Crimson Remains in Race For Regional, Ivy Crowns

All is not lost. Although its unbeaten record vanished into memory Saturday, the Crimson football team is still ranked first in New England.

Harvard received 14 first place and 4 second place votes in an Associated Press poll of New England sportswriters and broadcasters announced yesterday, for a total of 176 points. Dartmouth was ranked second, only 10 points behind.

And there is still hope that Harvard can take undisputed possession of first place in the Ivy League. If Penn beats Dartmouth the last day of the season, which is as likely as, say the 1914 Boston Braves taking the World Series in four straight, the Crimson should have it sewn up.

Of course, Harvard would have to beat Yale that day, and Cornell would have to down Princeton after losing to Dartmouth, but those are all at least 50-50 chances. Harvard would finish the season 6-1 in league play, which has been good enough for first place in all but five of the last six seasons.

Also quite possible, in the likely event that Penn can't handle the Big Green, is a five-way tie for first. Yale would have to beat both Harvard and Princeton, but there is at least a five per cent possibility of that.

Then, if Cornell beats Dartmouth, which is as likely as Princeton's beating Harvard, and Princeton downs Cornell in a toss-up, five teams would have 5-2 records.

Ties could make things simpler. If Dartmouth and Cornell play to a draw, and Yale beats Princeton, Harvard would only have to beat Brown and Yale to be all alone in first. The odds in favor of that are just slightly infinitesmal.