Greatest Team Ever?

Don't let Harvard's poor record in the seasons leading up to this one fool you. Believe it or not, the Crimson has won seven national titles and even won a Rose Bowl.

The question is, just where does this year's 8-1 team stand in school history?

In 123 years of football, the Crimson has had its share of outstanding teams and has had 86 winning seasons.

Harvard carried its first of seven national titles in 1890, beating Yale 12-6 on the last day of an undefeated season. The Crimson finished the decade the way it began it, with national championships in 1898 and 1899. Harvard was undefeated in both seasons, going 11-0 in 1898 and 10-0-1 in 1899.

An 11-0 win over Williams on October 1, 1898 began a 32-game winning streak that did not end until a loss to Yale in the final game of the 1900 season.

The Crimson topped its own record 12 years later with a 33-game undefeated streak. It began in 1912 with a 5-3 win over Dartmouth and continued for all of 1912, 1913 and 1914.

The streak finally ended at 30-0-3 when Cornell shut out the Crimson 10-0 on October 23, 1915.

During this time period, Harvard carried two national titles while being led by Charlie Brickley '15. To this day, he is the Crimson's all-time scoring leader, having finished with 215 points, including 23 touchdowns. Even if his numbers are surpassed, one stat never will: Brickley never lost a game.

The 1919 season was the last in which Harvard won nine games, a dry spell which a win tomorrow would end. Not only did the squad win a national title in an undefeated season (9-0-1) but it also won the Rose Bowl, beating Oregon 7-6.

Harvard went almost 50 years before experiencing another truly great season. During that span, many other schools--Notre Dame, Michigan, Oklahoma--began the rise to the prominence they enjoy today.

With the advent of the big-time football we see today, Harvard was no longer a player on the national scene. The formation of the Ivy League as a football conference in 1956 ushered in a new, modern era of collegiate football for Harvard.

Any comparison between Harvard teams of this era and the national-championship teams of the past may be an exercise in futility.

Two years after winning an Ivy championship with an 8-1 record in 1966, Harvard had perhaps its greatest team of the modern era.

"Every team will be compared to '68," said John Veneziano, director of Harvard sports information.

Harvard faced Yale in the last game of the season with both teams a perfect 8-0.

Down 29-13, the Crimson scored 16 points in 42 seconds in the most stunning comeback in school history.

Second-string quarterback Frank Champi '70 completed a 12-yard touchdown to Bruce Freeman '71 for the first score. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed, but a Yale penalty gave the Crimson a second chance, which it converted.

After Harvard recovered an on-side kick, Champi completed an eight-yard touchdown to captain Vic Gatto '69. A toss to Pete Varney '71 completed the miraculous comeback.

The next day, The Crimson published a headline which said, "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29," and the game became known as the 29-29 "win."

Since then, Harvard has shared three Ivy championships and won two others outright.

Harvard beat Yale 21-16 in the 1974 season finale, ending the Bulldogs' dreams of an undisputed championship and lifting the Crimson into a tie for first place.

A year later, Harvard won its first outright Ivy League championship, once again using late-game heroics against the Bulldogs. Mike Lynch '77 booted a 26-yard field goal in the final seconds of the game to secure a title-clinching 10-7 win for the Crimson.

Harvard tied for back-to-back titles in 1982 and 1983, but the most recent great Harvard squad came exactly 10 years ago.

That year, the Crimson finished 6-1 Ivy and 8-2 overall under the quarterbacking of Tom Yohe '89.

Yohe set single-season records for most completions (158), passing yards (2,134), and touchdowns (17). The season concluded a 14-10 win over Yale.

This year's Harvard team can take its place in the pantheon of great teams with a win Saturday. Not only would the win total be the highest in 78 years, but several team and individual records have been or can be set.

With this combination of athletic talent and team success, the 1997 football team is playing for something even beyond The Game.

It is playing for its place in history.