Sayonara Patriot League.
Ivy League football gets into full swing this weekend. For the balance of the season, no Ancient Eight team will venture outside the Ivies.
Already, the landscape of the 2004 season is beginning to form. Three teams, Harvard, Princeton and Penn, sit at 2-0. Brown, Dartmouth and Columbia are 0-2. Yale and Cornell are both 1-1, but appear to be headed in opposite directions.
Because no one is going to the I-AA playoffs, the Ivy League championship is all that matters. The non-league games, while exciting, really have no significance. These games do. With that in mind, here's a look at how this weekend's other Ivy League games stack up.
No. 19 Harvard (5-0, 2-0 Ivy)
at Princeton (4-1, 2-0)
The game of the day, no question.
One of these teams will be 3-0 and will likely only have two-time defending Ivy champion Penn standing in the way of the Ivy title. The loser will not be totally out of contention, but will certainly be facing an uphill battle.
Harvard will come into this game poised and confident, courtesy of its 41-14 demolition of then-No. 19 Northeastern last weekend. The Crimson's offense is simply dominating right now, and it is without question the most balanced in the Ivy League.
Harvard sophomore running back Clifton Dawson is making a serious push for the Walter Payton Award. Through five games, he has 12 total touchdowns and is averaging 134 rushing yards per game.
But worry too much about Dawson, and Harvard quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will pick you apart. A Payton candidate in his own right, Fitzpatrick has made all the plays when he has had to, which is not that often, considering how dominating Dawson has been.
While not as celebrated as the offense, Harvard's defense is just as dominating. If the defense plays like it did last weekend, when it forced five turnovers and held a Huskies team that had been averaging over 38 points a game to just 14, the Crimson might be unstoppable in the Ivy League.
But Princeton also comes into the game with a lot of confidence. A lot of people did not expect the Tigers to beat Brown last weekend, but they did, by two touchdowns.
If any team has a chance to stop Dawson, it may be Princeton. Last week, the Tigers held Brown running back Nick Hartigan to 66 yards. That and more will be needed to shut down the Crimson.
And if the Tigers can keep the game close, quarterback Matt Verbit has the moxie and the talent to win it for them.
Cornell (1-4, 1-1)
at Brown (3-2, 0-2)
Poor Brown. Despite winning all three of its non-league games, including the Governor's Cup over Rhode Island, the Bears' loss to Princeton last weekend dropped them to 0-2 in the Ivies and essentially ended their title hopes.
They'll need to find a way to get up to play Cornell. While certainly no powerhouse, the Big Red has quietly recorded the Ivy League's second-best defense this season, giving up just 87 points in its first five games. But you need to score to win, and Cornell has not been doing nearly enough of that to strike fear into anyone. Quarterback D.J. Busch has thrown just two touchdown passes in five games.
Expect a defensive struggle. But also expect Hartigan and the Brown offense to wear down the Big Red by the end of the day.
Dartmouth (0-5, 0-2)
at Columbia (0-5, 0-2)
Somebody's going home with a win, and it's probably going to be the Lions.
They're at home. Their offense is healthier than it has been all season. And hey, they played Penn tough last weekend.
Dartmouth just looks helpless, losing to previously winless Holy Cross 24-0 last weekend. They Big Green just do not do enough things well, on either side of the ball, to be competitive.
