2025 Ivy League Football Preview

The conference that is often called the Ancient Eight has had a very ancient style of postseason play up until now. Everything has changed with the Ivy's as they now are officially a part of the FCS playoff field. In the past the Ivy League would just play a regular season, and whoever stood on top was the victor, or even more than one. In fact, last season Columbia, Dartmouth, and Harvard shared the Ivy League title following another competitive season. It marked the second consecutive year -- and just the sixth time in history -- that three teams finished as co-champions. Now the Ivy League will be a part of the playoff field and be able to test the strength of their schedule against the best teams in the FCS. With no scholarships and using name recognition to attract athletes there have been some mixed reviews on the Ivy League side of things. Most of the students and coaches seem generally excited at the chance to test themselves as we enter the new direction for this conference. 

Preseason Rankings

1. Harvard - 118 votes - (9 1st-place votes) 

The Crimson received the most first place votes in the conference, although most people believe that this will be a tight race the entire season. After Tim Murphy left this team didn't miss a beat as he left the program in great shape. The Crimson are led by senior quarterback Jaden Crai. Craig was recently named to the Walter Payton Award watch list. The award is given to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Craig was also a finalist for the award last season. He returns as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, and the clear best in the conference. Craig threw for 2,430 yards and 23 touchdowns last season, and he simply doesn't make mistakes with just three interceptions. He finished among the national leaders in TD/INT ratio, TD percentage, fewest interceptions, where he was in the top three, and passing yards per game, passing TDs, yards per completion, QB rating and passing yards, where he finished inside the top 8 nationally.

Craig will undoubtedly lead the offense but that's not where the praise for this Crimson team ends. This squad is usually a stout defensive team and this year they have the best secondary in the conference led by senior defensive back Ty Bartrum. Bartrum has been named to the Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List, given to the top defensive players in FCS football. Bartrum has also earned preseason All-America honors from numerous outlets after he ranked third in the Ivy League with 83 total tackles. He also returned one last year 88 yards for a score, so he can make the big play. 

Andrew Aurich's team deserves the #1 spot on the list, but their off season was filled with some losses. Specifically, receiver Cooper Barkate who is now at Duke, along with 5 other grad transfers. How Craig is able to navigate past losing top weapons will determine the season, but Harvard is the team to set the pace in the Ivy's.   

2. Dartmouth - 105 votes - (4) 

Dartmouth has been able to share the title the past two seasons and has become a real threat in this conference; in fact they even spent some time in the top 25 last season before dropping a tough game to the Crimson. Dartmouth is the league leading 22-time champion and will look to add to that this season. To do that the Green will have to hope they can retool quickly and that this season doesn't end up being a rebuild. This squad not only lost their starting QB but also their star running back and simply put that is a lot of offense to ask them to get over quickly. Head Coach Sammy McCorkle spoke about how his team has a solid foundation built and said, “When we bring a player in, our goal is to develop. By developing an individual, we help us develop as a program.” He believes the next man up will be able to handle the transition this season. 

The good news is that this team is built on the backs of their defense and that unit looks to be one of the best in the league yet again. This team is nearly impossible to run on holding teams to just over 100 yards on the ground last year, best in the Ivy's and although they lost their best up front player they are excited for who will step in behind them. Their secondary could be their strong suit this season however, led by their captain Sean Williams. Tyson Graham will also be counted on as he brings an old school tenacity to the back end of the defense. Dartmouth will lead by their defense but it's all about how quickly they can replace their two starting offensive players that will decide if they will take home another title. 

3. Yale - 103 votes - (3) 

The Bulldogs had a down season last year but still were able to take down Harvard and give their fans something to cheer about in a bleak year. Yale will have the chance to beat Harvard for the fourth straight time for the first time since the 1940s this season and hope that isn't the only cheering this fanbase will have as it looks to get back into the title hunt. When you go 7-3 and it's a disappointment that is a testament to the sort of program success that is expected, and Yale should bounce back nicely here. 

The Bulldogs have always been about offense, but it might be their defense that carries them this season. Junior defensive back Abu Kamara has been named to the Buchanan award watch list after he opened up eyes last season.  He ranked second in the Ivy League with 84 tackles with two interceptions and led the league with three forced fumbles. They might have to lean on that defense, especially early on, as they have a QB battle going on. After losing their mistake free QB the Bulldogs have an unsettled competition under center. Combine this with the fact they lost every starting WR on the team and the offense will look much different and may take some time to gel. The weight of the passing game being in flux will be negated by their excellent rushing attack though as they led the Ivy's in rushing last season and have Josh Pitsenberger back in the fold. 

Yale showed last year they could hang with the best and if they can get through the early season offensive turnover, they could see themselves sitting on top of the conference once again. October 11th at Dartmouth will be a true test. 

