New-York tribune., 1905-11-25
THE BLUE SHOULD WAVE.
YALE VICTORY INDICATED
HaUard Does Not Shape Up Well
in Com pairing Tspo EleUe7sS.


Practically the same circumstances confront
the lover of football on the morning Of the an
nuai Harvard-Yale match as confronted him on
the morning of last Saturday, when Yale was to
NEE. and badly defeat Princeton in a few hours
Yals goes up to Cambridge with all the prestige
that is to be derived from season of unbrolhen
vfctory-a season during which not one eleven
has been able to cross her goal line, and the only
score that has been made a goal from the field
in the Princeton game. What does she find when
she gets TO Soldiers Field? Practically broken,
discouraged eleven, with string of defeats be-
hind it-scored on by several teams this year.
beaten by Pennsylvania, when she ought to have
won and tied by Dartmouth.
Worse than that-Harvard goes into the great
est match OF her year practically headless. The
unfortunate Importance of the injury to Captain
Hurley cannot possibly be exaggerated, since it
deprives Harvard not only of probably the best
defensive back now playing football, but also of
OF the most inspiring field captains and
clever organizers that the game has ever known.
There is no doubt that Harvard has the mate
rial All 1t needs is some of the magic force to
weld IL into weapon Of conference and power.
Such force il is possible that Hurley might
season Of discouragements. But that chance
has gone. Hurley is dangerously i'll, and his men
must get along without him.
Now. what have we left, with Hurley gone? A
set Of strong, powerful men, composed in good
Part or players who have never been tried in
the red hot flame Of championship match
players OF strength and doubtless Of determine
ton to give the best there is in them in order
to win. There are, OF course, such veterans as
Kncwlton and Squires. and two three others,
but their experience viii be hard put to over
come the inexperience of the rest. Not only are
they inexperienced. but they do not seem to
have acquired a deeply grounded knowledge of
Pennsylvania for example More than half the
Harvard team fumbled unforgivably. IF a
PLAYER cannot hold on TO the ball when II is
m I'm 1er he cSrra Nlac
quick as Rockwell, he is Of precious little use on
football eleven.
game. Il WIS tumble, tumble, tumble In the
line. half the men play too high All this of the
consideration when it comes to team work.
Granted that Reid has been handicapped by
man ay n1 1arss S 10 S n15 hTs5 e1Tng play players tha
thoroughly drilled machine. We are not now
dealing with causes so much with effects
Whatever the causes may have been. the fact
remains that the Harvard team has seldom been
twice the same in any two games this fall.
At Yale the eleven was practically determined
on within four weeks after practice began, and
the time thereafter developed into polishing off
those eleven men. At Harvard there has been
q cog, or two three, almost every time
the machine put into operation and as
often as not the old. cogs were set in different
places Injuries may have caused these con-
slant shake-ups. to be sure but the result is
Just as unfortunate as if the thing had been
done Of set purpose
The result is. so far can judge, that
Harvard has a big. strong, powerful lot of play
erS with comparatively little idea of how to play
together Knowlton and Brill probably the
equals Of any two playing in their positions
on any team in the country to-day, but with
such apparent absence of team work the
most cannot be made of their capabilities.
Squires and Pierce have shown flashes of ex-
ceptional ability, too, but lust as frequent ex-
in particular, most of the gains through the line
We're made between these two players.
There seems to be absence the Harvard
team also, of with wonderful a sense Of
the location of the ball and knowledge Of where
# is going next TO amount almost to instinct
Such a man is Hurley. but there is no other
like him the Harvard eleven, though Yale
has in the last week built up attack and
a defence that will surprise us to-day, but every
thing points the other way.
There isn't much use in analyzing the Yale
team further at this juncture. There is little
20 add TO what said in this column the
morning Of the Yale-Princeton affair Yale has
not a first class team. Indeed, in my opinion
there is not really first class football team in
the East this season. But one side of Yale's
eleven Is phenomenally excellent-that is, of
course, her attack. It is the srnoothest and best
drilled attack that turned out by any
team that has come within my personal observa-
ton. II lacks the power TO make It irresistible
That was evident before the Princeton match
and that match merely emphasized this weak
ness but for finish and speed it has never been
eIcelled. The Blues defence is a weak one
The Tigers ripped It up time and time again
for good gains, and there is enough power in
the Harvard eleven to hit It even harder but to
make touchdown. unless aided by the other
sides errors. requires consistency well as
power. And that Harvard has not got. or if
she has she has up to date concealed her possess
sion of ft most efectually.
What. then ought to be the result Of to-day's
match the Stadium-Inost magnificent Of
athletic arenas? II requires prophet to see
that Yale victory is strongly indicated. Yet
there is something in the ability of a beaten
team to turn and make winning fight in the
corner TO which st is driven. Harvard has done
IL before. Perhaps she viii do it to-day. But
II she does ii Will be OF the biggest upsets
In the history OF the game 1t IS hard TO see
how Yale can be prevented from gaining al
most az VIII through the Harvard line
Perhaps the Cambridge players hold top
form long enough TO push their way across
Yale's goal line once. though myself am in
cI,ned 20 doubt it I should not be surprised
TO Gee Yale score four times possibly five.
I, NAV be taken for granted that Harvard win
make a gallant fight, but the odds are all
against her. There does not seem TO be hole