BIG RED STUNS HARVARD, 9-3

It's days like these that ruin football seasons for some and make them for others. For in weather that was not fit or otters, Harvard's 17-point talent advantage was quickly negated and Cornell splashed its way to its first triumph in over a year, against a Crimson squad that has to be wondering why it always seems to rain on Saturday in Cambridge.

The first quarter opened the way first quarters on rain-drenched fields are supposed to open. The only meaningful statistic concerned the number of slips and dropped balls, and if rain ever proved more of an equalizer, then Noah composed "Rain Drops Keep Fallin' On My Head."

The Big Red received the opening ickoff, but was unable to do anything against a Harvard defense that was weakened by the absence of devensive and Russ Savage.

Savage has back problems, and his place in the Crimson lineup was taken by Bob Bailey.

On its first defensive possession, Harvard could also do little although Mother Nature did provide Cornell with a helping hand. On third and three from the Big Red 38, Jim Kubacki slipped while rolling out to his left and the first down attempt failed. Jim Kubacki usually doesn't slip.

Second Exchange

After a second exchange of punts, with the rain getting heavier by the minute, Cornell got a well-deserved break.

Rainstorm or no rainstorm, the Big Red had a slight performance edge during the quarter, and they say that God rewards, right?

Right, or at least so it seemed when a Cornell punt and a Crimson personal foul penalty gave Harvard possession on its own three. On first down, the Crimson was again penalized, this time for an illegal shift. Kubacki tried again and this time, Harvard was penalized to the tune of a two-point conversion, with 1:23 remaining in the period.

Clinging to Football

The quarter ended with Cornell clinging to the 2-0 advantage, but none of the players was clinging to the football.

Whoever had made the Crimson a 17-point favorite obviously wasn't a meteorologist.

The Crimson managed its first sustained drive of an afternoon that would have been better spent in bed by moving from its eight to Cornell's 36. But the multiflex offense tends to wilt in the rain and the drive came to a slippery conclusion.

Cornell began to operate from highly unfavorable field position, as a Scott Coolidge punt was downed on the Big Red one, but even the Cornell veer was rendered ineffective by the showers.

If only this were a baseball game, the refs would have called it off.

Lost among the commotion was the fact that as half time approached and the rains became torrential, Harvard was being upset by a team that on a normal day would have already been back to Ithaca by now.

The 8000 fans who were announced today in attendance had a difficult time figuring out whether they were more surprised by the score of the fact that they were in attendance to begin with.

Harvard received one more shot in the closing minutes of the half but, and this is getting to be monotonous, the rains proved to be too wet to handle. And as the half ended with Cornell leading 2-0, it was time to get serious.

The first half statistics would have been better left unkept, as they revealed the futility of attempting to play football on a day reserved for ducks. Jim Kubacki had total offensive statistics of 37 yards, minus six rushing, which just about sums it up.

Joe Restic must have done a rain dance during halftime, or at least politely suggested to his team that it had better ignore the showers or else, because the Crimson took the kickoff and moved to the Big Red 8, before Mike Lynch kicked a real wobbly duck of a field goal, 25 yards to be exact, and Harvard led, 3-2.

And then, on the ensuing kickoff, the floodgates from heaven opened up in more ways than one. Cornell fumbled, and the Crimson was only 20 yards from the endzone. Three plays produced just four yards, so Lynch, one of the few players whose uniform number was still visible, re-entered the game, but his 33-yarder failed wide to the right.

Cornell did nothing but get wet on its next series, and then the impossible occurred. On fourth and five from his 25, Dave Johnson went back to punt, but the snap from center was high, so Johnson did the obvious. He took the football and slashed from 85 yards down the left sideline for a 9-3 Cornell lead with 5:13 remaining in the quarter.

Harvard had a chance or two in the final quarter, but when the ball isn't bouncing your way, there is little to do. First the Crimson took over on its own six but could advance just 14 yards up field.

After a punt exchange, Kubacki moved his team into Cornell territory, but a Kubacki-to-Mark Taylor pitchout missed connections and Cornell had a fumble recovery.

Twice more Harvard had possession, but twice more the offense was thwarted.

The Crimson gave a few signs of recharging the battery, but the big play simply wasn't to be had, and Cornell left the stadium with the Ivy League upset of the season.

With two minutes remaining, a final Harvard drive was stopped by an interception, and that was it.

The conclusion of the game brought the end of the initial part of the Crimson's schedule, when Harvard hosted its first four opponents. The Crimson travels to Hanover to oppose Dartmouth next weekend, plays Princeton away in two weeks, and does not return home until October 30, when the opponent will be Brown.

It seemed a certainty that Harvard would lose. The rains were pouring down, the Crimson offense couldn't stand up, let alone move, and Cornell led throughout the game.