As we move into the latter part of October, many of our questions are beginning to be answered regarding the outcome of the 2004 Ivy League football schedule.
Brown showed its ability to win a tight game when the Bears won in overtime for the first time in program history. Princeton, on the other hand, choked away a 12-point, fourth-quarter lead and lost in overtime to Colgate.
And Columbia proved that even a win over Lafayette is too much to ask.
This week is the last, and we mean last, week for non-league play. Three out of the four non-league games represent huge tests for the teams involved. With that in mind, here's how this weekend's Ivy League football games stack up.
Brown (3-1, 0-1 Ivy)
at Princeton (3-1, 1-0)
Think of this game as an experiment of how much momentum actually means to college football teams.
Junior Nick Hartigan ran all over Fordham last week, to the tune of 125 yards and 42 carries and three touchdowns. The last score came in overtime to give the Bears a 27-20 victory.
Princeton had Colgate right where it wanted last week. But a 26-14 lead with just six minutes left evaporated as the Tigers' defense collapsed, allowing the Red Raiders two scoring drives in the final minutes for a 29-26 victory.
The game is in Princeton, N.J., but it would appear that the Bears have the mental edge going in. And if the Tigers can't do a better job stopping Hartigan than they did against Colgate's Jamaal Branch last week, all of the positives from the season's first three games will have amounted to nothing.
Northeastern (3-2)
at Harvard (4-0, 2-0)
Crosstown rivals meet in what might be the best matchup in all of the Northeast today.
At first glance, the Crimson is rolling right now. It has the best quarterback-running back combination in the Ivy League in Ryan Fitzpatrick and Clifton Dawson. But Harvard needed come-from-behind victories to beat both of the decent teams it's played so far, Brown and Cornell.
Northeastern has lost twice under first-year coach Rocky Hager, but the losses were to undefeated Navy of Division I-A and a strong William & Mary team.
In what should be a heated battle, look for the Huskies' tough early schedule to be the difference, as they hand Harvard its first loss of the season.
Lehigh (4-1) at Yale (3-1, 1-1)
The Elis failed to impress in their 24-14 win at Dartmouth last week. The Big Green moved the ball up and down the field, but defensive back Fred Jelks came up with two of Yale's three interceptions. Yale quarterback Alvin Cowan was erratic -- two interceptions -- but made enough big plays to win the game.
Alas, Lehigh is no Dartmouth. The Mountain Hawks own I-AA's best record over the last seven seasons. Quarterback Mark Borda, a product of Bethlehem, Pa., has passed for over 1,000 yards in five games. The defense has already intercepted 13 passes. And how about coach Pete Lembo's pregame pep talks? The Mountain Hawks are outscoring their opponents 43-0 in the first quarter.
That being said, Yale is talented on both sides of the ball, and if the Elis can withstand Lehigh's initial assault, they might surprise a lot of people in this game.
Colgate (3-2)
at Cornell (1-3, 1-1)
Props to new Cornell coach Jim Knowles. After taking over a Big Red squad that more closely resembled a train wreck than a college football team, Knowles has had Cornell in every game so far this season. The Big Red upset Yale, and last week it led Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., until late in the third quarter.
This week, Cornell plays another team it is not supposed to beat in last year's I-AA runner-up Colgate. But the Red Raiders, and we write this every week, have not looked like the team that swept their schedule up to the I-AA championship game last season. They had loads of trouble stopping both Yale and Princeton.
On the other hand, the Red Raiders may have found themselves in last weekend's comeback win over the Tigers. And no one would confuse Cornell's offense with that of Princeton or Yale.
Holy Cross (0-5)
at Dartmouth (0-4, 0-2)
Not a lot of good things to talk about on either side.
But consider this: last year, the Big Green started 0-4. In the fifth game, it went to play Holy Cross with a new starting quarterback, Charlie Rittgers. Rittgers led Dartmouth to a 24-20 victory, and then won four out of the next five games to finish at 5-5.
The Crusaders are led by first-year coach Tom Gilmore, a 1986 Penn graduate. After dropping his first five contests at the helm, Gilmore will look to put one in the win column in Hanover, N.H.
