Football Facing Holy Cross

It's been a long time since Harvard has had a 4-0 record, and it's been even longer since one has been able to say that Harvard could have a 4-0 record.

Though it sounds like an apology and though the Crimson's season might becoming the classic case of what could have been, the fans should be accentuating the positive at Harvard Stadium today.

Harvard (1-3, 0-2 Ivy) bosts Holy Cross at 1 p.m.

On paper, Holy Cross looks like a bad team. The Crusaders are 0-5 on the season. Quarterback Brion Stapp has three times as many interceptions as touchdown passes (nine picks versus three TD passes). The team's leading rusher (J.R. Waltz) is averaging 2.7 yard per carry and has yet to score a touchdown on the season.

In other words, the Crusaders aren't exactly an offensive powerhouse.

"Holy Cross has a much simpler offense [than Cornell]," said Harvard captain Justin Frantz, in statement akin to saying the 49ers are good. "We have a simpler plan for both our offense and defense this week. Their offense is pretty balanced, which makes it like Cornell's.

Nevertheless, Frantz cautions that Holy Cross is far superior team to the one that Harvard mauled 27-17 at Worcester, Mass, last season.

"It's a big rivalry," Frantz said. "Though they are 0-5, they are 1,000 times better than last year. We've learned a lesson about teams that we're supposed beat [i.e. Fordham] that aren't so good."

Offensively, the Crimson has been a shining star all season. Harvard's rushing game is currently averaging 222 rushing yards per game, best in the Ivy League. The team's go to man is again junior tailback Eion Hu, who is currently averaging 131 yards per game, 11th in Division 1-AA.

Meanwhile, senior quarterback Vin Ferrara has been racking up offensive numbers of his own. Last week, Ferrara was 19 of 28 for 178 yards. He has 680 yards on the season and is currently fifth among Harvard's all-time passers.

Defensively, the team has jelled quickly and held firm through some tough situations. Against Cornell last week, Harvard put forth its finest defensive performance on the season, twice stopping Big Red drives inside the 10-yard line and ending another late bid for a touchdown with an interception.

The strength of both Harvard's offense and defense is perhaps most evident in its plus-four turnover margin. Harvard has forced nine turnovers this season, and seven of those turnovers led to Harvard touchdowns. Meanwhile, the team has only given up the ball five times.

The big question mark against Holy Cross will be the offensive line, which endured the loss of junior center Robert Jungerhans and sophomore right guard David Elliot due to severely sprained ankles. Freshman Alex Garcia steps in at left guard, Dan Vereb moves to the center position and junior Mike Narducci fills the right guard spot.

"The depth we have in the offensive line is good," Frantz said. "We have a lot of tools there."

Harvard suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y. last weekend. Harvard held a 27-20 lead at the end of three quarters, but the Big Red rallied in the final stanza after Hu fumbled the ball on the Harvard 16-yard line.

Cornell quarterback Steve Joyce found Eric Kramczyk in the right corner of the end zone three plays later. Cornell superback Chad Levitt powered home the two-point conversion to give Cornell the 28-27 final margin. The Crimson came roaring back in the game's final minutes, but freshman kicker Ryan Lund's 38-yard field-goal hit the right post and bounced out.

The loss leaves Harvard in a tough position in the Ivy League. The Crimson has already dropped contests to Columbia and Cornell, which would have knocked Harvard out of Ancient Eight race already in previous years. However, with Columbia's 24-14 upset of Penn last weekend, a team could conceivably win the league with two losses.

"We feel like we have our backs against the wall," Frantz said. "There's a sense of urgency there. Last week's loss might actually have improved our confidence. We were beating them, most of the time, and we had confidence the whole time."

Michael E. Ginsberg contributed to the reporting of this story.