FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2005: Scouting the Opponents

Holy Cross Crusaders:

AREA OF STRENGTH Running Back

AREA OF WEAKNESS Defensive Line

PLAYERS TO WATCH QB John O’Neil (Sr.), RB Steve Silva (Sr.), RB Gideon Akande (Sr.), WR Sean Gruber (Sr.), WR Bob Turkovich (Sr.), TE Luke Dugan (Sr.), C David Cannon (Sr.), LB Matt Dugan (Sr.), CB Casey Gough (Jr.), K Mike DeSantis (Jr.)

KEY GAMES at Delaware (Sept. 24), at Lehigh (Oct. 8), vs. Lafayette (Nov. 12)

2005 OUTLOOK The Crusaders have already equaled their Patriot League win total from 2004 with last week’s 48-6 romp over Georgetown. A rough road lies ahead in the next few weeks with a visit from Harvard preceding a treacherous road trip that includes games against Delaware, Yale, and Lehigh. Aside from the Mountain Hawks, Holy Cross gets the two of the three best Patriot schools—Lafayette and Colgate—at home. With Bucknell and Fordham struggling early on, the Crusaders should put together a 3-3 league record and a 5-6 mark overall.

Brown Bears:

AREA OF STRENGTH Skill Positions

AREA OF WEAKNESS Offensive Line

PLAYERS TO WATCH QB Joe DiGiacomo (Jr.), QB Anthony Vita (Jr.), RB Nick Hartigan (Sr.), WR Jarrett Schreck (Sr.), WR Lonnie Hill (Jr.), TE David Turner (Sr.), LB Zak DeOssie (Jr.), CB Jamie Gasparella (Sr.), K/P Steve Morgan (Soph.)

KEY GAMES at Harvard (Sept. 24), at Cornell (Oct. 22), vs. Penn (Oct. 29)

2005 OUTLOOK This season will provide the Bears with the best chance to win the Ivy title since they last did so in 1999. Brown should win its three non-league games, including the Governor’s Cup against Rhode Island. The Bears’ toughest test will come at Harvard on Sept. 24. If Brown can survive that, it would have the inside track to the title with a home date against Penn and a visit to Cornell as the only possible land mines. Most likely, however, the Bears will split the Harvard-Penn games and drop another along the way to a 5-2 Ivy finish.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks:

AREA OF STRENGTH Quarterback

AREA OF WEAKNESS Kicker

PLAYERS TO WATCH QB Mark Borda (Sr.), RB Eric Rath (Sr.), WR Gerran Walker (Sr.), WR Lee Thomas (Jr.), DL Royce Morgan (Sr.), DL Matt Mohler (Jr.), LB Anthony Graziani (Sr.), LB Matt Purdy (Sr.), CB Kaloma Cardwell (Sr.)

KEY GAMES at Harvard (Oct. 1), at Colgate (Oct. 29), vs. Lafayette (Nov. 19)

2005 OUTLOOK The Mountain Hawks should return to the top of the Patriot League mountain this year, after ceding the title to Lafayette last season. Lehigh still made the I-AA playoffs as an at-large bid, but after an early loss to Delaware this season and a road date at Harvard still looming, the Patriot’s automatic bid might be the only sure route back to the field of 16 this year. The Mountain Hawks get the Leopards at home this year for the 141st meeting of college football’s most-played rivalry, and it should cruise to victory. Lehigh should put together a 9-2 regular season—6-0 in the Patriot League—and venture a couple rounds deep in the I-AA playoffs.

Cornell Big Red:

AREA OF STRENGTH Skill Positions

AREA OF WEAKNESS Special Teams

PLAYERS TO WATCH QB Ryan Kuhn (Sr.), RB Andre Hardaway (Sr.), RB Joshua Johnston (Sr.), WR Brian Romney (Sr.), TE Chris Eckstein (Sr.), T Kevin Boothe (Sr.), DL Matt Pollock (Sr.), LB Joel Sussman (Sr.), LB Patrick Potts (Sr.), S Kevin Rex (Sr.)

KEY GAMES vs. Harvard (Oct. 8), vs. Brown (Oct. 22), at Penn (Nov. 19)

2005 OUTLOOK Though overshadowed by Brown in the race to be named the Ivies’ dark horse, Cornell fields a veteran squad that should be able to build on its 3-1 finish to 2004. The Big Red has a favorable schedule, with four of its first six games at home—including home dates with contenders Harvard and Brown. A couple of lucky bounces could line Cornell up to travel to Philadelphia in the final week of the season to take on Penn for a shot at the Ivy title. Look for the weak special teams to hurt the Big Red on one or two pivotal occasions, relegating the squad to a 4-3 Ivy finish.

Lafayete Leopards:

AREA OF STRENGTH Defense

AREA OF WEAKNESS Running Back

PLAYERS TO WATCH QB Brad Maurer (Jr.), RB Jonathan Hurt (Jr.), WR Brandon Stanford (Sr.), T Drew Buettner (Sr.), C Robert Stroble (Sr.), DL Marvin Snipes (Jr.), LB Maurice Bennett (Sr.), LB Andrew Brown (Sr.), CB Larry Johnson (Sr.)

KEY GAMES vs. Harvard (Oct. 15), vs. Colgate (Nov. 5), at Lehigh (Nov. 19)

2005 OUTLOOK With the loss of 2004 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Joe McCourt, the run-oriented Leopards might have trouble moving the ball this season. The defense, anchored by Buchanan Award hopeful Bennett, should be particularly stingy, but shouldn’t be relied upon to post goose eggs all year. While Lehigh appears to be the class of the league, if Lafayette can get past Colgate at home, the Leopards should be primed for a title bout against the Mountain Hawks on Nov. 19. Lafayette won’t be able to top Lehigh, but its 9-2 overall mark (5-1 Patriot) could put it in the running for an at-large bid.

