Fashionably Late: The Ivy League Finally Kicks Off

While football around the country has already kicked off, with some teams beginning in Week 0 and others already having multiple games under their belts, it is finally time for the Ivy League to take the field.

And this weekend should be electric.

The Ivy League season gets underway at noon Saturday, with all eight teams in action and plenty of intriguing matchups on the schedule.

Columbia will host Lafayette, while Dartmouth travels to Lehigh. Brown will hit the road to take on New Haven, and Cornell will look to be a road warrior when it battles Colgate.

Princeton will also be away from home, taking on Bryant, while Harvard travels to New Hampshire. Yale will hit the road as well, facing Holy Cross.

The Ancient Eight may be starting the season a little later than everyone else, but that does not mean there is any shortage of excitement surrounding Ivy League football.

For these teams, the road to another championship push begins this weekend.

There will be plenty of questions to answer as the season gets underway. Which teams are ready to make an early statement? Which players will emerge as stars? And, perhaps most importantly, which schools will still be standing when the Ivy League race reaches its final weeks?

For now, though, it is simply time to play some football.

The rest of the country may already be well into its season, but the Ancient Eight are finally ready to get started — and Saturday cannot get here soon enough.

Lafayette Leopards at Columbia Lions

Saturday 12:00 pm

The Lions aren't expected to be a force in the Ivy League's this season but they have surprised before and with the way the Lafayette offense has looked they might be able to steal one here.

The Leopards have played two games and have scored 20 total points. Yes, you read that right. They lost 56-7 in their opener and then followed that up with a win, but one where they only scored one touchdown all day.

That's one TD through two games. The Lions preached ball security and disciplined play all summer long.

Head Coach Jon Poppe said “The points of emphasis for us are attacking the football and protecting the football." The Lions have an exciting new class coming in with 28 new faces and eight were all state representatives. That might take some time to show it's fruition but if they can get a few offensive drives together Lafayette doesn't seem like an insurmountable opponent considering their offensive issues.

With that optimism being said we have to remember that this is a team that won just two games last season and opened up 2025 losing 38-14 against this same Lafayette team. They did however beat them in the opener in 2024.

Dartmouth Big Green at Lehigh Mountain Hawks

Saturday 12:00 pm

The Big Green will be at a distinct disadvantage here to begin the season. Lehigh has already played three games this season and look like a well oiled machine as they have gone 3-0. The Lehigh offense has been clicking scoring 35+ points in each of their first three games and have averaged more than 40 per contest. Luke Yoder will be a force for Lehigh and the Big green defense will have to focus on stopping him.

Yoder rushed for 169 yards and 3 TDs on the ground last week. He had 4 TDs the week prior to that and three the week before.

Yoder now has 10 touchdowns in three games and stopping him, or at least slowing him down, will be the full focus. That being said their defense has also been a lot to handle. This team scores, and scores at will, but they have also not allowed more than 20 points yet in three games.

Dartmouth was picked to finish 3rd in the Ivy League and could challenge for a title. They have an experienced quarterback returning for his senior year in Grayson Saunier. His leadership will be something that many college teams don't have these days and after his junior year he looks primed for an even bigger part of this offense. Last season he ended up passing for 2,143 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. He'll get help throwing to talented receiver Ky'Dric Fisher and the defensive will be their strength once again as they return Harrison Keith. The question for this game is can Saunier change the perception of a defensive first team to try and keep up in a likely shootout?

Brown Bears at New Haven Chargers

Saturday 12:00 pm

The Chargers have played three games to date and sit at 1-2. There isn't much to like from what New Haven has done so far this season, but they do have a win, which gives the Bears an opening to win their first game of the year. The fact that New Haven has played some good competition, and have games under their belt, and a win on their schedule, of course is a problem, but the Chargers haven't done much with their opportunities. They have scored just 17 points the past two games after putting up 22 in their opening day win. New Haven got crushed by South Dakota State in a game that everyone expected to play out like that, they were 40+ point underdogs, but the Stonehill 21-3 beatdown is more telling of what Brown can take advantage of.