4. Columbia - 72 votes 

The Lions Head Coach Jon Poppe’s first season was an absolute success as he led the team from 3-7 overall to 7-3 with a share of the Ivy League title, their first in over 50 years. They won't catch anyone napping on them this year and they will need to be able to win some tough road games if they want to repeat their success. Columbia's schedule is brutal this year. Last year they went to Princeton and Cornell, but it's the two game stretch October 24th and November 1st when they travel to Dartmouth and Yale back-to-back that will determine their ceiling. 

The good news is they return nearly everyone and are as intact as anyone in the league. They return a dominant defense that allowed just over 16 points per game. That mark not only led the Ivy's but ws 2nd overall in the FCS. You simply could not throw on this team which led in interceptions and fewest yards per game. Offensively they will have to replace their signal caller, but last year they won with a three headed attack, so we have to assume Poppe can figure that out. If this team can navigate that tough road schedule, they can be right back in the mix again and Poppe has put everyone on notice that his team is here to stay on top. 

5. Princeton - 55 votes 

Princeton finished dead last a season ago and that seemed almost unthinkable just a few years ago. The Tigers offense was a mess but Head Coach Bob Surace believes that having a healthy competitive camp will help that struggling unit. At QB last season Blane Hipa was very inexperienced and it showed. This season the offense will be led by a more seasoned Hipa and he has been in a camp battle with the talented Kai Colon. "I think the room has been very good from a leadership standpoint," Surace said. "Blaine and Kai have both been terrific." They had better be because this offense barely put up 21 points last season. 

Ethan Clark could be the real leader of the offense as they lean on the run more than anything. Surace said, "If one guy is going to emerge as the leader of the offense, Clark did show evidence last season that he could be that type of player." Their receivers are a senior laden group that can unlock their potential with better QB play. While it seems the entire season is resting on the shoulders of the offense, that is probably a very true statement. They need much better play from their offense if they want to be relevant once again. The good news is they have experience and a 15-year head coach leading the turnaround. 

6. Penn - 49 votes 

The Quakers lost their star QB Aidan Sayin and Liam O'Brien will try to fill those big shoes. O'Brien had to step into that position last season and gave every Pen n fan more than they could have possibly hoped for. O’Brien set program records for passing and overall touchdowns in a game, earning Ivy League and FCS Offensive Player of the Week nods. O’Brien ended with 13 total touchdown passes and 300 rushing yards in his fill-in games and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that he is the most anticipated player in the conference.

The Quakers lost their leading rusher so the offense may run through O'Brien. Junior running back Sean Williams Jr. and senior running back Julien “Juice” Stokes will try to take that pressure off. This team also lost some key defensive players, including their top pass rusher. There doesn't seem to be a lot of faith in Penn being a contender this season, but if O'Brien can repeat his performance they could surprise. 

7. Cornell - 42 votes

Cornell didn't get much love from the voters, but they will have one outstanding play maker. Junior wide receiver Samuel Musunguwas one of the 30 finalists for the Walter Payton award and should once again be able to stretch the field and make life miserable for defensive coordinators. Musungu led the Ivy League with 83 receptions for 960 yards and 10 touchdowns. Musungu has received preseason All-America nods from numerous outlets and won't take anyone by surprise this season. Among returning FCS wideouts, he ranks in the top 10 in multiple categories and will have to carry this Cornell offense. 

Replacing quarterback Jameson Wang will be a tall task as Wang was the best passer in the league. Not only is that a large hole to fill but head coach Dan Swanstromis trying to do so with a QB room that is undecided and none of them threw a pass last season for this team. This team also lost their best defensive player as their leading tackler leaves the same sort of big hole on defense. Their secondary is the rock of this team and if they want to once again turn heads like they did against Dartmouth last season they will have to replace those key positions in a hurry. Road games against Harvard and Dartmouth seem daunting but this team was underrated last season and maybe they are being overlooked once again. 

8. Brown - 32 votes 

The Bears have a new QB, like much of the conference, and they have new coaches on the defensive side of things. Because of that shakeup it seems that everyone is predicting another tough year for Brown. They went 3-7 last year and they simply could not run that ball. In fact they couldn't do much on offense as they lost 7 of their last 8 games. Much of their offense went through the air by design but that should change as they lost their gunslinging QB Jake Wilcox. James Murphy takes over and he played in just three games last season. The final game against Dartmouth could have given fans a reason for hope though as Murphy threw for nearly a 70% completion percentage and had over 250 yards with two TD tosses. 

Brown surprised early last year when they beat Harvard, but their defense went down pretty quickly after that. While all eyes are on Murphy this seems like the same old season for Brown where they get solid QB play but their defense can't stop anyone. With that said they always have a fighting chance as that crimson game proved.