AROUND THE IVIES: Top Two Hope Ivy Order Returns

The dark horses of the Ivy League have galloped out into the light.

On a miserable afternoon last Saturday, torrential downpours throughout the Northeast seemed to wash away the old guard of the Ancient Eight and create an opening for a new order.

Harvard and Yale–the two Ivy giants that tied for first in the preseason Ivy League media poll and seemed poise to cruise through conference play en route to another battle of the titans at The Game in Week 10–were toppled by a pair of league upstarts that refused to be overlooked.

The Crimson met its demise at the hands of Brown in Providence by a score of 24-22. Much of Harvard’s defeat was its own doing: four turnovers and a missed extra point generally don’t add up well against any opponent. But the Bears, sick of being beaten down by the Crimson for eight straight years, took full advantage of the Harvard miscues and orchestrated an impressive and symbolic defensive stand on the Crimson’s last minute two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game if successful.

In Ithaca, Cornell fans witnessed an upset of equal proportions by their Big Red. Embarrassed after being smacked around by Yale in a 51-12 drubbing last season, Cornell’s defense unleashed a relentless attack that left five sacks worth of bruises on the Bulldog quarterbacks’ bodies and pride and stumped the great Mike McLeod, Yale’s juggernaut of a running back. The result was a 17-14 Big Red win and a dumbfounded look on the face of the Ivy League pundits.

Predictions be damned.

Having said that, here are mine:

HARVARD (1-1, 0-1 Ivy) AT LAFAYETTE (3-0)

Lafayette has a lot of aesthetic appeal, with an undefeated record and gaudy offensive statistics, like running back Maurice White’s 131 yards per game. But the Leopards padded their numbers against lightweights Marist and Georgetown and the first half-decent team they faced, Penn, shut Lafayette down in the second half last week.

The Crimson defense will do the Quakers’ one better and cause havoc for the Leopards the entire game. Look for a rebound week for Harvard.

Prediction: Harvard 27, Lafayette 17

DARTMOUTH (0-2, 0-0 Ivy) AT PENN (0-2, 0-0 Ivy)

Numbers don’t lie, but they are occasionally misleading.

Yes, both of these teams are winless, but Penn took two very good squads in No. 16 Villanova and Lafayette to the wire before being dealt a pair of close losses while Dartmouth has been outscored 76-26 so far this season.

Prediction: Penn 30, Dartmouth 10

PRINCETON (1-1, 0-0 Ivy) AT COLUMBIA (0-2, 0-0 Ivy)

I went out of my way to abuse Columbia no less than three times in last week’s column, so let me switch gears and say something nice about the Lions: they’re not as bad as Dartmouth.

Princeton, while no longer in its championship form of 2007, is a competent if mediocre squad that should have little trouble managing a victory in this one.

Prediction: Princeton 21, Columbia 13

YALE (1-1, 0-1 Ivy) VS. HOLY CROSS (1-2)

If Ivy League football were a reality TV show, Yale would be calling up Harvard to establish an uneasy and secretive alliance aimed at getting Brown and Cornell kicked off the island. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, this game is every man for himself, and things aren’t about to get easier.

Despite its losing record, Holy Cross is a tough non-conference foe that missed dropping Harvard by a point two weeks ago and is fresh off a confidence-building 38-14 win over Patriot League punching bag Georgetown.

I think Yale will get back on its feet in time to be a contender in the Ivies, but not this week.

Prediction: Holy Cross 24, Yale 20

BROWN (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) AT RHODE ISLAND (1-4)

A particularly annoying expression goes, “To be the best you gotta beat the best.” While it’s premature to call Brown the Ivy League’s best, the Bears are certainly in control of their own destiny now after last week’s 24-22 upset over Harvard.

Rhode Island is an awful team, and any intrigue provided by the intrastate rivalry between the two squads will quickly dissipate after Brown jumps out to a big lead and clears the stands early.

Prediction: Brown 38, Rhode Island 13

CORNELL (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) AT LEHIGH (1-2)

While some expected Brown to be a thorn in the side of the Ivy League elite this season, hardly anyone saw Cornell coming. But at 2-0 and with a win over Ivy powerhouse Yale, the Big Red has at least earned itself enough respect to be picked over a team like Lehigh.

The Mountain Hawks have a decent defense but Cornell has too many playmakers, most notably the running back duo of Randy Barbour and Luke Siwula. On the offensive side, Lehigh is underperforming at best but more likely is just plain unimpressive. Overcoming a Big Red squad that held Yale to 14 points requires more than what the Mountain Hawks have to offer.

Prediction: Cornell 21, Lehigh 13

Record to Date: 4-2

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