Varsity Eleven Seeks Big Three Title Against Yale Before Crowd of 40,000

Forty-three students of the College will face their biggest hour exam of the semester when the Yale varsity football team visits the Stadium at 1:30 p.m. today. Although the bookies expect the Elis to do one point better, the Crimson's ace scout, Josh Williams, who has discovered some things about Yale unknown even to Jordan Olivar and William Buckley, feels that the varsity can win.

In order to help the squad in its assignment, tutor Williams has prepared a book entitled "Yale Confidential," which tells how and why the Crimson can stop the unstoppable Yale offense (second in the Ivy League) and penetrate its impenetrable defense (tenth in the nation on the ground).

With Williams' book in mind, the varsity has been cramming in secret sessions all week, and head coach Lloyd Jordan calls it "the best spirited squad since I've been here." Not a single member of his well-conditioned team has been excused from the exam because of illness, although center Jan Meyer and wingback Dexter Lewis will be able to take only parts of it.

Capacity Crowd Expected

In contrast, the Yale coach claims "an injury list a mile long" and denies vehemently that he is crying or exaggerating. At any rate, if Jim Armstrong, Conrad Corelli, and Steve Ackerman, dress, or if Vern Loucks, Mike Owseichik, Tom Henderson, and Paul Lopata see more than limited action, there will be 40,000 witnesses to the perjury of the Yale University Athletic Association.

Field in Good Shape

The rain of the past two days is likely to be more harmful to the spectators than to the players, for a tarpaulin has covered the field most of the week. The H.A.A. reports that the turf is in perfect shape except for a large "Y" burned in at midfield Wednesday night.

And wet weather will not necessarily harm the teams' passing--it did not stop Claude Benham in the Columbia game here--but it may increase the fumble totals, which are usually high in the tense Harvard-Yale games, especially when so many sophomores are in the lineups.

Line Play Decisive

But whether the field is in good shape or bad, the game may well be decided in the line. Olivar considers the varsity forward wall the toughest he has faced--"stronger than Army's. Harvard's line will give you more of a physical going-over." At Yale's request, this afternoon's exam will be proctored by four officials; apparently guard Bill Meigs and company cannot be trusted under an honor system.

Coach Jordan, meanwhile, returns the favor, calling the Eli line "bigger and rougher than any we have met." It averages 202 pounds--seven more than the varsity's--and has been the main factor in Yale's success in clinching a tie for its first Ivy League title since 1946.

Crimson Needs Only Tie

The Elis need only a tie this afternoon to gain the undisputed crown; they could even lose to the Crimson if Penn ties or beats Cornell. But after losing to Army and Princeton in successive weeks, Yale does not want to lose. It will never be more "up" than it is this afternoon. The Elis opened their season with wins over Connecticut, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, and Dartmouth, plus a tie with Colgate.

Yale can do no better than a tie for the Big Three title, however. Harvard, on the other hand, needs only a tie to win its first undisputed Big Three crown since 1941. After flunking its opening test with UMass and being put on probation by the fickle fans, the Crimson beat Cornell, Ohio, and Princeton, while losing to Columbia and Dartmouth and tying Brown.

But today is the final exam, and an "A" this afternoon will mean an "A" for the year.