Brown started the season well last year winning three of their first four games and ended well winning their last two, so they have some positives to pull from. Captain James Murphy leads the way after he threw for over 2,700 yards last season with 18 TD passes. The issue with Murphy is that he also threw 14 picks in just 10 games. He now comes in with more experience and another year in the system so it's reasonable to think the mistakes will be dialed back. Protecting him will be another team captain Danny Thompson. He started in all 10 games at left guard and helped the Bears rank No. 1 in the Ivy League and 8th in the FCS with 283.6 passing yards per game. He also was selected as the Lawrence Rubida Award winner for 2026. That is presented to the player who has made the greatest improvement in physical strength, speed and endurance throughout the offseason. There is no doubt this Brown offense can score and their air raid attack should have success this week, but it'll be on a defense led by Tommy Dunn which will decide if they can get the W against a team that has played so much already.

Cornell Big Red vs. Colgate Raiders

Saturday 1:00 pm

The Colgate defense has been a force through their three games this season and they are a play away from being 3-0. Their defense has allowed 14,10 and 13 points in their three games and their only loss came to Central Michigan in a game that they played a lot closer than most people would have believed. Zach Osborne put up 59 points in the first two games and leads a dangerous offense to go along with that stifling defense.

Cornell lost this game against Colgate in week 3 last season 41-21 in a game where the Raiders threw for four TD passes. This team started the year 0-4 and looked lost for the early going but then caught fire winning four games in a row with a suffocating defense. Coach Dan Swanstrom is 8-12 overall at Cornell, posting identical 4-6 marks in each of his first two seasons, but the Red were tabbed to finish 5th this season, after being predicted to finish 6th last year, so some growth could be on the horizon. Swanstrom said "For the first two years we just needed to get to baseline compliant behavior within this program. That took two full years... Now we're trying to put together committed habits mixed in with an occasional individual here and there who are willing to be compelled." Cornell returns an offense that finished third in the league in total yards and has Senior QB Garrett Bass-Sulpizio back. Bass-Sulpizio certainly has weapons as tight end Ryder Kurtz, a Phil Steele Preseason All-American, and wide receiver Samuel Musungu are back after missing all of 2025. He was named the Ivy League's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. The defense brings in Mike Toerper as its new defensive coordinator and he has some experience back.

Colgate will score and look like a tough team but this will be a good test for the talent that Cornell has on offense to try to establish themselves early on and get off to a better start than last season.

Princeton Tigers at Bryant Bulldogs

Saturday 1:00 pm

Princeton's season last year started fine but they spiraled out of control and simply couldn't score at all. They lost five straight to end the year and were held to 17 or less points in each of those five games and seven of their ten games overall. This year's game plan is simple, the offense must be better.

They take on a Bryant team that were clearly over matched against a very good Army squad but in their other two games, both wins, they looked dominant and the defense was excellent. Bryant allowed no TDs and a total of 9 points in both of their road wins against Stonehill and Hampton. They also put up 55 points in those two games and if we are throwing out the Army loss, this team is dangerous.

The Tigers will have to win with defense this year while hoping the offense comes along, and after what we saw late in the season that might be enough. The Tigers were nearly as good defensively as they were bad offensively to end the year. They have brought in a new defensive coordinator but this team has talent back and that was a squad that allowed 20 points or fewer in each of their final four games. In Week 9, Princeton held Yale to 13 points and only two teams held Yale to 13 points over the final two months of the season: Princeton and 2025 FCS national champion Montana State. The defense is their backbone but going against this tough Bryant defense has to make any Tiger fan weary. We can expect a low scoring defensive battle in this one and the hope is that Princeton's offense can bring a little more than they did last year to steal a win on the road.

Harvard Crimson at New Hampshire Wildcats

Saturday 1:00 pm

The Crimson might feel a tad bit disrespected heading into this one because they are not the stand out #1 preseason favorite to win the Ivy League. They have captured back-to-back shares of the title and feel like three times a charm this year. Harvard went 9-2 overall (6-1 Ivy League), ending with a first-round FCS playoff appearance and head coach Andrew Aurich, who is entering his 3rd season, has done nothing but win with a 17-4 record.

