New-York tribune., 1901-11-11
ON THE GRIDlRON.
JUST BEFORE THE BIGGEST GAMES OF
TIE SEASON-PRINCETON GOOD
CHANCE TO BEAT YALE
On SATURDAY.


Harvard, Yale and Princeton are now await
ing the final blasts Of the referees whistle. Each
team has had all OF its practice games ana
there remain only the final touches to put TO the
rival elevens The feature OF a season that has
otherwise been devoid Of features has been the
remarkable Improvement made by several teams
lot commonly considered Of first class cahbre-
t the public interest still centres in the eleVens
of the big universities and il becomes necessary.
TO give final glance at their conoition anu
prospects Pennsylvania may be dismissed from
consideration. She dismissed herself enectuaiiy
on Saturday, when Harvard simply srnothere0
her II is Pennsylvania's weakest team IN years
II IS not too severe TO say Inat no. Que 4 y. ne me-
players is first class man or could hope Ior an!
position better than substitute on a really alrst
class team.
ON Saturday Princeton goes to New-Haven
for the final and most important game of her
season. She goes there with not defeat regis
tered against her and only one tie game her
chances for success seem good. Yale Won from
West Point but she did not outplay the soldiers
any more than Princeton did. Indeed, the West
Pointers had improved since the Yale game. and
gave the Tigers q better fight Princeton, too
was without all her best players. faot that
must be taken into consideration The defence OF
the Tigers is the weakest point about the eleven
If It equaIled the attack the Orange and Black
would be invincble this season. Unfortunately
II leaves much TO be desired. Some OF the
forwards appear to convince themselves tnat lne
r,lav is not coming their way when II really is.
They fail too. in getting through rapidly enough
in break UP CT the opposing interference Prince
toms offensive work is good beyond that OF any
other team the gridircn up TO cate TINS
season. and, what is more encouraging sun. she
is handling the ball very c!eanly Ia her recee ~
games. If she continues3o 90 TINS II is ilke!y 70
help her win the Yale game, for the EMS nave
been bad offenders this season as TO fuHoies ana
rnuffed punts-
YaIe's game with the Orange Athletic Club on
Saturday was good football, and the partisans OF
the New-Haven team are much encouraged as
e result It is not hard, however. for good team
TO beat an inferior team badly and DO 1T by loot
hall The difficult thing is TO play footoaA OF
the very best quality when opposed to another
team that is playing a game Of equal quality
Yale however, has long been noted for puinfs
herself together for a supreme effort ana tof
making almost phenomenal improvement In the
last few days before big game 1t has been
feared by some who have seen the Yale PLAYERS
during the last few days that they woulo 80 M =.
the Princeton game overtrained IL tne9 90 A.
viii be the first big game in a long. long uIlie
thatfhas found Yale players physically unIlI iof
an emergency when it has been posslple lor
skflful training and oversight so send them
there fit Nike Murphy knows when man Is
fit and how TO keep him so, and II is unlikely
that he VIII lose his cunning this year.
AS stated IN another. column Of this news
paper Glass viii probably not be allowed TO
play in the Harvard game, and may not In the
Princeton game. This is. in my Judgment JUST
-vhat should happen. To play him would clearly
break the rule Of eligibility passed last spring
by YaIe's athletic advisers; and Yale is not IN
the habit OF making rule IN the spring anu
breaking it in the fall. It is hard to see how
Glass can consistently be played in the Prince
ton game If he is excluded from the Harvard
game If the rule IS violated IN one case IL Ger
tanly is in the other. The fact that frlneeloE
is not likely TO protest Glass while Harvard VIII
almost surely do So would be a pretty unworthy
motive for playing the freshman guard IN the
Princeton game. II is admitted that the ab-
line and MAJ cost her the Harvard and Prince
ton games not only because the freshman IN
dtyiGual playing will be so badly missed, but
fecause his presence has been relied upon TO
ettffen the centre OF the Inc
I do not think that the presence of Glass
would save thu Princeton game for Yale. I look
TO see 8 Princeton victory. There are several
reasons that lead TO this conclusion. Princeton
has shown much more steadiness in critical
situations than has Yale. She has handled the
ball much more cleanly. Dewitt VIII prooaoiy
o1,tpuut De SaulleS Weymouth, ano the o1-
fence Of the Tigers Is better organized ana mora
..CbesiTe Yale may yet pull herself together.
4 it looks as II the situation were too serious
Ur Yale pluck and luck to pun her 'hfoueh-
from Harvard Harvard simply-slaughteredf the
unfortunate Pennsylvanians on Saturday, but
she did not convince many close observers that
her own team Is particularly good or capaoieo OF
being developed IN the short space OF g 1ost-
might into a team able to play last and nnisneo
football Hervard's line IS one OF the heaviest
on the gridiron this fall. but It is not an espe~
ciallv active line and although tho 1oEVaros
continually broke through "Penn's" limo when
the Crimson was on the defence. they oio not
seem to know what to do When they gos~
Through It.was rarely that a Penn runner
was downed by any Of the Harvard forWaruA
with the exception Of Campbell and bowoitco:
He usually downed himself by hitting q maSs %
tangled piayers And as for handling tho ball,
Harvard's work was enough to Bring the oiuen
of shame TO the average prep echooi payer.
Il is hard to see how euch team cou!o 6o
through. SO much good training as Harvard hae
received this fau and stu tumble and mum enc
otherwise n1ishandle the oval es the Crimson
kiclzers did Saturday. or course. rem
Was worse, but that should be no COMFORT 10
Harvard II the Cambridge eleven does NOT
,TnTro1e In this particular before November ~
vale will beat her, Class or no GLASS. ss surely
as beans are baked II Boston every SATURDAY
night.
Cornell comes down to New-York on Saeur~
dav to meet Columbia. and ought 70 beat hen
Should Columbia meet Cornell to-day. there
could be no doubt in the minds OF most football
observers of the victory OF the Ishacans Yet
Syracuse routed the New-Yorkers Saturday
and rubbed Il In IN good style simply ou.play-
ing Sanford's pupils at every point Sanford
did not see the rnournful sight. having gene to
Ithaca TO get line Cornell. He was prob
abiv the most surprised man in the State when
ht. heard the melancholy news. Columbia is
GOOD deal like Harvard this season. She has
God strong line, but they slow and some
nv.4 IN