Week 1 Ivy League Football Preview

1. Harvard Crimson vs. Stetson Hatters - Saturday 1:00 pm 

The betting line that was posted for this game should tell you everything you need to know about how it will play out. The lines makers have set this at Harvard -38 points and there is no reason to think this will be anything but a Crimson easy win. 

Stetson is 1-2 on the year, but have played two division 2 teams, and yes you are reading that correctly, lost to one of them. They dropped their opening game against Webber International, where they allowed 31 points, they also just allowed 63 to Chattanooga where they not only allowed 539 yards to the Mocs, but they accumulated just 126 yards total. 

Jaden Craig should pick this team apart with ease and start his trek to the Walter Payton award. Craig threw for 2,430 yards and 23 touchdowns last season, and he 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.

On the other side the Crimson have an excellent secondary, so when they force the Hatters to throw it will get ugly. Stetson's QB Alexander has thrown for 164 and 79 yards in their two losses. 

2. Dartmouth Big Green vs. New Hampshire Wildcats - Saturday 1:00 pm  

Dartmouth will be playing their first game after losing their starting QB and their star running back. But, the defense should once again be the driving force to this season and the key to victory for the Big Green today. 

The defense held teams to just over 100 yards on the ground last year, best in the Ivy's and that is what New Hampshire will want to try to establish. The Wildcats are 2-1 on the season but their offense has looked pretty weak. The Cats haven't had their leading rusher go for more than 78 yards on the season, and that high water mark was set last week when their QB was the one doing all the running. The attempts are there with 39, 31, and 34, but they have been held to just 3 yards a carry in two of those four games. When Vezza had to throw he has been wild connecting on just 25 of his 44 attempts last week. 

3. Yale Bulldogs vs. Holy Cross Crusaders - Saturday 12:00 pm 

The Bulldogs had a QB battle going on all summer and that doesn't help when they also lost every starting WR on the team. Their defense however returns and should have a field day against an inept Holy Cross offense. 

Holy Cross has been miserable on that side of the ball. The Crusaders have been held to 17 points or less in all three of their games, not surprisingly all losses, and they have scored just a single offensive touchdown in each game. Their high water mark for passing this season is 157 yards and they haven't watched anyone go for more than 66 in a game on the ground. Yes, it's really ugly on that side of the ball. 

With that said their defense has been quite good. They have held all three of their opponents to 19 points or less and have a special teams TD and INT return for a TD already this season. With Yale's focus on defense early on while they get their QB situation under control and Holy Cross's low scoring games this looks like it will be a rock fight. 

4. Columbia Lions vs. Lafayette Leopards - Friday - 6:00 pm 

The Lions return nearly everyone, which includes a dominant defense that allowed just over 16 points per game. That mark not only led the Ivy's but was 2nd overall in the FCS. They led in interceptions and fewest yards per game. Offensively replacing your QB will always be difficult, but having this defense behind them makes things easier. 

Lafayette is a tough game though as this team is already 2-1 and have played all three games on the road. Their offense has put up 42 points in back to back games and their rushing attack is downright scary. After struggling offensively in their opener they have now rattled off 469 total yards, with 319 coming on the ground and 579 yards with 289 from the run games. The Lions defense will be tested early and often here, especially against their run defense.

5. Princeton Tigers vs. San Diego Toreros - Saturday 12:00 pm 

Princeton finished dead last a season ago behind an offense that barely put up 21 points per game last season. They have more experience at key positions and are hoping that will lead to more scoring and more wins. 

San Diego has had issues scoring themselves so far this year, but if there is anyone who can fix a bad offense it's this San Diego defense, or lack of it. The Toreros have allowed 41 points in their two losses, and in their sole win they still allowed 27. Every team they have faced has put up over 400 yards of offense and last game they let up 500+. The one positive is they have not turned the ball over once this season. 

6. Penn Quakers vs. Stonehill Skyhawks - Saturday 1:00 pm 

The Quakers will rely upon Liam O'Brien to lead them this season and in his brief time he has been impressive. O'Brien ended with 13 total touchdown passes and 300 rushing yards in his fill-in games and they will need that as they lost their leading rusher. 

The Skyhawks are a tough team to put your finger on. They are 1-2 on the year and in their lone win they only scored 13 points. They also lost a game 12-7, but then lost a shootout 42-26. Even in the shootout this team can't seem to get the ground game going with no one on the team rushing for more than 44 yards and we can expect more of the same here. If O'Brien looks like he did last season the Quakers can throw their way past this weak running game, but that defense does present problems. 

7. Cornell Big Red vs. Albany Great Danes - Saturday 7:00 pm 

Cornell lost their star QB, but they return the best receiver in the league. They are going to need him to be as advertised as they travel to Albany for this prime time affair. 

The Great Danes are 0-3 but have shown plenty of promise to say they are better than their record. Losing to Iowa on opening day is nothing to be ashamed of, especially when you can hold a power 5 team to just 358 yards and Shields tossed a TD pass in the 2nd against an elite defense. Then getting out gunned by Delaware State looks bad, but Shields did throw for 3 TDs and last week in another loss against a weaker team Shields once again carried the stat sheet with 400+ yards through the air, but they managed just 17 points. Shields is the danger factor here for Cornell to defend. If they can contain him, they can win this interstate battle. 

8. Brown Bears vs. Georgetown Hoyas - Saturday 12:00 pm 

The Bears have a new QB and new coaches on the defensive side of things. So, the Bears enter as a virtual unknown. Murphy looked crisp in his brief time behind center, throwing for better than a 70% completion rate, but he is still green, and we will find out a lot in game one. 

That's because Georgetown has started better than most believed. They are 2-1 and are just one play away from being 3-0 on the young season. The Hoyas have put up 119 points in their three games and they will test this new look defense right away. Maybe the best news for Brown is that they are a virtual unknown and there is no tape on how these new coaches will call the game. Brown looks to be in for a tough day right away.