ONLY TWO OF HARVARD'S EIGHT RIVALS OF 1925 SEASON FACE DIFFICULTY TODAY

Only two of this season's opponents of the university eleven face serious opposition this afternoon. One of these, Middlebury, will strive to check Yale, unbeaten for two years. William and Mary, due to come to Cambridge on October 31, faces Annapolis.

Yale and Middlebury are playing their opening game of the season as opponents at New Haven today. The little Vermont college team is by no means the same outfit that tied Harvard two years ago and held the university to a 16 to 6 score last season. Captain Kievenow, whose two place kicks gave his team six points and a tie at Soldiers Field in 1923, is now coaching the Middlebury eleven. Papke and Lobo, who have starred in the backfield the past two seasons, have graduated. Only on the ends, where Novotny and Captain Potter have starred for two seasons, does Middlebury resemble its former strength.

Ells Enter First Battle Leaderless

Against Coach Klevenow's eleven Yale will put a leaderless team, for Captain John Joss is out of the game with sinus trouble. However, the Elis are sure to be strong in the line, with Sturhahn, Root, Richards and Butterworth back in uniform. Yale's wingmen appear inferior to Middlebury's, as Coach Jones feels the loss of Bingham and Luman, last year's regulars.

Yale's great backfield strength is shown by the fact that Cottle, last year's star halfback, has been unable to regain his position this season. Noble will be in his place, teaming up with three veterans, Bunnell, Allen, and Kline. With these men starting and a host of experienced backfield reserves on hand, Yale should have no difficulty in winning its first game by a comfortable margin.

Orange and Black Has Full Reserve

Princeton, meeting Amherst in its opening contest, also appears strong behind the line. Caulkens, former St. Mark's star, will pilot the Orange and Black eleven, with Gilligan and the brilliant Stagle at the halfback positions, Dignan, like the halfbacks, a veteran, will do the line plunging from fullback. Coach Roper also has a complete reserve backfield on hand, composed of Bridges, Chandler, Ewing, and Prendergast. Bridges was star line bucker on the freshman team last fall and Ewing is Princeton's sharpshooting drop-kicker.

Amherst, which won its first game from Rochester last Saturday, hopes to give Princeton a good battle today, and Captain MacMillan's eleven, lacking experienced guards and ends, may receive stiff opposition.

Dartmouth Promised a Track Practice

Dartmouth, after rolling up 59 points against Norwich last week, is likely to have another afternoon of track practice at the expense of Hobart College. The Norwich players, after the game last Saturday, stated that they considered the Dartmouth team as 50 percent better than last year. The line is exceptionally strong, with Diehl, All-American guard, back in action, and Captain Parker and Holleran once more at the tackle.

Stiff Work for Bruins with Colby

Facing stiffer opposition, Brown meets Colby in the second game to be played in the Andrews Field Stadium. Last year the Bruins ran up 45 points against the visitors, but this year Colby is said to be the leading team in Maine.

Brown will be without the services of its captain and star end, Stifler, so the game should not be a runaway, especially as Coach Robinson of Brown plans to use many substitutes in preparation for the Pennsylvania game next week.

Last week Holy Cross toyed with an entirely unknown eleven, and today meet another, St. John's. The purple is looking ahead already to the Harvard contest, October 17, and will use many substitutes in this afternoon's encounter. Like Yale, Holy Cross has an abundance of first-class backfield material,, Glennon, a star two seasons ago, now ranking as third-string halfback.

There are several veterans in the line and with Captain Crowley, Wallis, Kittredge, and Wise starting in the backfield the Worcester eleven should have an easy time downing the visitors from New York.

Little is known of the William and Mary team, which meets Annapolis this afternoon. The progress of the Virginian eleven, which visits the Stadium for the first time on October 31, will be watched with interest.