Position by Position, Harvard Trumps Yale

On paper, Harvard's football team is clearly better than Yale's.

But what's on paper doesn't always dictate what happens on the field.

There is no question that the Crimson will line up superior players on both sides of the ball this Saturday. In a game between two rivals, anything can happen, but the line on this game is that Harvard simply outmatches the Elis position by position.

Offense

Quarterbacks

Harvard junior quarterback Neil Rose already holds Harvard single-season records for completions (175), passing yards (2,345) and total offensive yards (2,521).

Quarterbacks

Rose has led Harvard's offense to a modern-day scoring record with 303 points so far this season. Rose and the rest of the offense have also tied the Harvard record for total offensive production with 4,237 yards through nine games.

Rose has been the catalyst of an offense that has terrorized Ivy League defenses. With an accurate arm and the ability to scramble out of the pocket when pressured, Rose might be the best player on the field tomorrow.

Yale junior quarterback Peter Lee has also enjoyed success this year. Lee has passed for 1,917 yards this season and has completed 166 passes.

He stepped in to replace Joe Walland, who was lost to graduation after last season. Lee has passed for 400 fewer yards than Rose and averages two yards less per completion.

Advantage: Harvard

Running Backs

After the first few games this season, no one thought that the ground game would be a strength for the Crimson. With its three top running backs sidelined with injuries, Harvard has relied on fourth- and fifth-string sophomore running backs Matt Leiszler and Nick Palazzo.

But Leiszler and Palazzo have been a two-headed monster for Harvard out of the backfield, helping the team gain an Ivy League-leading average of 184.5 yards per game on the ground. The Crimson averages 4.37 yards per rush, partly because both Leiszler and Palazzo combine a tough running style with the ability to break for long runs. Listed at 5'8 but not close to that size in actuality, the sophomores are power runners with speed who complement the Crimson's high-powered passing attack.

Yale senior running back Rashad Bartholomew is the featured back in the Elis' offense. He leads the league in yards per game with 139 and has 1,114 yards on the season. Bartholomew has not been as productive around the end-zone as his yardage statistics would lead you to believe. He has scored just nine touchdowns while Palazzo and Leiszler have combined for 12.

Though it's a close call here, Leiszler and Palazzo have the edge over Bartholomew.

Advantage: Harvard

Receivers

Receiver is probably the deepest position on Harvard's roster. All of Harvard's top five receivers are scoring threats and Yale's defense will have to be aware of them on every play. Sophomores Carl Morris, Kyle Cremarosa and Sean Meeker, along with juniors Dan Farley and Sam Taylor form the best group of wide receivers in the Ivy League. Along with senior tight end Chris Stakich, they give Neil Rose a number of options on every passing play.

All season long, the Crimson receivers have specialized in turning short passes into long touchdowns. Speed merchants Morris and Cremarosa have been especially effective at it.

In the last few games, Harvard's passing repertoire has widened as Taylor has stepped up and made several tough catches over the middle.

Taken as a group, these receivers are very difficult to defend. Any one of them has the speed and the moves to beat opposing cornerbacks. Because all the receivers are talented and the Crimson lines up in a lot of multiple-receiver sets, Yale won't be able to concentrate on Morris alone unless it wants to get beaten by the other wideouts.

The Elis will bring a pair of effective senior receivers to The Game. Eric Johnson is second in the Ivy League with an average of 97 yards per game receiving and 874 total receiving yards to go with 12 TD catches. Tommy McNamara adds 51.6 yards per game and has 465 yards on the season with one TD reception.

After those two, though, the cupboard is mostly bare for the Elis. Yale's third-leading receiver is its fullback, junior James Keppel.

When Lee drops back to pass, Johnson will be his only credible threat downfield.

Advantage: Harvard

Offensive Line

The big guys up front for the Crimson are both talented and experienced. Captain Mike Clare leads the offensive line from his position at left tackle. Clare is a very effective pass blocker and devastating when blocking for the run. Whenever Harvard really needs to get a tough couple of yards, count on Leiszler or Palazzo to run right behind Clare.

