IT'S SHOWTIME!

The Harvard football team opens its 1992 campaign tomorrow afternoon against Columbia in New York City.

In others words, Harvard will be 1-0-0 on Sunday.

Count on it. The last time the Lions topped the Crimson was 1978--when disco was big. Most of us weren't old enough to say "Columbia sucks" back then.

If Columbia topples Harvard, it will be an event on the scale of the 1980 Miracle On Ice--with the Crimson as the Soviets.

To be fair, the last two Harvard-Columbia games were less than comfortable. Last year, Harvard squandered a 21-3 lead and staved off a late Columbia drive to win 21-16. The year before that, the score was 9-6.

And, lest forget, the U.S. did beat the Soviets.

But this is a new year, and the Lions have reverted to mid-'80s form. Starters return at just three positions on offense and quarterback John Tribolet, the architect of those close games, has graduated.

"We're certainly not licking our chops here," Columbia Coach Ray Tellier said. "Harvard presents a lot of problems for us."

The Lions offense must contend with the Crimson's defense, which doesn't boast many returnees but has experience. Columbia returns three starters on offense--two at wide receiver, hardly a franchise position.

"The Harvard defense blitzes and stunts from a lot of different looks," Tellier said. "We're very young and not used to this kind of thing yet."

The Lions do boast a strong defense--Tellier calls it "the best in years"--which will match up well against the Crimson's weakness on the offensive line.

Tellier is hoping to exploit this advantage to shut down Harvard's main man: Mike Giardi.

From the way Tellier gushes over Giardi, you'd think the Harvard junior quarterback was going to be the top pick in the NFL draft:

"Giardi is a terrific weapon," Tellier said. "He can beat you with the run, with the pass, he's smart...we have to contain him right from the start and then for the next 70, 80 plays. Otherwise, he will beat you. It's a tall order."

Giardi and Co. against the "best defense in years" sounds like a tough matchup, but everything is relative. The "best in years" could still be pretty bad, especially for a team that has beaten Harvard only once under Harvard Coach Joe Restic's reign.

Still, the Crimson is wary. After all, the best defense in years could also be pretty good.

"It's hard to say what they're going to be like," junior quarterback Mike Giardi said. "We feel confident, but they could throw some surprises at us."

Giardi also said he was more worried about the Crimson beating itself, a legitimate possibility considering the team's inexperience on the lines and in the secondary.

A nightmare scenario has the Lions overwhelming Harvard's offensive line and pressuring Giardi into making key mistakes.

But Giard's smart and can handle the pressure. A more realistic scenario sees a Harvard win.

Remember: Restic is 20-1 against the Lions. The man must know something.

SPORTS CUBE PREDICTS Jay K. Varma, Sports Editor Harvard  21 Columbia  10 Ted G. Rose, Assoc. Sports Editor Harvard  28 Columbia  7 John B. Trainer, Sports Staff Writer Harvard  21 Columbia  7 Dante E.A. Ramos, Design Editor Harvard  27 Columbia  13