Penn looking to play spoiler

Harvard football coach Tim Murphy has seen Penn's last three games. He saw the missed kicks, the botched snaps and the porous defense.

He wasn't fooled.

"They're just a couple of plays away from being in the position that Yale's in," undefeated in the Ivies, Murphy said. "Physically, athletically, in terms of matchups, [it's] the most difficult team we're going to face."

No. 17 Harvard can't count on Penn faltering down the stretch tomorrow. The game is far too important for that.

The Crimson desperately needs to win. If it doesn't, neither Penn nor Harvard will win the Ivy League title outright for the second straight year, the first time that will have happened since 1995-96.

The runaway preseason favorite, Harvard has run over every Ivy team it has faced this year - save a nailbiting 31-28 loss to Princeton that knocked Harvard off its pedestal and exposed every chink in its armor.

This was after a period marked by arrests, dismissals and suspensions of players, including quarterback Liam O'Hagan, who is now back in action.

But after all this, the Crimson still controls its own destiny.

Or at the very least, Clifton Dawson controls it.

A fifth-year senior running back, Dawson has gone over 170 yards rushing three times this year and ranks second in the Ivies in that category. Even more impressive is that Dawson is poised to break the Ivy League record for career rushing yards tomorrow. He needs just 54 more to do it.

But that number will be the last thing on the Quakers' mind. Stopping the 210-pounder from running wild will be their chief concern. As Dawson goes, so goes the Crimson - only one team, Princeton, has held Dawson under 94 yards this year. That was in Harvard's only loss.

Looking to challenge the soon-to-be record holder is Penn's front

seven. Linebackers Joe Anastasio and Kory Gedin, despite a tough outing against Princeton, rank second and 11th in the league in tackles. The Quakers' rush defense is third.

Penn coach Al Bagnoli also said that he will be wary of wide receiver Corey Mazza - the Ancient Eight touchdowns leader with - and of Harvard's talented tight ends, led by sophomore Jason Miller.

"It's a pretty diverse offense, but if you had to prioritize, you've got to start off with Dawson," Bagnoli said. "If you allow him to run for 170 yards, it's going to be a long afternoon for you."

On the other side is the Penn offense, which will have to match Dawson yard for yard.

Tailback Joe Sandberg could have a rough day against the top rush defense in the nation. But quarterback Robert Irvin should be in high spirits, since the Crimson also possesses the only pass defense worse than Penn's.

"We've been very impressed with Irvin," Murphy said. "He obviously throws a great ball. It seems like he's just starting to peak."

Irvin had a career-best game against a stingy Princeton defense last weekend, throwing to seven receivers for 365 yards and two touchdowns. His performance tomorrow could limit the damage Harvard's offense can do - Dawson can't make plays if he is watching from the sidelines.

But Penn has been peaking in more than one respect. Sandberg and fullback Nick Cisler each burned the Tigers defense. The kicking game, for so long a source of frustration, actually rebounded - it was a low snap and a bad hold, not a missed kick, that sunk the Quakers.

Penn was a couple of plays away from facing Harvard for an Ivy title. But the Crimson already knows that. It wasn't fooled.

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