Crimson Ivy League Football Preview

Now that Bob Blackman has left Dartmouth, along with 26 lettermen, most prognosticators expect Dartmouth to win its games by respectably close scores, and perhaps even lose a game or two. However, when the Big Green Indians pour into Cambridge to drink your beer and puke on your rug on October 23, don't expect them to be any less arrogant than they usually are. Not surprisingly, the Indians, supposedly lacking depth this year, have dredged up a sensational second string back named Rick Klupchak, who gained 134 yards in 12 carries against U. Mass Next week, it will probably be a third string back who slices through the Holy Cross defense that held Harvard to nine offensive points. There is one consolation however. Blackman, winner of seven Ivy titles in 16 years, has not coached Illinois to a single point in his first three games as a Big 10 coach.

Yale has Dick Jauron, who decided not to come to Harvard when SDS occupied University Hall in 1969. Jauron picked up 962 yards as a sophomore and ran for 189 yards in three quarters as Yale whipped U Conn 23-0 in its opener. With 26 seniors. Yale also has plenty of people beside Jauron to help win games, and they may well win the Ivy League title. Yale's passing game may not be awesome, however, and the Yale crowd applauded when quarterback Chuck Sizemore threw his first pass against U Conn late in the second quarter. He ended up 5 for 11, a statistic that is not apt to strike fear in the hearts of opposing defensive backs.

Cornell has Heisman Trophy holder Ed Marinaro, but once again, possibly very little else. The Big Red can't do too badly just handing off to Marinaro, however. Marinaro is 700 yards, or about three games at his present rate, away from breaking the NCAA rushing record. Last Saturday, against Colgate, Marinaro ran for four touchdowns and 276 yards in 43 carries. Cornell has a history of undistinguished quarterbacks (with the exception of Gary Wood, of New York Giants infamy), but a 12 for 24 passing game against Colgate indicates that the Red has two quarterbacks willing to throw the ball in Barrett Rosser and Mark Allen.

Princeton lost to an unimpressive Rutgers team, 33-18, in its opener, and could be in for another mediocre season. Do not forget, however, that Princeton lost to Rutgers 29-0 in 1969 and scored 52 points against Harvard six weeks later. The Tigers have a quarterback named Rod Plummer who specialized in interceptions last year, but who hit on 21 of 32 passes against Rutgers. Princeton, already lacking depth, has lost its only reliable tight end and a tackle who has been described as its best defensive lineman in years. On the plus side, John Bjorklund, the first Princeton back to gain over 1000 yards rushing, is back, and if he lives up to last year, he will join Marinaro and Jauron in one of the best All-Ivy running backfields ever assembled.

Playboy Magazine picked Columbia to win the Ivy League on the basis of its strong offense. Last Saturday, the Lions roared out to lose their opener, 3-0, to Lafayette. In the process they also lost one of the best quarterbacks in the Ivy League last season, Don Jackson. The Lions do have 13 starters, all juniors, back from last year, and they are, with a healthy Don Jackson, capable of upsetting the biggies. Columbia has stirred up a lot of alumni interest in the team (probably somewhat deflated after last Saturday), and if the Lions draw big enough crowds, who knows, maybe the ancient, rotting bleachers at Baker Field will collapse into the Harlem River.

Pennsylvania has 34 lettermen back from last year, but an examination of last year's 4-5 Quakers indicates that this is a dubious asset. Pancho Micir, the Quakers' good roll-out quarterback, has graduated, but despite reports that Penn had no one to replace him, the fans at Franklin Field saw a 28 point offense sparked by sophomore quarterback Tom Pinto last Saturday. Admittedly, the victim was Lehigh, which has lost to Penn for the last 52 years in a row. Despite the promising offense and considerable depth on defense, the Quakers will be vying for the cellar again this year.

Brown has been mired in the September "This is our year" November "Wait 'til next year" syndrome for three years now. The Bruins haven't broken into the first division since 1958, and if last Saturday's 34-21 loss to the University of Rhode Island is any indication, things won't be any different this year. The Bruins did pass one milestone last Saturday. A whopping 17,000 fans, the biggest crowd to see a game in Brown Stadium since 1949, caught the Bruins' loss.

Brown does have good halfbacks in Gary Bonner and Tom Spotts, both former high school All-Americans, but its quarterbacking is non-existent. The defense was a wet noodle against URI.

Coach Joe Restic was practically speechless in the press conference after the opening debacle against Holy Cross, but he should revive on Saturday. The Crimson's opponent, Northeastern, lost a tough one to Bridgeport, 10-7, in its opener.

Harvard has a potentially excellent offense, and if the defense can learn how to tackle over the next few weeks, Harvard will be a contender. Yale coach Carm Cozza's remark to Restic that he would have to choose between the best two quarterbacks in the Ivy League may be more attributable to the wine at the Yovicsin dinner than to reality, but both Foster and Crone can be excellent quarterbacks. At any rate, losing to Holy Cross should be enough reason for Harvard to win the rest of its games.

E.W.T. Predicts

1. Harvard

2. Dartmouth

3. Yale

4. Cornell

5. Princeton

6. Columbia

7. Pennsylvania

8. Brown