Gridders to Battle Minutemen

The Ivy League as a whole has something to prove today.

In 1981, non-Ivy schools humbled the Golden Eight on the gridiron, as the league compiled a collective 6-18 against non-Ivy opponents. Subtract Yale's 3-0 mark against outsiders, and the disgrace of it all becomes even more evident.

Harvard best William and Mary, 23-14, last year to become one of the three Ivy teams to manage a 1-2 record outside the league. (Cornell and Brown were the others.) But the Crimson dropped the Virginians from its schedule this season. So while the other Ivy schools try to re-establish the league's credibility against familiar opponents. Harvard will face the University of Massachusetts, a team that upended an injury-riddled Harvard squad, 20-7, in the fall of 1979.

Ground Game

A lot of things have changed over the three years since the teams last met. In 1979, UMass beat the Crimson with a 251-yard passing performance from quarterback Mike McEvilly, while gaining only 79 yards rushing. Today, Minutemen Coach Bob Piclkett brings to Harvard Stadium Garry Pearson, who is averaging 155.5 rushing yards per game and a strategy that heavily emphasizes the ground game.

In the '79 game, Harvard quarterback Burke St. John was injured early in the second quarter, leaving the Crimson without a reliable signal caller. Today, quarterback Ron Cuccia will be sidelined with a bruised rib suffered in last week's win over Columbia, but this year, Coach Joe Restic can count on Don Allard to come off the bench and do a job that St. John's subs couldn't handle.

And finally, in 1979, Harvard was in the NCAA's Division I-A, while UMass played in Division I-AA. Today, thanks to an NCAA move that demoted Ivy football teams last winter, the Crimson and the Minutemen will face each other as fellow members of Division I-AA.

The change in NCAA status, however, should have as much impact on today's game as the fact that three years ago you couldn't see through the Harvard Stadium endzone seats. Being in Division I-AA didn't stop UMass from beating Harvard, and the stadium renovations, for that matter, won't drive any spectators away. (A crowd of 11,000 is expected, and 20,000 of the stadium's 37,000 seats are completed.

The biggest difference, undoubtedly, will be Pearson. As a junior last year, Pearson rushed 1,026 yards in only nine games, earning a spot on the Division I-AA All-America squad. The presence of fullback Ton Murray, who gained 102 yards in a 25-3 win over West Chester State two weeks ago, makes the UMass backfield all the more imposing.

Pearson may find it slightly more difficult to rack up the yardage against Harvard, however. The Minutemen saw two of their best offensive lineman go down with injuries in last week's 27-14 loss to Holy Cross; right guard Scott LaFond has recovered from a minor ankle injury and intends to play this afternoon, but center Tony Pasquale's sore knee might keep him out of action.

The Holy Cross game also took its toll on the UMass defense, putting both linebacker Steve Foreman and noseguard Scott Rose on today's casualty list.

Harvard, on the other hand, sustained relatively few debilitating injuries in its opener with Columbia. Cuccia's rib was expected to heal in time for him to play this afternoon, but as it turned out, he was unable to practice all week. But last Saturday. Allard replaced Cuccia in the second quarter and completed five of nine passes for 72 yards and two TDs. If the Columbia game was any indication, the senior back-up should have little trouble with his first starting assignment, although the presence of UMass cornerback Dwayne Lopes (two interceptions last week) and third-team All-American safety Grady Fuller might convince Restic to limit Allard's aerial range.

An injury could also make adjuster Louis Varsames a spectator this afternoon. Without him, Harvard's defensive secondary will be at its weakest, but fortunately, Pickett seldom has quarterback Dean Pecevich throw anything but short laterals.

Offsetting injury-related lineup changes will be the return of Team Captain and right tackle Greg Brown, out of action last week because of a hyperextended knee. Without him, Harvard halfbacks Scott McCabe and Tim McGugan combined for 182 yards and three TDs last week, but having Brown, an All-Ivy selection, up front should make the pair an even more potent double threat.