Harvard Football: Perhaps Fifth

The turning point in this season's conversational activities arrived yesterday when an intense young Harvard undergraduate turned to his companion at the Yard Punch and asked nasally, "And what kind of a football team will Brooklyn College have this year?"

"None," she replied, whereupon the subject should have been dropped.

But it wasn't. After a short commentary on how Freud can be applied to football, the co-ed asked, "By the way, what kind of a team will Harvard have this fall?"

To which he replied, "Come now, you're kidding. Let's get back to exams and sex." The co-ed resisted, some purple punch was spilled, and with a new determination she ran away to look for Harvard football players and the answer.

The Dope

The truth of the matter is that things don't look so good for the Crimson this fall. Pre-season expectations do not run any higher than those submitted by the Ivy League's eight coaches and sports information directors, who picked Harvard to finish fourth and seventh, respectively. Those polls were taken last spring, when it was known that the great sophomore quarterback first-string passing ace--Terry Bartolet--had withdrawn from school for a year.

Subsequently, hopes have sunk even lower with the recent announcement by the Administrative Board that star halfback Hobie Armstrong was declared ineligible for academic reasons.

It's no surprise, then, that Harvard pre-season publicity says meekly that the team will "face its biggest building season since 1957," when head coach John Yovicsin first took over the reins. Yovicsin has problems, but of course he has hope. Recently he said that "We think we can be in every game we play, and if we are we'll win our share of games."

Harvard can only hope to slip into the first division at best, however. There's no talk of championships around Cambridge, much less mention of a finish in the top four, Harvard's tie for third with Dartmouth with a 5-4 record last year was the Crimson's second consecutive winning season and finish in the first division--and probably its last for a while.

Yale, Cornell Favored

Last year at this time Yale and Harvard were picked to win the Ivy title. This year it's Yale and Cornell, with Dartmouth running a close third. Yale's undefeated championship team last year had bench strength that could have started and won games at many other colleges, a legacy encouraging victories this year. Cornell is strong all over, especially in the backfield. Both teams could win; the Summer News will pick Cornell over Yale, however, even though the temptation is the reverse upon recollection of the Casey Stengel-like firing of coach Lefty James at Cornell last winter.

The Indians from Hanover are reportedly the best physically in years, but do not get the nod because they will rely too much on sophomores. (Although they led the Dartmouth freshman team to an undefeated season last year, they are young.) Columbia falls into a preseason fourth place; it's time for the veterans making up the squad--starters the past two years--to spur the dark horse from New York.

Second division teams with Harvard are expected to be Penn, in its second year of single wing; Princeton, also in a year of reconstruction and for one of the first times not at the top in pre-season choices; and of course Brown, "coming back."

The Summer News' prediction: Cornell, Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Brown.

Fourteen lettermen--ten linemen and four backs--return with 71 other candidates for pre-season drills beginning Sept. 1. Because there is no spring football in the Ivy League, the Crimson will have its first chance to practice and approach solutions to its many problems since the Yale game last year. A lot--too much--must be done in a few short weeks for the first game with Lehigh on Sept. 30.

The biggest problem and questionmark for the Crimson is a big one--quarterback. The position is wide open, with first chances going to senior Ted Halaby, who shared the first-string duties for much of last season with Bartolet after the unforgettable Charlie Ravenel was injured. Halaby, whose greatest weakness is passing, will compete for the post with junior Chuck Kinney and sophomore Bill Humenuk, the other top candidates. This year, more than ever, it's safe to fall back on the old adage that "as the quarterback goes so the team goes" (with a T attack, as at Harvard).

Harvard will have a strong line. Three returning lettermen at end--Captain Pete Hart, Bob Boyda, and Dave Hudepohl--and a tough guard squad led by senior letterman Bill Swinford give the squad its greatest support, along with veterans Darwin Wile and Mike Sheridan at tackle. Offensive and defensive specialists at center are Tony Watters and Dave Nyhan, who will probably alternate in two-platoon fashion.

In the backfield are, in addition to that of quarterback, the questionmarks of fullback and left halfback. Hank Hatch and Tom Boone are both able men at right half; Roy Williams and Billy Taylor will most likely share the left half spot. Chuck Reed, defensive specialist at fullback, may be changed to left halfback for offensive duty. Fullback is anybody's, and could go to seniors Gil Bamford, Dave Ward, or Stan Greenspan, or possibly to sophomore Bill Grana. Any one of the ten fullbacks returning next month could win the job.

Conclusion? Too many problems in the backfield--which is especially bad because the Crimson cannot hope to lead the League in defense as it did last year. In three consecutive games last year (against Columbia, Dartmouth, and Penn), the Crimson scored only one touchdown--and won. Harvard scored three touchdowns in only one game, and two in only three games. Glenn Haughie and Jim Nelson are gone at the corner linebacker positions, and big Bob Pillsbury and the other staunch linemen have graduated. Offense, not defense, will have to lead the Crimson to victory. The line will certainly be creditable, but a quarterback must move the ball with a backfield behind him. These things must be resolved in the hot first weeks when most of the players are fighting just to get into shape.

But there is one consolation. Harvard fans will have a chance to see seven of the nine games on the schedule in Cambridge