Both Teams Hampered by Injuries Harvard Favored to Beat Brown;

Brown has won 11 Ivy League games in the last 12 years, and today it probably won't win its 12th. The Bruins are headed for their eighth last-place finish since 1960.

Last Saturday the Brown fans were shaken from their boredom when the Bruins stumbled into a 21-20 lead over Cornell with two minutes remaining in the game. Two minutes later, Brown had lost the game, 35-21.

Brown did win an Ivy game a year ago. Their ignominious victim was Harvard, a bad team playing at its worst.

The Crimson blew the game, 23-17, and when the two schools played against each other in hockey, the Brown fans were still chanting the score.

Harvard may be missing quarterback Rod Foster, but the Crimson would have to bring Ralph Guglielmi out of the insurance business before it could lose to Brown. As it is, Eric Crone should have a good chance to beef up his statistics against the Bruins.

Everybody Down

Harvard probably won't be too up for the game, but Brown shouldn't be either. According to Bruin coach Len Jardine, his players were "heartbroken" after throwing away the Cornell game.

Brown has been outscored 191 to 85, outrushed 1658 yards to 1276, and out-passed 958 yards to 455 this season.

Brown does have one redeeming strength. Sophomore halfback Gary Bonner has rushed for 428 yards in 47 carries, and fullback Gerry Hart is averaging 5.3 yards a carry with 407 yards rushing.

Hart, however, is out for the season, and the third running back. Tom Spotts, has been a disappointment. Spotts was the Associated Press's "Press Player of the Year," a high school All-American, and "Outstanding Teen in America," but at Brown he is averaging 3.5 yards a carry.

Pass Gap

Unfortunately for the Bruins, there is no decent passer to balance the rushing game. The Brown quarterbacks have completed less than a third of their passes for an average of 65 yards per game.

Brown will hopefully provide an opportunity for Harvard coach John Yovicsin to rest his aching starters. In addition to Foster, several other players including defensive backs Rick Frisbie, Steve Golden, Brad Fenton, defensive tackles Ed Vena, Mark Steiner, and halfback Ted DeMars are all ailing from minor injuries.

All of them except for Foster will probably start, but the second string should see a lot of action. Brown is also suffering from injuries as both Hart and co-captain linebacker Steve Bennett are sidelined.

Brown in Basement

Brown blew its chance to escape the Ivy League cellar when it lost to Penn in its League opener, 17-9. It has been all downhill since then as the Bruins have fallen, 28-0, 42-14, 42-14, and 35-21 to Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton and Cornell respectively.

Brown has had a little more luck in its non-league games, nipping a pathetic University of Rhode Island team, 21-14, and falling to Colgate, 10-6, in a spectacularly boring game.

Brown has a losing series record against every team it plays except URI, and Rhode Island didn't score a point during the first 17 years of the series.