Princeton Tigers:

AREA OF STRENGTH Linebacker/Secondary

AREA OF WEAKNESS Offensive Backfield

PLAYERS TO WATCH WR Greg Fields (Sr.), TE Jon Dekker (Sr.), OL Paul Lyons (Sr.), OL Ben Brielmaier (Sr.), LB Justin Stull (Sr.), LB Abi Fadeyi (Sr.), CB Jay McCareins (Sr.), S Tim Strickland (Jr.),

KEY GAMES at Harvard (Oct. 22), at Penn (Nov. 5), vs. Yale (Nov. 12)

2005 OUTLOOK Last season was a tale of two halves for Princeton, as the Tigers sprinted out to a 4-1 start before fading to a 5-5 finish. The collapse down the stretch put Hughes on the hot seat in the minds of the fans, if not the administration. The schedule lends itself to another quick start—Princeton plays three of its first four at home. But with road games against the preseason big three—Brown, Harvard, and Penn—highlighting the second half of the schedule, the Tigers will fizzle down the stretch once again, stumbling to a 2-5 Ivy finish and making Hughes’ future at Princeton even more dubious.

Dartmouth Big Green:

AREA OF STRENGTH Defensive Line

AREA OF WEAKNESS Wide Receiver

PLAYERS TO WATCH QB Charlie Rittgers (Sr.), RB Chad Gaudet (Soph.), WR Ryan Fuselier (Sr.), T Daniel Tootoo (Sr.), T Mike Shannon (Sr.), DE Anthony Gargiulo (Sr.), DT Mike Rabil (Sr.), LB Josh Dooley (Sr.)

KEY GAMES at New Hampshire (Sept. 24), vs. Columbia (Oct. 22), at Harvard (Oct. 29)

2005 OUTLOOK After a disappointing 1-9 campaign and the dismissal of its head coach, Dartmouth brought in Teevens—who led the squad to an Ivy title as a quarterback in 1978 and two championships as a coach in 1990 and 1991—to restore the Big Green program to prominence within the league. Teevens has a lot of work ahead of him, as the glut of talent rests within the senior class and is essentially on one-year rental. With four Ivy home games, including two against Columbia and Princeton, Dartmouth should be able to pick up at least one Ivy win, finishing with a 1-6 mark.

Columbia Lions:

AREA OF STRENGTH Secondary

AREA OF WEAKNESS Offense

PLAYERS TO WATCH WR Brandon Bowser (Sr.), WR Pete Chromiak (Sr.), DE Chris Sullivan (Sr.), DE Bill Beechum (Sr.), SS Keenan Shaw (Sr.), FS Tad Crawford (Jr.), CB Prosper Nwokocha (Sr.).

KEY GAMES at Princeton (Oct. 1), at Dartmouth (Oct. 22), at Cornell (Nov. 12)

2005 OUTLOOK The Lions better win early, because with all their games against beatable Ivy competition on the road, the league slate will not be kind to Columbia this season. The Lions’ two most winnable games are the season opener under the lights at Fordham and the home opener against Duquesne. After the Dukes, the only visitor to Wien Stadium that looks manageable is Yale. An 0-2 start could easily spiral into an 0-10 finish, so it’s imperative that Columbia takes one of those two opening contests. The Lions should be able to manage that, and possibly even take a road game at Princeton or Dartmouth for a 1-6 league finish.

Penn Quakers:

AREA OF STRENGTH Defense

AREA OF WEAKNESS Wide Receiver

PLAYERS TO WATCH QB Pat McDermott (Sr.), RB Sam Mathews (Sr.), TE Chris Mizell (Sr.), WR Matt Carre (Jr.), OL Don Snyder (Sr.), LB Ric San Doval (Sr.), LB Kory Gedin (Jr.), DB Casey Edgar (Sr.), DB Michael Johns (Sr.)

KEY GAMES vs. Villanova (Sept. 24), at Brown (Oct. 29), at Harvard (Nov. 12)

2005 OUTLOOK In the minds of the Ivy media, the Quakers have been deemed the team to beat this season. Earning that distinction on the field, however, might be a tougher task. Penn meets its two most difficult Ivy opponents—Brown and Harvard—on the road and must close out the year with a pesky Cornell squad that found its stride down the stretch last season. Penn doesn’t appear to have improved enough to take down the Crimson in Cambridge, and it probably won’t be able to dodge all the bullets he did the year before, so the Quakers should finish the year with a 5-2 league mark.

Yale Bulldogs:

AREA OF STRENGTH Offense

AREA OF WEAKNESS Linebacker

PLAYERS TO WATCH QB Jeff Mroz (Sr.), RB David Knox (Sr.), WR Chandler Henley (Sr.), TE Alex Faherty (Sr.), FB Taylor Craig (Jr.), C Ed McCarthy (Soph.), DT Andrew Ralph (Sr.), DE Brandon Dyches (Sr.), SS Matt Handlon (Sr.)

KEY GAMES at Penn (Oct. 22), at Princeton (Nov. 12), vs. Harvard (Nov. 19)

2005 OUTLOOK Yale’s schedule has it primed for a quick start with a trip to mid-major San Diego preceding three consecutive home dates against beatable competition. If Mroz, Knox, and Henley can mesh at the skill positions, the Bulldogs could jump out to a 4-0 mark. For Siedlecki to maintain the support of the Yale faithful, the Bulldogs have to win three out of those first four. With Lehigh, Penn, Brown, and Harvard highlighting the second half of the schedule, Yale will be lucky to break .500 this season. The Bulldogs will likely finish with a 5-5 mark, 3-4 in the Ivy League.

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.