Harvard on the Field: Don't Be Confused By The Multi-Flex

On cold but clear November nights, the Ghost of Crimsons Past can still be seen, hovering high above The Stadium that has seen so much in its 90-year history.

Come here, young one, it calls the unsuspecting visitor. Sit down.

Harvard football used to be the best there ever was, the ghost will tell you. Seven national championships in 29 years. In fact, Harvard virtually invented college football as it is played today.

Really? What about the forward pass?

The forward pass was legalized in 1906 to make football a more wide-open game. The alternative was to widen the field by 10 yards, but The Stadium could not be widened so the forward pass was adopted instead. See?

What about the ultimate running attack, the flying wedge--ten people who form a "V" to protect the runner and run downfield? How come Harvard doesn't do that?

Legend has it a Harvard coach came up with that idea in the 1900s but it was quickly banned across the nation for its "homicidal tendencies."

This is all old stuff. What about hot new plays, run-and-gun attacks from top teams like Florida State and Miami? The shotgun? The no-back set? Men in motion?

Ah, young one, you doubt Harvard's omnipotence. The mind that put those plays in Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden's playbook is on the sidelines this weekend, wearing crimson.

What? Ted Kennedy '54-'56?

No--the coach, Joe Restic. Know his Multi-Flex, young one, and remember it well. For contained within it are the roots of football as we know it today.

Wow...

And the Ghost floats off from where it came.

All true? Yes. Cool trivia? Yes. Useful as insight into The Game? No.

From the stands, Restic's Multi-Flex offense looks like a bunch of guys trying to confuse the other team and occasionally themselves as to who has the ball.

The average play sounds like this on the radio: "Giardi takes the snap, fakes to Cote up the middle, fakes to Sprinkle going right, fakes the pass, heads left with Ponosuk the trailer...."

That's overblown, sure, but the central idea of the offense is to keep the defense on its heels, not sure of where the ball will come from next.

In the stands, the crowd has an advantage: its view is not blocked by large 250-pound men aiming to squash the viewer to a pulp. The crowd can see the fakes and follow the action.

Is Harvard on its game? This is a guide of clues to look for.

1)Senior quarterback Mike Giardi (wearing #13, 106 carries for 299 yards and six touchdowns rushing, 97 completions in 214 attempts for 1455 yards passing with seven touchdowns and six interceptions). Giardi is the Multi-Flex Master, the player that Makes It All Happen. The success of the offense depends on how well Giardi can run, fake and throw.

Giardi is extraordinarily adept at running and faking; often he fakes out the camera and defensive backs at the same time with his smooth moves. His passing can be streaky, however.

But when Giardi is out of the game, the Crimson suffers. The entire offense has hinged on Giardi throughout the season and this Game will be no exception. If he is hit hard and doesn't get up, worry.

Restic does.

2)Running backs Nick Isaacson (wearing #5, 48 carries for 234 yards), Mark Cote (#37, 104 for 520), David Sprinkle (#44, 81 for 418) and Jon Ponosuk (#2, 50 for 164). Entering the season, the running game was supposed to be a huge question mark. Simply put, it ain't so.

Any one of this fearsome foursome can handle the load although their styles complement each other: Isaacson and Sprinkle are the bruising (and speedy) fullbacks, Cote is the workhorse halfback and Ponosuk is the explosive tailback who creates excitement on the field.

With these four runners and Giardi, Harvard had the second-best rushing offense in the league and 17th-best in the nation three weeks ago.

If these runners are getting their yards, it's a good sign.

3)The speed of the defensive secondary. Cornerbacks Jae Ellis (wearing #15, 45 tackles, five interceptions) and Chris Andre (#26, 63 tackles, two interceptions). Opposing teams this year have been successful throwing against a secondary geared more toward stopping the run.

Only Ellis has the speed to cover the Ivy League's top pass-catchers, and when Harvard goes to the man-to-man defense it has been burned frequently. Good passing teams have much more of a chance to run up the score.

Yale likes to run the ball, but, with superstar tailback Keith Price out the whole season with an injury, Yale Coach Carm Cozza has gone to the pass with occasional great effect. (Right now the Bulldogs are in a scoring slump, scoring a total of 14 points in their last three games.)

But if Ellis can't keep up with Yale standout wide receiver Dave Iwan, or if Yale quarterback Steve Mills (121 of 221 for 1669 yards, nine touchdowns and 14 interceptions) can find other receivers, there could be trouble.

If Yale is passing the ball well, it's a bad sign for the Crimson..

4)The Crimson's offensive line. The big guys in the trenches, one of Harvard's strengths around the league. Not only do Jason Slavik and Company open large holes for the rushing game, they allow time for the Multi-Flex to work.

The Multi-Flex takes time to develop--fakes need time to really fool someone. If Giardi is given time to let plays develop, Harvard's offense is virtually unstoppable.

If Giardi is running from the Yale defense all the time, problems crop up. But the line hasn't let that happen much, and it certainly shouldn't fall to the Bulldogs.

5)The Restic Factor. Simply put, Harvard will not lose this Game. Yale is not a good team. Harvard is a very good team that has suffered through four unlucky weeks. But with the coach retiring? N-O W-A-Y.

At least, losing would be a bad sign.