The line remained largely unchanged from last season, but a vital new addition this year is new Offensive Line Coach Jim Turner, who installed new pass- and run-blocking schemes.

Much of the credit for Harvard's 184.5 rushing yards-per-game average this season must go to the offensive line, which has consistently been able to open large holes for the running backs.

The O-line has also been very good at protecting Rose. Against Penn, which has the best defensive line in the Ivy League, the offensive line gave Rose a lot of time in the pocket, especially late in the game.

Yale's offensive line has contributed to the Elis' 4.33 yards-per-carry average. At the same time, however, Yale's offensive line has given up several sacks at inopportune times this season.

Thanks to Turner's coaching and the line's two seasons worth of experience together, the Crimson gets the nod here as well.

Advantage: Harvard

Defense

Defensive Line

As a group, Harvard's defense is young, starting only two seniors. The defensive line is young as well, but deep. Led by senior defensive tackle R.D. Kern, the D-line has really improved over the last few games.

Defensive Line

Against the Quakers, the defense tallied four sacks against a tough Penn offensive line. Junior defensive ends Marc Laborsky and Phil Scherrer are playmakers coming off the corner, and junior defensive tackle Ryan Fitzgerald plugs up the middle with Kern.

Harvard's league-leading rush defense is due in large part to the efforts of the guys up front.

Yale's defensive line, while it also has a good group of players, hasn't had quite the production of Harvard's D-line this year. Yale's rush defense is second in the league, averaging 122 yards per game allowed on the ground compared to 111 yards for Harvard.

Although the match-up is a close one, yet again, the nod has to go to the Crimson.

Advantage: Harvard

Linebackers

Linebacker was a real question mark for Harvard coming into this season. With two freshman linebackers thrust into starting roles, no one knew what to expect from Harvard here.

Luckily for the Crimson, both Dante Balestracci and Jeffrey Reiman have proved more than able to play at the Ivy League level.

Balestracci has settled himself into the middle linebacker spot vacated by Isaiah Kacyvenski '00, who was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks this past spring. Reiman sees time as the fourth linebacker when the Crimson is in an eight-man front.

Harvard's linebackers are a big part of the Crimson's league-leading rush defense.

Though the Crimson leads the league in rushing defense, the Elis lead the league in pass defense, having giving up only 194 yards per game and 13 touchdowns through the air this season.

This match-up is almost too close to call, but Balestracci is a real talent and will make big plays on Saturday.

Advantage: Harvard

Defensive Backs

Harvard's defensive backfield is much improved from last year's squad. Despite that improvement, there were shades of the 1999 team in the air last Saturday against Penn. As junior quarterback Gavin Hoffman worked his way down the field with less than two minutes remaining for the winning score, it seemed as if the Crimson defensive backs had forgotten what they had learned this season.

There was an important difference against Penn last Saturday compared to last season. On each of Hoffman's passes late in the game, a Harvard defensive player was in position to make a play on the ball. Last year, receivers would break free against a porous Crimson defense.

Junior cornerback Andy Fried, a converted wide receiver, has been playing well, while fellow junior Willie Alford has also been equally impressive at the other corner spot.

Senior Mike Brooks leads the secondary from his strong safety position and should play a large role in the Crimson's run defense on Saturday when he walks up to the line and the Crimson plays an eight-man front.

But Yale wouldn't have the league's leading pass defense if it didn't have the best defensive backs.

Their 17 interceptions this season are also the main reason why Yale leads the league in turnover ratio.

The match-up between Harvard's wideouts and Yale's defensive backs should be the marquee battle of the afternoon.

Advantage: Yale

Special Teams

It's all about field goals here.

Harvard has played well on special teams apart from field goals. For instance, freshman kicker Robbie Wright leads the league in point after attempts, converting on 31-of-31opportunities, while every other Ivy kicker has missed at least one.

The dearth of field goals, however, especially in light of last week's one-point loss to Penn and an earlier one-point loss to Cornell, looms large over the Crimson's entire season: Harvard is 3-for-12 in field goal tries this season.

Yale is better at kicking field goals, hitting 7-of-15 on the season.

Advantage: Yale