A Potential Quarterback Controversy Grows in Cambridge

We begin the World Series edition of the football notebook with a look at the Harvard football team's (slim) remaining chances to snag the Ivy title. While Saturday's 14-3 loss at Princeton significantly dampened the Crimson's title hopes, it did not completely eliminate the gridders.

Just past the midway point of the Ivy season, Harvard finds itself in a third-place tie--with Brown and Princeton--in the Ancient Eight standings with a 2-2 league mark. Penn and Cornell stand atop the Ivies with perfect 4-0 marks.

In order to clinch at least a share of its third title in five years, Harvard needs to win all three remaining league games. Given the Crimson's mediocre league play thus far, and the fact that Harvard's remaining slate includes the mighty Quakers, a 3-0 league finish is far from a certainty.

But even if the Crimson pulls off the improbable, it will need help. Cornell, which shut down the Crimson, 3-0, two weeks ago, must lose two of its remaining three games--and given that two of those contests are against Yale and Columbia, this seems unlikely.

The Red's final Ivy tilt is with Penn on the final weekend of the season, a game which could very well determine league honors.

Harvard could sneak into a first-place tie if Penn loses to Princeton this Saturday and defeats Cornell in that showdown (assuming, still, that the Crimson bests the Quakers). Alternately, the Crimson could tie for the Ivy crown if Cornell loses its next two games and then defeats Penn.

Neither scenario is particularly likely.

Incidentally, Harvard could win the title outright if Cornell and Penn each lose their next two league games and then tie each other November 22.

The moral of all this? Keep your "Harvard: 1986 Ivy Champs" t-shirts in storage for right now.

The Injury Report: A number of key Harvard players went down with injuries against the Tigers. Wide-out Joe Connolly--who far and away leads Harvard receivers with 15 receptions for 211 yards--suffered a bruised kidney when he was hit leaping for a pass. The injury was initially thought to be just bruised ribs, but a kidney problem was later discovered and the senior split end spent Saturday night in a hospital. he is doubtful for this weekend's Brown game.

Tight end Jim Morris suffered a separated shoulder in the second half after making a personal record tying three catches (for 57 yards) against the Tigers His status for the Brown contest is unknown.

Sophomore quarterback Tom Yohe was sidelined by a groin pull in the second quarter against Princeton (although he saw action briefly in the second half). He should be available for action Saturday.

A Quarterback Controversy, Right Here in River City: Senior quarterback David Landau replaced Yohe against the Tigers and, seeing his first action in nearly a month, turned in a respectable performance.

Landau, who had not played since separating his shoulder against Holy Cross in the second week of the season, completed 14 of 26 passes for 191 yards and three interceptions.

Throw in Yohe's disappointing 2-for-7, two-fumble, two-sack performance, and you've got the makings of a quarterback controversy. Landau, you may remember, started the season with an encouraging performance against Columbia, but was then felled in the Crusader game.

He was replaced by senior Bill Koehler, who proceeded to injure his ankle against Cornell. Yohe has been the starter ever since.

Landau brings more poise to the position, though none of the Crimson quarterbacks had any appreciable varsity experience before this year. Both are good scamblers, but Yohe may have the slightly stronger arm.

Harvard Coach Joe Restic declined to comment on the situation after the Princeton game, noting only that Yohe had been replaced because of his injury and not because of his lackluster performance.

Two additional notes which might favor Yohe: Landau has thrown a whopping nine interceptions in 52 passes this year, and Yohe is only a sophomore, presumably the Crimson QB of the future. Thus Yohe is Restic's logical choice to the extent that Harvard's title chances this year have all but disappeared.

Most Notable, Unnoted Play of the Week: This week's award goes to Morris for his touchdown reception midway through the second quarter. Yes, Harvard did have a touchdown pass in its 14-3 loss to Princeton.

The bad news was that a Crimson lineman was whistled for an illegal man downfield infraction on the play, nullifying the score. Yohe rolled right on the play, eluded several Tiger rushers, and found Morris alone in the deep right corner of the endzone.

Sure, it was called back--but in the midst of the scoring drought Harvard has endured most of the year (Saturday marked the fourth of six games this year that the Crimson didn't score a touchdown), any kind of TD is notable.

Big Three, Big Deal: Princeton's victory Saturday gave it a leg up on the coveted Big Three championship.

What's that? You've never heard of the Big Three championship? Well, there're a lot of people in Princeton, N.J. who are very much aware of it--and very much want to win it. The Big Three championship involves Harvard, Princeton and Yale and is won each year by the squad which has the best record against the other two.

The Tigers have won the most Big Three crowns--22 outright and 12 shared--over the series' history, followed closely by the Bulldogs (22, 10). Harvard, with 15 outright titles and 11 shared crowns, is a distant third.

And while the Big Three scarcely seemed on the minds of the Crimson gridders as they took the field Saturday, it was a focal point of the Tigers (who are defending Big Three champions).

"The players couldn't wait to get onto the field," Princeton Coach Ron Rogerson said after the Tigers' 14-3 victory. "I knew from the beginning that we would play intensely no matter what happened."

"Harvard is always a big game for us," added Rogerson, who fingered the Big Three title as the reason for Princeton's playing a "very emotional" game.

"We started the game on pure adrenaline," agreed Tiger split end Derek Wassink. "It wasn't anything but enthusiasm."

Prehaps not coincidentally, the Tigers triumphed against the Cirmson with a 14-point first-quarter outburst sparked by inspired all-around play. Maybe the Big Three standings played an important role Saturday, after all.

Same time, last year: Harvard hosts Brown this Saturday at the Stadium (kickoff 1:30 p.m.). The Bruins come into the Stadium riding a three-game losing streak, but are just off a somewhat heartening 22-7 loss to nationally-ranked Holy Cross. The Bruins trailed only 9-7 at halftime.

The Crimson won last year's contest, 25-17, with a 19-point second half rally. The Bruins went up, 17-6, late in the third quarter only to have the gridders come storming back.

Crimson QB Brian White hit wide-out Morris for a score on the second-to-last play of the third frame to close the gap, and then running back Robert Santiago scampered for two fourth quarter TDs to ice the game.