Favorites Emerge for Football's Offensive, Defensive Player of the Year

For most, the Ivy season is over. Harvard emphatically took the title, high-stepping into history by somehow finishing three games ahead of the rest of the league with only seven conference games on the slate.

And most of the accolades have been given, too. The first team, second team, and rookie of the year awards were announced earlier this week.

But two big prizes—the largest of them all—remain: the offensive and defensive player of the year.

In all liklihood, one of two Harvard seniors—defensive tackle Josue Ortiz or cornerback Matt Hanson—will take home the defensive honor, while Dartmouth running back Nick Schwieger and Cornell quarterback Jeff Mathews are the favorites to nab the offensive accolade.

Each has an impressive resume, and all are first team All-Ivy selections for 2011, with Ortiz, Hanson, and Schwieger all earning unanimous nods.

Ortiz followed up an All-American 2010 campaign with an eye-popping and Ivy-leading 10 sacks this year despite being double-teamed on most plays. Hanson, the 2008 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, took his game to a whole new level in 2011, becoming the dominant player at his position in the league and shutting down the league's top wideouts almost every week.

On the offensive end, Schwieger returned to the gridiron in 2011 after sharing the Cup last year with Harvard running back Gino Gordon ’11 and had another huge year, leading the Ancient Eight with 1310 rushing yards. Ortiz followed up an All-American 2010 campaign with an eye-popping and Ivy-leading 10 sacks this year despite being double-teamed on most plays.

But the clear favorite this year has to be Mathews, the Big Red passer. With over 1000 more passing yards than any other Ivy QB, Mathews led a resurgent Big Red team to a 3-4 record in a stacked Ancient Eight.

The sophomore may have sealed the victory with his performance in the year’s final two contests. Combining for 1069 passing yards in the pair of games, Mathews led the Big Red offense to a whopping 110 points and two victories, including a shocker over preseason favorite and two-time defending Ivy champion Penn.