Still, Harvard faces a tough opponent here in the Wildcats. If we are throwing away games to upper level teams, then we have to throw away the absolute beat down that Syracuse gave the Cats. In their other two games however there were mixed results. They couldn't get much going against Albany on opening night against an Albany team that isn't expect to be too good this season they only put up 14 points. That wasn't the case against Stonehill in their 42-35 win, but as we have established Stonehill isn't much of a threat to anyone this year. Perhaps the fact they allowed Stonehill to play close is as big of a negative as any. I know we are throwing away Syracuse but for stats purposes it has to be looked at that they allowed 35 to Stonehill, 28 to Albany and also that 66 to the Cuse.

Harvard's offense could get off on the right foot even with the loss of their dynamic QB. Jaden Craig is now under center for TCU and many are calling him an early round pick in next year's NFL draft. That is the type of offense talent that you don't replace with just one player and it will be a team effort to get things going offensively. They will have running back Xaviah Bascon back and Bascon was a force last season with 626 yards and 7 TDs. The captain will be joined by Jordan Harris, DJ Gordon, and WR Brady Blackburn. Defense will also be vital in making up for the loss of Craig and they looked stacked defensively. They will be led by Preseason All-American cornerback Damien Henderson, who was named to the Buck Buchanan Award watch list.I expect some growing pains for this offense in this game but if the three games that the Cats have played so far are any indication the offense picked a great opponent to get right early with.

Yale Bulldogs at Holy Cross Crusaders

Saturday 2:00 pm

The Bulldogs are supposed to be the class of the Ivy's once again and who can blame them for being sky high. Not only did they make the very first college football playoff but they won a game in the tournament, and in dramatic fashion that we will remember forever. The talk about Yale this off season wasn't if they can do it again but rather just how far this team can go and that all starts right away with getting an all important win over Holy Cross.

Holy Cross has traditionally been a tough opponent for the Ivy league but this year their offense looks lost. This team is 0-3 and have yet to score more than 10 points in a game. Not only have they scored just 27 points in their first three games but they also have been Swiss cheese on defense allowing 35+ in each game and already allowing 115 points in three contests. To put it bluntly this team is really, really bad.

Yale returns their star QB Dante Reno who looks to elevate his game even more this season. The Bulldogs are a run-first offense, but Reno's growth allowed them to spread it out more and thus became a much harder team to defend. His return makes us believe there will be more of a spread open offense than many are used with to with Yale. Only a junior now Reno threw for a team-high 2498 yards (fourth-most in a single season) and 21 touchdowns (second-most in Ivy League). On defense it's simple, they get after the QB and their secondary is downright scary. Defensive back and team captain Abu Kamara anchors the defense as he is a Buck Buchanan Award watch list name to watch, and probably the favorite to win the award. This is a game where Yale wants to have no let down and show right away that last year was just a building block. Reno should have a huge day and I would expect Yale to score well in a win.

Penn Quakers at Bucknell Bison

Saturday 3:00 pm

The Quakers have a new identity and a new focus. They have a new head coach and will be trying to replace one of the best QB's the team has ever had. This is a team in transition, but with that transition comes excitement. Penn looked like an Ivy league contender last year and as dangerous of an offense as there was, but they lost two of their final three games to fall out of contention and now have made wholesale changes.

Bucknell represents an interesting first test for the new regime. Bucknell sits at 1-2 on the season and have yet to score more than 16 points in a game all year. Their slow and methodical offense has been over matched in the early going and they seem to be trying to find their way almost as much as Penn will be. Their defense however looks to be in mid-season form as they have allowed just 20 points in the past two weeks and this team looks like they have gotten better each week. That tough defense will be an issue for the new look offense of Penn.

Penn brings in Rick Santos to guide the team as they new head coach after longtime head coach Ray Priore stepped away. Santos previously served as the University of New Hampshire’s head coach, where he led the Wildcats to three FCS playoff appearances in four years, so it's not like he is an unknown. Not only did Santos lose O’Brien to Cincinnati, but he also lost wide receiver Jared Richardson, and special teams player Julien “Juice” Stokes to graduation. With a new QB, new offensive looked and so many moving parts it's hard to see the Quakers having much offense in this one, but Santos is a proven winner and he can turn this program around quickly.