Evening star., 1923-11-09

Usually some one of the trio oc.
cupies some such position as Yale
does this season, a team with a wealth
| of experienced material which is able
to storm along up to the crucial series
with all sails set, distancing every
opponent without too great strain.
But both Princeton and Harvard have
not been SO favored this season. Both
have been beaten once and both have
played tie games.
Showing Hard to Explain.
Just why Harvard should have gone
through a season SO unsatisfactory as
has been the case to date is a mys-
| terry. Her eleven is composed of a
majority of veteran players, and re-
cruits, particularly in the backfield.
nave been of excellent caliber. Prince
tons season thus far is easier under
the necessity of developing an entire
ly new line with the exception of an
end and q guard. Progress thus was
slow, and the fact is that those close
10 the eleven have been well pleased
TO get by the preliminary season with
the loss of but one game.
Just before the Navy contest Prince
ton coaches began to see the results
Of their work and since then the
eleven has been coming along very
well indeed. So much so that en- Sat
urday against Harvard it may be pre-.
dicted that the Tigers, win or lose.
VIII show such form as to enlist the
pride of every Princeton nIan There
VIII be cohesive and well conceived
attack, not too narrow in scope, and
1t viii not be an easy eleven against
which to score.
AS for Harvard, there have been re-
/ ports that this year every energy was
| TO be bent upon winning the Princeton
game, since Harvard has not prevailed
over Nassau since 1916. To the end
| that the Tigers might be laid low. ac
| cording to the story. the Crimson has
! held everything secret. has been will
! ing to accept even defeat rather than
Permit Princeton scouts to obtain a
single definite idea concerning the
Past Performances Count.
| If this is true any prediction as to
| the outcome of Saturdays game would
| be futile, even though it be recognized
that team that holds everything
back throughout its preliminary season
comes up to its important games with
out that sanction which tests against
opponents other than the scrub give.
AT all events, teams can be Judged
only by what they have shown.
BaSlng judgment thus upon Prince
tons showing against the Navy and
iSWarthmore and by Harvard's showing
against Dartmouth. making allowance
X -
one cannot escape the conviction that
Princeton must be favored to win this
game. She would stand very good
chance of winning it on the basis of
punting and covering of punts alone.
but besides the Tigers picked up more
than one valuable lesson from Notre
Dame, and, If the writer is not very
much mistaken, will be found to have
developed most interesting running
and overhead attack. Unless Harvard
has improved so per cent over her
Dartmouth game form she should have
hard time stopping the Tigers
And by the same token, the Crimson
must show an attack that differs ma
terlally from that which she has
shown to date to make winning head
way against her opponent. In sum,
Harvard must show a greater per
centage of improvement over her form
of two weeks ago to beat Nassau than
Princeton will have to show TO beat
the Cambridge team. Fifty-eight thou
sand spectators will see the game.
Copyright, 1921