Football Have Has Task Against William and Mary

It will be North against South this afternoon as Harvard's football team travels to Williamsburg, Va., this afternoon for a 1 p.m. rendezvous with William and Mary.

Unlike the Yankee incursion of 130 years ago, however, the visitors are going into this war as the overwhelming underdog.

"William and Mary is going to be extremely tough," Harvard Coach Joe Restic said after his team's 30-3 thrashing of Columbia last weekend. "They will be a much better gauge of how good we are [than Columbia]. We will have to play awfully, awfully well to win."

Make that awfully, awfully, awfully, awfully well. While Harvard was undoubtedly impressive in its opening-game victory, Columbia is no William and Mary.

Although the Crimson holds a slight edge (4-3-2) in its overall series against the Tribe, William and Mary has won the last three games against Harvard, including a 36-16 decision last season.

William and Mary is coming off of a solid 9-2 season in which its only losses were to Division I power Virginia (33-6) and solid James Madison (21-14) in a nail-biter.

From that team, the Tribe returns 14 starters, including the deadly offensive tandem of quarterback Shawn Knight and running back Derek Fitzgerald.

Knight was 124 of 195 for 1890 yards last season in the passing department, throwing 11 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Fitzgerald was the leading rusher for the Tribe last season, carrying the ball 175 times for 835 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Despite returning some high caliber firepower, William and Mary has struggled this season. They have played three games thus far--they hosted New Hampshire in their first game, were at Delaware in their second, and at Tulane in their third--and have a disappointing 1-2 record.

Ironically, though, the slow start could work to the Crimson's disadvantage. In addition to putting the talented Tribe in an almost desperate situation, the poor start has given them a good deal of experience. Both Delaware and Tulane are top-notch teams and probably better than any teams on the Crimson's schedule. Any games against such competition--no matter if they are blow-outs or not--are bound to make a team tougher, more disciplined, and stronger.

Restic feels that the experience factor poses a serious threat to the Crimson's chances on the field today.

"They've already played three times and will definitely have the advantage of experience," Restic said. "That hurts, but we'll just have to go down there and see what happens."

For Harvard, the game will be a test of depth. Traditionally when Harvard has played teams used to slightly tougher competition than Harvard's Ivy League, the game has not always been decided by who has better players, but by who has more good players. The teams accustomed to stiffer competition have generally been able to platoon talented and fresh back-ups into spots whenever starters have been tired or hurt, while Harvard has been forced to wear out its stars.

Restic expressed his fears regarding his team's lack of depth last weekend.

"We weren't really tested in terms of depth today, but we certainly will be in weeks to come," he said. "I must admit that it is a concern--particularly in the offensive backfield and on our special teams. We've just got to hope that when called upon, non-starters will do the most with their opportunities. They did this weekend--I was very proud of them--but whether they do as well for the rest of the season is the big question."

For the Crimson, "the rest of the season" starts today.