Week 7 Ivy League Football Preview

Harvard Crimson vs. Dartmouth Big Green - Friday 7:00 pm 

Last week was designed as a test for the best team in the league and who would come out on top between the Crimson and Princeton, that was settled rather easily and anyone who had any doubts about Harvard can't deny it now. This is simply the best team in the Ivy League and it's not particularly close. Harvard defeated Princeton 35-7 last week in a game that didn't even feel as close as that score. The Tigers defense had been rolling all year and the Crimson's defensive unit took it personally that people were saying the Tigers had the best D in the conference. Harvard was dominant on both sides of the ball but specifically on defense where they have now held the past two teams to a single TD and only one team all season has scored more than 17 points against them. Offensively they also were on fire with Charlie Smith again shining. Smith had two TD passes and was 15 of 20 through the air in the first half, finishing 22 of 28 on the day. 

Dartmouth avoided the upset, by a Lions team who has upset teams all season, and routed Columbia 38-18. The Green once again had a solid offensive day and their offense, which was a question to start the year, has become a real force. They have scored 65 points the past two weeks and their defense looks better than they did early in the season. 

Harvard is the cream of the crop here and their defense can seemingly stop anyone, but Dartmouth has a suddenly dangerous offense. If the Big Green can force some turnovers and keep their offense going through the air they might push Harvard a little here, but this seems like another game for the Crimson to separate themselves from the pack as they push to be among the top 10 teams in the nation. 

Penn Quakers vs. Brown Bears - Saturday 12:00 pm  

Both of these two teams come into this game at 3-3 and are both coming off of wins. Brown won a thriller last week 38-31 over a solid Cornell squad in a game that played against their strengths but ultimately pulled out the victory. Brown had been playing really well defensively all season long holding every team they faced to 16 or less points heading into last week. The offense deserves a ton of credit from the last game where they scored the final 21 points of the game to get the win. That's now two of the last three weeks this team has scored at least four touchdowns after not scoring more than two in the first three weeks of the season. 

Penn also walked away a winner this time upsetting Yale in a tight game 24-21. Beating Yale was an accomplishment for sure, but holding the Bulldogs offense to just 21 points was really impressive. Penn shut out Yale in the second half and could be even better than their record. Consider that Penn lost by 1 point to Columbia the week before, only lost by four to Dartmouth on the road, and even played close for all but one quarter against Lehigh. 

The Quakers have watched their defense slip a little over the past few weeks, but their offense has looked better and better. Brown's offense has also grown as the year has gone on and their defense has taken a small step back after last week. If Brown can keep this offensive momentum going and get back to that terrific defense they had for the first five games they should walk away with the home win, but Penn is a legit concern and could easily win another close game to get to over .500. This has the makings of one of the best games of the year in conference. 

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

The Bulldogs can't blame their loss entirely on the defense last week, which is new for them, but the defense still is a major issue. Yale came into last week as a heavy favorite over Penn only to drop their 3rd game in a row and watch their title hopes all but disappear. It's been a trying season for the Bulldogs but they can get to over .500 here and make a late run with four games left. The problem with that thinking is that they not only have the worst defense in the conference, they also have stalled offensively the past two weeks. Reno is great and you have to give him credit to perform with all that has gone on for him this season, but Yale won't win many games scoring 23 or less points, which they did the last two weeks. 

Columbia has been the upset darlings this year but that streak came to an end with a big loss to Dartmouth last week where nothing was working. Their offense, which had scored 69 points the two weeks prior, could only manage 18 points and the defense allowed 38. The Lions defense will again be tested here and they have now allowed 27 or more points in all but one game this season. 

Yale's defense has been pretty poor this season but the offense is much better than what we have watched the past two weeks. I expect the Bulldogs to score and pile on the points here, Columbia might be able to keep pace for a while but ultimately this should be a week where Yale's offense puts this team on their backs and wins it for Yale. 

Cornell Big Red vs. Princeton Tigers - Saturday 12:00 pm 

The Crimson exposed the Tigers defense last week, but let's not make any mistakes Princeton still has an elite defense, and they could get right back on track here at home. The Tigers are still 4-2 on the season and their defense has now held 4 of their 6 opponents to 13 points or less. In their two losses they allowed 21 and 35. So the formula is right there for Princeton, play great defense, drain the clock and walk away with wins. The offense has gone backwards again and they need that dominant defensive play. Princeton only scored 36 points in the first two weeks and now have scored just 23 the past two weeks. They don't need much from the offense but they need more than the past two weeks. 

Cornell came back to earth in an almost natural let down spot after beating undefeated Lehigh. They lost a heartbreaker to Brown on the road and their defense was once again to blame for the loss. This defense has now allowed 38 or more points in each of the past three weeks. It's a miracle this team even won one game in that stretch with that. Offensively though this is one of the best teams in the conference, if not #1. They have scored 29+ points in every game since the opener and this will be a true test for them. 

The Tigers defense against Cornell's offense is a matchup dream to watch. No one has really been able to stop Cornell, they just outscore them and for the Tigers to get the win they will need to get back to the weeks where the offense was humming.