Don't Bother Asking The Coaches About This Game

Pennsylvania football Coach Ed Zubrow has seen Yale. He's seen Harvard. He's been beaten by both--badly by Harvard, barely by Yale.

Yale scored a last-second touchdown to down the Quakers three weeks ago. Harvard scored four touchdowns and a field goal and held Penn to only 14 points Saturday.

Zubrow says Harvard is the best team in the league. Well, coach, does that mean Harvard will beat Yale in The Game? Does that mean Harvard will away from New Haven this weekend with its first outright Ivy League crown since 1975?

"I'm told that that's The Game," Zubrow said, "and you never pick The Game."

Okay. Zubrow won't pick The Game. How 'bout Joe Restic? The Harvard coach has been on the Crimson sidelines for 17 years. Surely he has some notion of who's better. If you were a betting man, coach, which team would you put your money on?

"There shouldn't be a favorite in this game," Restic said. "But on pre-season picks, Yale by a long shot."

Give the Elis the edge. After all, they're the home team.

Yo, Yohe: Okay, give Harvard the edge. After all, the Crimson has one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Tom Yohe.

He now owns or shares every major Harvard single-season passing record. He even holds some obscure, gosh-why-does anyone care? marks like most pass attempts in a game (52, against Holy Cross).

How good is Yohe. Coach Zubrow?

"He's a great athlete," Zubrow said. "He's at his best when things break down and it's a free-lance game. He was able to put us in that situation too frequently..."

Coach Restic?

"He has excellent field presence," Restic said. "He knows where those people are. When you break the pattern--this is the tough part for the quarterback--he starts to scramble. But Yohe knows where the people are going to go. It's instinct."

Ryan's Hope: But wait a second, Yale has a good quarterback, too. They've got Kelly Ryan. He's the front-runner for Ivy League Player of the Year. Barring a disaster in The Game (or a great Yohe showing), Ryan, a senior, will win the league's MVP trophy.

Going into last weekend, Ryan had played in five Ivy games and completed 83 of 132 attempts for 1059 yards and four touchdowns. Yohe, on the other hand, had played in five Ivy games and completed 74 of 144 attempts for 1053 yards.

So, is there a favorite?

"This will be a real big ball game for both teams," Restic said, understating the case a little. "Their defense has played well, our defense has played well. They have a great quarterback, we have a great quarterback. They have excellent receivers, our receivers are very comparable."

Okay, call it even.

Most Notable Unnoted Play of the Week: Yes, they're still talking about The Boot. Down 21-7 early in the third quarter, Penn blocked a Harvard punt at the 20-yard line and seemed ready to pounce on the ball. But Quaker special-teamer Mark Ligos booted the ball down to the goal-line.

Ligos was called for a personal foul and Penn was assessed a 15-yard penalty, giving the Crimson the ball at midfield.

"This is a big play for us and a tough play for them," Restic said. "They've made a big play defensively and all the sudden they lose the ball. That just turns the game around. They get it down there, and if they have some success they go in and score and get back in the ball game."

"The officials gave me the explanation," Zubrow said. "It's their judgement. I did not see whether the kick was intentional or not."

Harvard went on to score a touchdown on the drive and put Penn in a 28-7 hole.

For all the help Ligos' foot did, he might well have stuck it in his mouth.

Most Notable Unnoted Player of the Week:Give credit to Penn quarterback Dave McNally. At the beginning of the season, McNally was not even the back-up--he was third string.

But regular signal-caller Malcom Glover went down a month ago, and Glover's back-up, John Keller, suffered a kidney injury early in Saturday's contest. When McNally, a senior, was sent in, his team was down by two touchdowns.

He had trouble with a few snaps, but hit some key passes in bringing Penn its two TDs.

"Dave played well," Zubrow said. "It's tough to come in when the team's behind. He's truly a program kid and he stuck with it even after he got beaten out by a junior [Keller] and a sophomore [Glover]. He played the best he could play."

Restic knew that when Keller went out, Penn would be in a difficult spot. Keller is not only a fine passer, but a good runner as well.

"He's an exciting quarterback, an option quarterback," Restic said. "When he went out, we didn't worry about the option."

Brian's Song:Crimson wide out Brian Barringer caught five passes Saturday, mainly on his trademark curling patterns. He needs 10 receptions in The Game to break Pat McInally's single-season receiving record of 56.