Ivy League Football Race Unscrambles Itself Slowly

All the Ivy League football teams have played at least two games now, and a few divisions are beginning to be clear.

At the bottom, Pennsylvania, Columbia, and Brown have been all but eliminated from the championship race, the last two somewhat surprisingly.

Penn (0-3) wasn't supposed to have much this year, but Columbia (0-2-1) had Archie Roberts. This alone was supposed to be enough to win a few games, but so far it hasn't been. Columbia's papier-mache line has been betraying Archie, exposing him to marauding enemy linemen. Even if Columbia should pull itself together and win all its remaining games, a contender's status is all but out of the question.

Bruins Lag

Brown (1-2) was going to be one of the best teams in the league, according to advance press notices. They had the league's two best ends returning, two veteran quarterbacks, a good fullback, and the best sophomores in the league. But it hasn't worked that way. The Bruins' offense produced just three points against Penn, eight against Yale, and 14 against Dartmouth. It was enough to beat Penn, but not Yale or Dartmouth. A 5-2 record might make Brown a contender, but Princeton and Harvard are still on the schedule.

Cornell (1-1) and Dartmouth (1-1) can't be counted out yet. The Big Red has been the surprise of the league so far, unquestionably. Consigned to the cellar in pre-season predictions, they opened up a surprisingly good offense in beating Penn 33-0 and won all the statistical departments against Harvard, though they lost the game 16-0.

Two good lines keep Cornell a threat to any team, especially one like Princeton that also depends on line play. Cornell may not win the league title, but it doesn't seem possible that they The Bruins offense produced just three will sink as low as some people predicted.

Dartmouth plays Harvard Saturday and we'll see then. The Indians aren't as bad as their 37-7 loss to Princeton indicated; they proved that by beating Brown last weekend. They have depth (Bob Blackman is the only coach in the league to use three platoons). They get the tough part of their season over with early. If they can beat either Harvard or Yale, and then mop up the weaker teams on the way home, the Indians are going to be in the middle of the title race.

Yale (1-0-1) was supposed to run all over everybody in the league this year. They had fullback Chuck Mercein and 18 lettermen and they eradicated Lehigh 54-0 in their second game. But since the league season started, Yale hasn't looked so good. They had to scramble to beat Brown 15-8; they scored in the last minute to tie Columbia 9-9.

Slow Start

The Elis got a slow start in the league last year, too, and came on strong at the end. Once they find a quarterback who can run the team, they should improve.

But still, Yale may not be the power-house everyone expected. A good barometer will be their game with Cornell Saturday. If the Elis can handle Cornell, it will be a sign that they're ready to get moving. If not, they may never make it.

Princeton is the only team in the league to live up to its press notices. The Tigers are unbeaten and whipped two good teams, Dartmouth and Columbia. They, like Yale, have 18 lettermen. They, like Yale, have a good fullback, Cosmo Iacavazzi.

Princeton, unlike Yale, has had a tendency to start fast and finish slow in recent years. Last season they beat everybody until Harvard beat them, then lost another game and had to come from behind to tie Dartmouth for the title.

And the Tigers haven't met any of the strongest lines in the league. They run into all of them, Harvard, Yale, and Cornell, in the last three weeks. If they come into those three games unbeaten, they can scarcely avoid winning or tying for the title. But if they lose between now and then, they may be in trouble.

At the moment it looks like Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth are the teams for Harvard to best. Harvard hasn't played any of them yet.

It's going to be an interesting season.