Gridders Looking To Dispel Second Half 'Myth' Today

On a chilly, sunny day at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y. last year, the Harvard football team saw the ugly cloud of the "second-half collapse" settle itself firmly over the heads of the Crimson.

Army, Holy Cross, Fordham--Harvard led each of these games going into half time, only to see its offense stuffed, defense trampled and special teams manhandled in the final half.

At Cornell in 1991, Harvard Coach Joe Restic vowed the "collapse" was only a myth, but after the Crimson gave up nine points and scored none of its own in the second half of a 22-17 loss, it was all too clear the venerable coach was wrong.

Now, one year later, Harvard finds itself in almost exactly the same position it was one year ago. A close win over Columbia, a handful of out of league losses and, of course, all that talk about "the collapse."

"It's nothing that anyone's really concerned about, but in the back of our minds we know we need to prove we can play a full game," said senior linebacker Monte Giese, who is fourth on the Crimson in tackles. "I think this is the pivotal game of the season. We have to get the monkey off our back, in beating Cornell and in getting rid of the second-half thing."

Curious George

Monkeys to the left, monkeys to the right. You'd think Curious George was in town, the way Harvard's talking. But, all primates aside, Harvard is desperately in need of confidence. And beating Cornell, something Harvard has not done in six years (including 1987, the year of the Ivy title), will certainly accomplish that.

Even though Harvard only managed one touchdown against Holy Cross (in garbage time no less) last week, offense isn't the concern this weekend. Despite the presence of linebacker extrordinaire, junior Chris Zingo (47 tackles), Cornell has given up 22, 23 and 33 points in the three games its played this year--not exactly stellar defensive performances.

Rather, look for two names from the Cornell offense to keep the PA announcer busy: Bill Lazor and Scott Oliaro.

Lazor Tag

Amid all the hullabaloo over sophomore quarterback stars last year (Jay Fiedler of Dartmouth, and Mike Giardi of Harvard) last year, Lazor's name was conspicuously absent, even though the Cornell signalcaller recorded some impressive stats: first in Ivy total offense per game (198.9 yards); school records for completions in a game (31) vs. Brown and most 300-yard passing games (2).

Lazor's absence from the spotlight is understandable: He has neither the pin-point arm of Fiedler nor the improvisational athleticism of Giardi. He is a three-step dropback passer, pure and simple.

Needless to say, he's damn good at it.

Behind the Scranton, Penn. native, Cornell has gone to the pass for over 30 times in as many contests, recording a highly-respectable 221 yards/game in total offense and a 44-point performance against Lafayette last week.

In over 93 attempts, he has thrown only one interception.

It isn't Lazor, however, who has the Crimson most worried. Co-Captain Oliaro sat out last season with a hamstring pull--after a sophomore year in which he set the Ivy record for rushing in a game--but he's been anything but rusty.

A Great Tailback

Speedy and well-built (6'0", 207-Ibs.), Oliaro picked up over 200 yards in Cornell's first game against Princeton (a 22-20 loss), and rushed for 89 yards and one touchdown last week...with a rib injury.

"He's a great tailback. We're really concerned about him," Giese said. I think they're a team that if they can establish themselves on the run, its passing game comes easily. So if we can shut down the rush, they're going to be scrambling, for things."

With Cornell scrambling, maybe Harvard can finally send that monkey packing.

SPORTS CUBE PREDICTS Jay K. Varma, Sports Editor Cornell  36 Harvard  28 John B. Roberts, Writer, Rower Cornell  34 Harvard  27 John B. Trainer, Sports Staff Writer Cornell  34 Harvard  27 Dante E.A. Ramos, Design Editor Cornell  27 Harvard  20