Word: buckley
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...what of the offense, the Multiflexing pride and joy of coach Joe Restic? As always with Restic teams, the basic question comes down to the man calling the signals--as the quarterback goes, so goes Harvard football. After a heated struggle in pre-season camp, Restic awarded Brian Buckley the starting nod the day before the opener with Columbia...
...brawny left-hander went on to become the offense's leader, not just its quarterback (89 for 167, .533, 1123 yds., eight T.D.s). By the Army game, third of the season. Buckley looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the east. But late in the fourth quarter--after he had scored a pair of touchdowns and passed for 147 yds in the 15-10 Harvard upset--Buckley caught his knee on the astroturf carpet of Michie Stadium. The Crimson would lose two of its next three games, including an agonizing 7-3 squeaker in the rain to an inferior...
...variable fail at the last moment. Restic said last night. "The Multiflex was more effective in this game than in any game this year," an odd claim for a shutout. But he conceded the parts of the offense never worked at the same time: a receiver would get open. Buckley would get sacked; a halfback would get the ball and a key block would be missed; and, most obvious to those in the stands, Buckley would miss open receivers...
Down just 7-0 at the half, Restic still had time to resurrect his running game, but a fumble on the second half kickoff let Yale surge to a 14-0 advantage. Anxious to use the big tailwind, Restic ordered Buckley to throw in the third quarter; it didn't work. And by the time Harvard had wrested the ball from the ball-control Yale offense. Buckley had to go to the air again because time was running out. Besieged by a huge Yale pass rush (which could afford to blitz because it was not worried by the still-frail...
Several factors might have saved the Crimson from that grim predicament. Flanker Ron Cuccia, who wound up with four catches for 46 yds., was underutilized throughout. Buckley never got Cuccia the ball in the first half, even though he was single covered (and not very well at that). And then Harvard needed the big play later on, the fleet former quarterback was not summoned for a reverse or flea-flicker. Buckley also stopped throwing to his backs in the second half, something he had done successfully all season long...