Noticing a pattern with these Yale games?
No. 15 Yale (7-0, 4-0) at Brown (3-4, 2-2)
Once again, it'll come back to Mike McLeod.
There's been no mystery this year - Yale has relied heavily on its junior tailback in its 7-0 start to the season.
At 3-4, Brown can't be labeled the Bulldogs' toughest test; that distinction belongs to Harvard, whom they'll meet in two weeks' time.
But this one will not be a cakewalk, especially since McLeod is running on a broken bone in his big toe.
Yale coach Jack Siedlecki told the Hartford Courant that McLeod didn't do all of his reps in practice for the first time in his career, but should be good to go on Saturday.
That's doubly unfortunate for the Bears since they are sixth in the league in rushing defense, with almost 180 yards allowed per game.
Expect a shootout. Yale will see plenty of quarterback Michael Dougherty, the FCS passing leader, and partner-in-crime Paul Raymond (fourth nationally in receiving yards).
Harvard (6-1, 4-0) at Columbia (1-6, 0-4)
After the favored Crimson pulled out a nail-biter against Dartmouth last week, perhaps they will be extra-vigilant when they visit the underwhelming Lions.
The way Columbia's been playing, they may not need to be.
A pathetic season hit a peak when the Lions held Yale scoreless in the first half, but they then quickly reverted to their old ways. The Bulldogs walked away with a breezy 28-7 win.
But coach Norries Wilson's 3-3-5 defense hasn't been stopping anybody, never mind the Ivy favorites. Opponents are close to a 50 percent conversion rate on third down. The Baby Blues' red zone 'D' isn't better - offenses have scored touchdowns 25 out of 32 times.
On paper, Harvard's offense isn't much to write home about; it's led by a backup quarterback and a relative no-name at tailback. But Chris Pizzotti (the Ivies' fourth-best passer) and Cheng Ho (third in rushing) have stepped up admirably.
Harvard coach Tim Murphy made no bones about the nature of this matchup at a press luncheon on Wednesday.
"Five wins is usually a good year at Columbia," he said, referring to last year's overachieving squad. "They're probably not as good this year . If we continue to practice well, we hope to go down there and take care of business."
Cornell (4-3, 1-3) at Dartmouth (2-5, 2-2)
When Jim Knowles was hired to coach Cornell in 2004, he brought a new tradition with him. After each win, the team chooses one player to ring the collective Victory Bell. Each bell is retired after ten rings.
Cornell has nine rings on its current bell, but will need a good showing against Dartmouth on Saturday if it wants to move on to the next one.
The optimist for the Big Red points out a 418-yard output against Princeton last week. The pessimist points out the six turnovers that helped pave the way for a 34-31 Tigers win.
Nathan Ford, who is nearing the school mark for season completion percentage, goes up against Dartmouth's pass defense, ranked sixth in the Ivies.
