With no postseason to shoot for in non-conference action, Week 1 for Ivy teams is about figuring out weaknesses in time for league play.
For four coaches, whose teams open their Ivy schedules tomorrow, they better hope their players are quick learners.
Harvard (1-0) at Brown (1-0)
The marquee early-season matchup pits the last two Ivy League champions against each other, and both look a little different this season.
The Crimson picked up a win last week against Holy Cross, but it may have been costly. With starting quarterback Liam O'Hagan already suspended five games for an undisclosed violation of team rules, backup Chris Pizzotti went down to a knee injury. That leaves third-stringer Jeff Witt to take the snaps against the Bears.
But if anybody is focusing on the quarterback position, they will miss the best individual battle in the conference this season.
The league's best offensive player, Harvard running back Clifton Dawson, will be the target of the league's best defensive player, Brown linebacker Zak DeOssie. Both come into the game in top form, with Dawson rushing for 170 yards in Week 1 and DeOssie making 13 tackles.
Brown's offense also proved it could click last week, even without standout running back Nick Hartigan, who graduated last year. Joe DiGiacomo eclipsed 200 passing yards in a win over Georgetown, while Akin Oyalowo, Matthew Nuzzo, Brandon Markey and Dereck Knight combined for 220 on the ground.
With the two teams expected to be in contention at season's end, this is an enormous conference opener.
But before you think that whoever loses this one is toast, just remember - Harvard took down the Bears at Harvard Stadium last season; six wins later, Brown got the last laugh.
Yale (0-1) at Cornell (0-1)
While their Ivy season starts this week, their 10-game schedules started last week.
The parties responsible apologize for forgetting to tell that to Yale and Cornell.
The Elis were embarrassed at home by mid-major San Diego in a 43-17 beatdown. They surrendered 567 yards of offense, leading Toreros coach Jim Harbaugh (yes, that Jim Harbaugh) to tell reporters, "We manhandled them."
Speaking of manhandled, that's exactly what Patriot League weakling Bucknell did to the Big Red last week, holding Cornell to five points. While Cornell outgained the Bison by 105 yards, the Red threw two picks and fumbled three times, losing two of them.
Georgetown (1-2) at Columbia (1-0)
The parties responsible also apologize for forgetting to tell Norries Wilson that he's coaching at Columbia.
The first-year coach got off to a flying start, beating Fordham, 37-7, last week. And now the program, which has seen little reason for hope in recent years, looks to go 2-0 for the second straight year when it faces Georgetown.
The Hoyas have losses to Brown and Holy Cross to go with their 7-0 win over Stony Brook. The Hoyas rank in the bottom 25 in Division I-AA in total offense, scoring offense and first downs.
Lafayette (2-1) at Princeton (1-0)
One week removed from knocking off Lehigh on the road, the Tigers get another challenge from a Patriot League opponent.
If they're to beat a Lafayette team that will be out for revenge after falling to Penn last week, the passing game is going to have to clean up some of the opening-day sloppiness.
Senior quarterback Jeff Terrell threw for 205 yards last week, but he had three interceptions.
The Leopards, meanwhile, also had problems in the passing game, taking four sacks and floundering in the red zone in the 21-11 loss to Penn.
No. 1 New Hampshire (2-0) at Dartmouth (0-1)
New Hampshire pounded a Big Ten team (Northwestern) on the road. They have the frontrunner for the Walter Payton Award, given to the best I-AA offensive player, in quarterback Ricky Santos. They have a receiver, David Ball, who is three touchdowns away from Jerry Rice's I-AA career touchdown receptions record.
After their opening loss at Colgate, Dartmouth has the second-worst offense in I-AA and has three wins in the last two years.
Well, Dartmouth does have the home field advantage.
