Position By Position, Harvard Will Have to Work for a Win

Harvard's prospects do not look too rosy this year in the 116th playing of The Game. While analyzing each position is not an exact science, the scale appears to tip heavily in Yale's favor. Without further ado, here's the breakdown, position by position, of the Harvard and Yale football teams for The Game.

Quarterback

While Harvard senior quarterback Brad Wilford has had a strong season for the Crimson, completing 55.6-percent of his passes for 1723 yards and eight touchdowns, he has also thrown 12 interceptions. The quarterback controversy that brewed between Wilford and Rich Linden briefly flared up again on Saturday when Wilford was benched and Linden put in charge of the offense for a few series. The strong armed Wilford reentered the game after halftime and there is no doubt that he will start Saturday.

Yale quarterback Joe Walland has completed 59.1 percent of his passes for 1770 yards and 14 touchdowns against only 3 interceptions. Walland has the highest quarterback rating in the Ivy League at 139.5 rating, one of the best in all Division 1-AA. Wilford clocks in at 110.5.

Walland also holds an experience edge over Wilford. Both players are seniors, but this is only Wilford's his first year as a starter.

enter>Running Back

If Harvard senior Chris Menick was playing this game at 100-percent the edge would tip the Crimson's way. However, he injured his MCL last Saturday against Penn and will play through considerable pain.

The Crimson needs him and his 107 yards per game. If Menick's injury hampers him too greatly junior Chuck

With Harvard's Chris Menick out for the season with a knee injury, junior Chuck Nwokocha will lead the group of Harvard running backs that will have to make up his yardage.

Yale's Rashad Bartholomew brings a respectable 90 yards per game and a 4 yard per carry average into The Game. The Elis also get 45 rushing yards per game from Walland.

Really, the health of Menick will determine the edge here.

enter>Wide Recievers/Tight Ends

With a deep receiving corps led by senior wideout Terence Patterson and captain and tight end Chris Eitzmann, Harvard has many quality options in the passing game.

Patterson is 4th in the Ivy League in receptions per game, and freshmen deep threats Carl Morris and Kyle Cremerosa can exploit defenses with their speed.

Eitzmann, while he doesn't average many receptions per game, averages almost 20 yards per reception and can get open in the middle of the field.

Yale has three receivers, Eric Johnson, Jim Keppel and Tom McNamara among the top-25 in the Ivy League for receptions per game. Senior Jake Fuller is Yale's deep threat, averaging 19 yards per reception.

Walland's accuracy, moreover, makes all of his receivers better, but the exceptional skill of Patterson and Eitzmann nudges this to the Crimson.

enter>Offensive Line

Harvard's offensive line was an inexperienced unit coming into this season and a full year of action has not done much to instill faith in the unit.

The offensive line has proven effective in run blocking. The Crimson running backs lead the Ivy league average, 4.1 yards per carry and 176.9 yards on the ground. Menick's brute toughness had a lot to do with those numbers, but the line opened up many holes for him.

The pass blocking has been much more erratic, allowing many sacks and poorly picking up the blitz

Yale's offensive line has opened holes for their running back to the tune of 157 yards per game rushing and a 3.8 yard per carry average this season. It has a sizable experience advantage of Harvard as well since it was not bringing in four new offensive linemen at the beginning of the year.

enter>Special Teams

Harvard senior kicker Mike Giampaolo has been erratic this year and Coach Tim Murphy hasn't shown lots of confidence in him either. On fourth and a foot against Princeton with the score tied and :07 left on the

clock, Murphy elected to run a quarterback sneak rather than kick the chip shot field goal.

When he was asked about the decision, Murphy said that he remembered last year's Game and how Giampaolo missed a short field goal at the end of the game.

Yale kicker Mike Murawczyk has made 12-of-16 field goals, and 33-of-37 extra points this season. Punter Eric Johnson has a 40 yard per punt average and has put nine punts inside the opponent's twenty yard line. Yale has also returned 2 punts for touchdowns this year.

enter>Defensive Line

With a senior laden defensive front led by Chris Nowinski and Brian oward, Harvard is loaded with talent on the line. The Crimson is allowing only 2.7 yards per rushing attempt and 83 yards on the ground per game.

Much of the credit for this has to go to Harvard's defensive line which aggresively pushes the offensive line back and plugs the holes. It is extremely good in stuffing short yardage situations.

Harvard has also been able to put pressure on the passer all season, usually only with the front four without having to blitz.

Yale's defensive line , while a good one, racked up 31 sacks this season and virtually matched the Crimson's rushing numbers also giving up 2.7 yards per carry and 91 yards per game

While both groups are talents, the heavy senior experience in The Game swings the pendulum Harvard's way.

enter>Linebackers

Senior Isaiah Kacyvenski is a force in the middle for the Crimson. Two time Ivy League defensive player of the

week this season, he has to be accounted for by opposing offenses on every play.

Kacyvenski, a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as the best player in Division 1-AA, and a projected NFL player, is the unquestioned leader of

the Harvard defense.

Seniors Jeff Svicarovich and Aron Natale flank Kaceyvenski and are excellent players in their own right.

Yale's linebackers are not nearly as impressive. The leading tackler on the defense is the free safety--a sure sign that the linebackers aren't making enough plays. The linebacker with the most tackles, Peter Mazza, has only 66, a far cry from Kacyvenski's total

enter>Defensive Backs

Harvard cornerbacks Kane Waller, a senior and Willie Alford, a sophomore, stand 5'9" and 5'10", respectively. With their diminutive height, they have been victimized downfield this season.

Although Waller was the Ivy League defensive player of the week in the second week of the season, the Crimson's corners have been a liability at times this season.

Several teams have executed fourth quarter comebacks this season through the air indicating that the secondary isn't what it should be.

Yale defensive backs have snagged 13 interceptions this year and given up only 205 yards per game through the air. Yale beat Cornell this year and held that pass happy attack to only twenty points.

enter>Intangibles

The best Harvard can hope for in this game is to play the role of a spoiler. Harvard has no chance to win the Ivy League this year and this game is entirely for pride.

Yale, on the other hand, has a chance to at least share or perhaps win the Ivy title outright with a win on Saturday.

Also, the friendly confines of the Yale bowl, even filled with its share of Harvard fans, will surely be an emotional lift for the Bulldogs eager to avenge its loss the last time The Game came to New Haven.

enter>Coaches

Harvard Coach Tim Murphy, the Scottie Whitelaw ECAC Division1-AA Coach of the Year as well as the New England Coach of the Year in 1997, brings his entire playbook to each and every game.

Murphy is always unpredictable. His offensive philosophy, to balance the offense between running and passing while throwing in a few trick plays makes Harvard tough to predict and defend against.

However, Yale Coach Jack Siedlecki is enjoying his finest season at the helm in New Haven and is the probable Ivy League Coach of the Year. He has turned the Yale program around from a 1-9 team his first year to a potential champion this season. Siedlecki has brought a new spirit of winning back to New Haven and should have something extra to cap off the season.

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