AROUND THE IVIES: 2008 Race For The Ivy Title

Not that this should come as a surprise, but after one week of football for Ivy League squads, nothing is resolved. Teams that are supposed to win are winning, some middle-of-the-road squads are playing dress-up with contender costumes, and Columbia sucks. If anything, the scramble for the Ancient Eight crown sort of resembles a slightly more important race than the other one taking place right now.

We have Harvard and Yale, the two top dogs, or candidates, if you will, still pretty much neck and neck and drawing all the attention. Harvard holds the lead in the polls, receiving 19 votes in the NCAA FCS Coaches poll as opposed to Yale’s three, but it’s still anybody’s ballgame.

Then there’s Brown, a team that looks like it might make a run but in all likelihood will back out of the race sometime in the middle of the season. Think New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Penn, Cornell and Princeton aren’t going to be taken seriously by anyone, but could pull a Ralph Nader and be a pain in the ass enough to be accused of ruining somebody else’s run (Hey Al Gore!).

Finally, we have Columbia. The Lions are kind of like whoever’s running on the Communist ticket. I don’t know the person’s name, but I’m definitely going to smirk a little bit when I see it on my absentee ballot.

HARVARD (1-0) AT BROWN (1-0)

If you had to pick a sleeper in the Ivy League this season, Brown would be it. The Bears are well-coached, their defense is better than expected, and their vaunted offense—which didn’t live up to the hype in Brown’s 17-7 win over Stonybrook—certainly has the capacity to explode. Harvard coach Tim Murphy has even acknowledged that Saturday’s contest will be one of the Crimson’s toughest three matchups this season (along with last Friday’s win over Holy Cross and The Game).

But I have to give the reigning champs the benefit of the doubt, especially after they showed last week in their fourth quarter comeback victory over the Crusaders that along with talent they have grit. Harvard’s secondary isn’t what it used to be and will be tested, but I’ll take senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti and his undefeated record in a shootout any day.

Prediction: Harvard 35, Brown 28

CORNELL (1-0) VS. YALE (1-0)

On paper, the almost-defending Ivy League Champion Yalies would seem to have a big advantage going into this matchup. Stud running back Mike McLeod is back for one last hurrah and the competent quarterback platoon of Brook Hart and Ryan Fodor makes one wonder how the Bulldogs ever thought starting the graduated Matt Polhemus behind center was a good idea.

But Cornell is dangerous. The Big Red is fresh off a thrilling 21-20 victory over Bucknell and a healthy Luke Siwula—plus a suddenly awesome Randy Barbour—gives Cornell a devastating duo running the ball. Not to mention signal caller Nathan Ford, a solid passer who moonlights as the baseball team’s second baseman. I don’t know if I’d do it with a gun to my head, but it’s not as if making Ivy League football picks exactly comes with a whole lot of repercussions. What the hell.

Prediction: Cornell 28, Yale 27

DARTMOUTH (0-1) VS. NO. 8 NEW HAMPSHIRE (3-0)

The good news for Dartmouth: Freshman Foley Schmidt is the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week. The bad news: He’s the kicker, and unless he can put on a few hundred pounds of muscle by tomorrow and line up at defensive end, the Big Green is screwed.

UNH has scored 111 points over its first three opponents and it’s highly unlikely that a Dartmouth defense that let Colgate complete a comeback victory with three second half touchdowns last week is going to do anything to slow down the Wildcats.

Prediction: UNH 41, Dartmouth 24

COLUMBIA (0-1) AT TOWSON (1-3)

Columbia worked hard last year to establish its role as the Ivy League kingdom’s court jester, going winless in the Ancient Eight while finishing 1-9 overall. But the Lions showed some pride last week, scoring 22 second quarter points before Fordham rallied late in the game to take the win.

Newly minted starting quarterback Shane Kelly showed a penchant for the deep ball against the Rams, and star wideout Austin Knowlin provides an enticing target.

Also, who the hell is Towson?

Prediction: Columbia 24, Towson 17

PENN (0-1) AT LAFAYETTE (2-0)

In Harvard’s matchup with Penn last season, an early game injury to Quakers running back Brad Blackmon seemed to turn a potentially tight matchup into a laugher. The Crimson did win easily, 23-7, but through no fault of Blackmon’s replacement, then-rookie Michael DiMaggio, who rushed for 83 yards and scored a touchdown.

When the Quakers lose to Lafayette tomorrow, I suspect that once again DiMaggio, a potential star in this league, will not be the culprit. Penn’s defense is good, but so is the Leopards’. And with Lafayette senior tailback Maurice White exploding onto the scene with 318 rushing yards in his first two games as a starter, the numbers just don’t add up for the Quakers.

Prediction: Lafayette 20, Penn 14

PRINCETON (0-1) VS. LEHIGH (1-1)

Princeton is certainly glad to be back in New Jersey, after a road trip to the Citadel—a military school in South Carolina—subjected the Tigers to a 37-24 drubbing and the Princeton University Band to a classy display by some cadets that included physical attacks and homophobic slurs. Officers and gentlemen at their finest.

Look for Princeton to rebound against the Mountain Hawks behind the dangerous Brian Anderson, a veritable running threat at quarterback. Lehigh lost its own versatile signal caller, Sedale Threatt Jr., to graduation last year, and the team should be rusty after a two week layover following a loss to Villanova.

Prediction: Princeton 17, Lehigh 10

—Staff writer Loren Amor can be reached at lamor@fas.harvard.edu.