The New York herald., 1922-11-20
With Princeton Enigma Out,
Two Can Fight Peaceably
for Losers End.
BY w. o. McGEEHAN.

by w. ". mc0E Il HAN
When Yale and Harvard meet. in the
Bowl next Saturday it will be a game
between two more or less orthodox
football teams. That enigma to oppo-
nents and experts, the Princeton foot
ball eleven, is through for the year,
having passed through the season
without having met a single defeat.
and nobody can say that the Prince
tonians collected a soft schedule for
themselves either.
On the basis of the games with
Princeton the outlook is bright for the
Yale team. 1t is so bright that those
who are betting for investment purposes
only probably will be moved to give
odds on Yale despite the fact that 1t
has been demonstrated time and again
that any games between members OF
the big three" are even affairs and
remain even affairs until the net re-
suit of the meeting is recorded.
Nobody makes a hit at New Haven
by predicting that Yale should win q
football game. 1t is considered almost
a lack of loyalty for member of the
university to predict a victory and an
outsider who gets optimistic at the uni
versity grounds is just about as well
come as a tumble inside the Yale 10
yard line. The fact that optimism at
Yale is always followed by an upset
seems to have made the sons OF ELL
about as superstitious as professional
baseball players.
1t is the other way around at Prince
ton. Just before the second game OF
Aa
before the student body. said boldly: Il
have every confidence in this team. As
a matter of fact am sure that this
team will win every game in its sched-
ule."
Quite a bold statement for o football
coach, quite an expression of confidence
in ones material and ones ability TO
drill and coordinate it, especially with
the general righteousness that was in
evidence at Old Nassau at the time.
Coaches Subject to MeIanchOlia.
This manner of starting a team is
cutie as unorthodox as the playing and
the handling of the Princeton team.
The average coach is inclined to fits of
acute malancholia at the beginning of
the season and these fits become more
pronounced on the eve of an important
game. Perhaps II is good psycholoSy
as It is designed to prevent overconfi-
dence And yet It would seem that indi-
viduaIs going into game would better
be overconfident than anxious.
At any rate Bill Roper did something
that might be called unorthodox when
he rashly announced that his team
would win all of the games. This in
spired the team to so out in an entirely
unorthodox fashion, upset all or the
most carefully prepared football dope
compiled by the best experts. The eX-
perts by way OF revenge are still main
tanning that the Princeton team had no
right 20 beat Harvard and Yale, but
Princeton did, so what is to be done
about e?
Despite the fact that Yale and Har-
ward still are carrying scratches from
tho claws Of the Tiger. the interest In
the Yale-iIarvard battle has not dimin-
ished. AS matter OF fact 1t has In
creased a bit IL anything. Now that
Princeton has produced the unexpected
with rather monotonous regularity
there will be something novel about the
expected happening on a football field.
A Western Criticism.
There was one criticism made by a
Western player concerning all football
L., ,ha Fact fFNTbv is N A" he dpma nde1