They Remember Last Year

October 10, 1979. Schoellkoft Field in Ithaca, N.Y. With 1:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, Cornell leads, 34-11. Third-string quarterback Chris Metz goes back to pass, and fires a 79-yd. touchdown bomb to Jim Burry. Final score: Cornell 41, Harvard 14.

Football players don't quickly forget plays like that. Winning is one thing; running up the score against a battered, injury-ridden opponent is another. This year's Harvard team--which includes many veterans of that darkest day of 1979--doesn't like to talk about that game very much to outsiders, but they remember. Yes, they remember.

Although no one in Harvard Stadium (game time 1:30 p.m.) will see it, every player on the Harvard team will be wearing a white t-shirt with the words, "We Owe Corne 1," written in large red letters under their jerseys.

So the possibility of a letdown after the 15-10 upset of Army seems unlikely. Against any other team, perhaps, but not today--humiliation incites reciprocation.

And if the Crimson were operating at full strength, the gridders would surely rate as a big favorite for a rout. But the quarterback who took the squad to three straight victories, Brian Buckley, is sitting in Stillman Infirmary recovering from knee surgery and, offensively, Harvard has to start again.

Junior Mike Buchanan rates as the likely starter, though coach Joe Restic, the man with the final word, said yesterday he hadn't decided among Buchanan, junior Mark Marion and sophomore split end Ron Cuccia.

Buchanan, who played well in the UMass game last year before suffering a broken jaw, will probably lead a ball control offense, as Restic seeks to establish the running game that looked so good against Holy Cross, then disappeared against Army. Senior Paul Connors, finally nearing full strength after an injury-plagued fall, will get his first start of the year along with Jim Callinan and Tom Beatrice in the backfield.

As for the Cornell quarterback situation, mystery abounds. Cornell flacks say third-string Andy Shore is "probable," and fourth-string Doug Fusco is the other possibility. Restic doesn't believe a word.

Restic says the Big Red's number one signal-caller, Mike Ryan, probably only suffered a bruise last week, and he figures Cornell coach Bob Blackman wants the emotional lift of bringing in a supposedly injured star at the last minute. Restic adds, with a little scorn for this pre-game bluster: "I would be very surprised if Ryan doesn't start."

Cornell has endured an excruciating last two weeks, so the Big Red might be a little pumped up themselves. After a strong 17-7 opening victory over Princeton in Ithaca, Cornell suffered a 38-20 loss to Colgate and, last week, a 44-3 mauling at the hands of Rutgers.

Before I move to the predictions, excuses for my 1-5 record last week are in order. Because I can't think of any, I will go to the week in the Ivies. HARVARD 37, CORNELL 6: With seven interceptions in three games, and the number-two-rated record in terms of yardage in the country, the Harvard defense will dominate today. Crimson opponents have only scored four touchdowns all year. And the Crimson owes Cornell. BOSTON COLLEGE 23, YALE 10: Carm Cozza teams never lose very badly, but the Eagles are in the big time this year. BROWN 24, PENN 10: The Quakers' winning streak will end at one. After a shaky start, the Bruins look tough again PRINCETON 17, COLUMBIA 7:...in a battle of Ivy nobodies. WILLIAM & MARY 10, DARTMOUTH 6: After back-to-back losses to UNH and Holy Cross, the secret is out. You can spell Dartmouth o-v-e-r-r-a-t-e-d.