Ivy League supremacy is on the line this weekend

Harvard Crimson vs. Dartmouth Big Green - Saturday 3:00 pm 

The Crimson are so good that at this point it's considered playing them well if you stay within 20 points and that is what happened last week. Harvard has now won each of their games by at least 20 points and they look like the clear best team in this conference and they have guys like me calling for them to be in the top 10 in the nation. 

Harvard's defense was once again on point as they have held 5 of their 6 opponents to 14 points or less and it travels well as the Crimson have now won six straight away from Cambridge dating back to last season. Harvard enters this game as one of eight unbeaten teams in the FCS and keep rising in the polls. This past week they saw their entire offensive line get Offensive Player of the Week, Sean Line won Defensive Player of the Week, and Kieran Corr won the Special Teams Player of the Week. 

While Harvard keeps dominating teams Dartmouth is coming off their largest margin of victory since 2013 and they have had this game circled on the calendars since the schedules were announced. Most of us believed these two would rise above and be the two best teams in the conference and this game is basically for the title. Dartmouth already has one conference loss and with just three games to play they can't absorb another one and expect to take down Harvard for the crown. 

Last week we saw the Green continue to get better as the season has worn on. This much hyped defense has looked the part in the past month as they have allowed 32 combined points, and no one to get over 16 points, in the past three games. Their offense has been a source of pride for this team as well after many believed it would be the weak aspect of the team. They have now scored 79 points the past two weeks and have put up 30+ in half of their games. 

Coach Aurich said about his team "These guys are really focused." and I would expect they know if they win this game they can take the Ivy this year and enter the playoffs. We should all expect a pull back on offense from Dartmouth as they face a Harvard defense that has been unstoppable this year but if the Green's defense plays anywhere near they have been in the past three games this game could prove to be a nail biter right down to the final seconds. 

Penn Quakers vs. Brown Bears - Friday 7:00 pm  

The Quakers saw their dynamic offense get stuck in the mud last week and with their offensive failings came an end to their three-game winning streak. There is no way around it. The Quakers looked bad last week. Liam O'Brien hit one big play but otherwise didn't look like himself and an offense that had put up 24 or more points in every game failed to score more than that one deep TD. Their defense also was a mess allowing a season high in points to Yale and allowing more than the previous two games combined. 

Brown pushed their losing streak to two as they dropped one to Cornell in double overtime on the road, but their defense that was so good in the early part of the year has got to worry Brown fans right now. This team could not get late stops when they needed them, and this is one week after allowing Princeton to put up 40 against them. 

Both of these teams didn't look like themselves last week and will be looking for answers in this prime time matchup. I have more faith in O'Brien to correct his mistakes but Brown has surprised us all year and if they have the tape now to stop O'Brien it will be interesting to see the coaching adjustments made by both teams. We should get a fun Friday nighter this week. 

Yale Bulldogs vs. Columbia Lions - Saturday 12:00 pm 

The Bulldogs offense was once again on full display as they upended Penn with ease last week. Yale have now scored 82 points the past two weeks and have been able to score 35 or more points in half of their games this year. The Bulldogs defense also needs credit in this one and they have been mostly rock solid all season long. Yale held a powerful Penn offense to just 13 points and have now not allowed more than 17 in three straight games and in 4 of their 6 games overall. 

Penn came in with a red-hot QB and an even better offense, and they couldn't do anything against the suffocating Bulldogs defense. The defense had a 63-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown and they held Liam O'Brien to just 220 yards through the air. Most of those yards came on a broken play that resulted in an 85-yard touchdown. 

Columbia might be in a heap of trouble this week as Yale is at home and rounding into form. The Lions lost their 4th straight games and now sit at just 1-5 on the season after dropping their last one to Dartmouth 49-3. In what was one of the easiest games to predict of the IVy season Dartmouth's defense just completely stopped anything the Lions tried to do. The Lions haven't been able to do much this year on offense no matter who they have faced. Columbia has now failed to score more than 21 points in every game this season and have failed to score more than 2 TDs in four games. 

Their defense isn't any better, allowing 30+ points in three straight games and four overall. They can't stop anyone on the ground and that should be the difference here. Yale will run the ball effectively all day and dare the Lions to do what they haven't done yet this season. If Yale's defense looks anything like they did against O'Brien last week this one could get ugly fast. 

Princeton Tigers vs. Cornell Big Red - Saturday 1:00 pm 

The Tigers tried to stay close with Harvard last week at home, but ultimately the Crimson were just the better team and pulled away late. That doesn't mean the Tigers can't take away some positives from that tough game. Princeton was tied after one and only down a TD heading into the 4th quarter. Their defense held Craig in check for much of the game, but like all of Harvard's opponents they just couldn't muster enough offense. 

Colon was 19 of 31 for 239 yards and two TD passes and his one INT isn't terrible considering who he was facing. In Princeton's two losses since opening day they only scored 14 points, in their wins this season they have put up 35+ in three of their four wins. The defense played well last week but they are still a concern, especially for big plays and that is where they might get hurt this week. 

Cornell pulled off a nice upset in double OT last week against Brown and in the process have now won two games in a row by scoring 30 points in each. Jordan Triplett had three rushing touchdowns and ran for the game deciding score in the second overtime. Triplett only had 64 yards on 17 carries but proved to be clutch when they needed him most. Brown had been a good defense for much of the year so this was especially nice for a Cornell offense that had failed to score more than 21 points in three games this year. 

If Cornell can play as clutch as they have the past two weeks Princeton can be in trouble here, but this game shouldn't need clutch moments as the Tigers should be able to dictate the pace.