Win

Personally, I except Yale will win, but Harvard has a chance, a narrow, fighting chance. Yale's offensive strength is directed mainly through its opponent's tackles and guards. An alert Crimson line can stop this style of play to a great extent. Yale's plays are not tricky. They are sound fundamental plays built upon power and team work. Now it is interesting to note that, with the excepting of Purdue, which not met Harvard before Coach Horween's team has struck its stride, no team has raised havoc with Harvard's forward wall through the medium of straight line football. Dartmouth ran wild around the ends, while Pennsylvania, using trick plays involving the hidden ball, succeeded in outwitting the Crimson forwards, but neither the Green not the Red and Blue did it one straight football.

Where it meets Yale, Harvard's line will be pitted against the most powerful type of straight offensive football shown this year by any team it has met, but the type of offensive play that it is best fitted to repel.

Harvard's chances of scoring through Yale's powerful line do not appear very good but there are other ways to score. With Harvard's mental attitude at the right level and provided Captain Pratt's lineman play hard, charging, determined football, I look for a closely contested battle, with Yale on the winning side, but as I have indicated before, with the Crimson given a slim fighting chance to eke out a narrow victory.