Yale's Mike McLeod had an off game, by his standards, against Dartmouth on Saturday. The Ivy League's most dangerous offensive threat carried the ball 27 times for 155 yards and one touchdown in the Bulldogs' 50-10 thrashing of the Big Green, 33 yards short of his season average per game.
Though McLeod didn't live up to his five-touchdown performance the previous week against Holy Cross, he did extend his school-record streak of consecutive games with a touchdown to 13. He also added to his own Yale career rushing-touchdown record, bringing the total up to 38.
The Bulldogs remain undefeated overall and are 2-0 in conference play, having also torn apart Cornell. Yale has beaten its Ivy League opponents so far by a combined score of 101-22.
"I really like the way we're playing - how physical we are on both sides of the ball," Bulldogs coach Jack Siedlecki told reporters after the game.
On the other hand, Dartmouth couldn't keep its momentum going after a surprising win over Penn the week before. The biggest positive for the Big Green was the return of running back Milan Williams, who had been sidelined against Penn with a leg injury. Williams averaged 4.8 yards per carry for a total of 67 yards.
However, Dartmouth wide receiver Eric Paul and strong safety Ian Wilson - who was named Ivy League defensive player of the week last week - did not play, apparently due to injury.
Patriot's Day. You wouldn't know it from watching Penn pummel Georgetown on Saturday, but for the most part, it was a good weekend to be a Patriot League team.
In Providence, visiting Holy Cross extended its record against the Ivy League this season to 2-1, defeating Brown in a 48-37 shootout. The Crusaders topped Harvard in a 31-28 thriller three weeks ago, with their only Ivy League loss coming at the hands of undefeated Yale.
Meanwhile, Lafayette's defense - which is ranked first in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision and held the Quakers to seven points three weeks ago - never even gave Columbia a chance to get on the scoreboard, shutting out the Lions 29-0.
Despite losing running back Anthony D'Urso, who had already been filling in for an injured Maurice White, to a sprained ankle in the first quarter, the Leopards ran the ball very effectively. Sophomore backs DeAndre' Morrow and Matt Ferber scored their first career touchdowns, showing Lafayette's incredible depth at the position.
A Tale of Two Halves. On first and goal with a six-point lead in the fourth quarter, Princeton seemed to be in control of its first ever meeting with Hampton.
After failing to get the ball into the end zone on the first three downs, Tigers coach Roger Hughes decided to go for it on fourth down. But the Princeton option was stuffed in the backfield, and Hampton responded with a 96-yard scoring drive to take the lead.
When all was said and done, Hampton had scored 34 unanswered points in the second half to stun the Tigers 48-27.
The 15,329 people at Princeton Stadium for the occasion were also treated to a 20-minute performance at halftime by Hampton's renowned marching band. Perhaps the unusually long intermission threw Princeton off and swung the momentum to the visitors.
Amazingly, it was Hampton's defense that led the scoring charge, returning two interceptions for touchdowns in the second half. Two other Hampton touchdowns in the fourth quarter were set up by an interception and a fumble recovery, as the Pirates forced five turnovers in total.
