Ivy Weekend Preview | The Hottie and the Nottie

As usual, when Columbia visits Yale tomorrow, it will be an Ivy matchup of one of the hottest teams in the league against one of the nottest teams in the league. Only this year, they're playing out of position.

The Lions (1-5, 1-2 Ivy) are coming off their first win in 14 games. No, you can't fry an egg on them, but that win makes Norries Wilson's men as hot as they've been in a while. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs - a preseason favorite to win the Ancient Eight - have stumbled to a 3-3 record (1-2 Ivy) and are losers of their last two, against Fordham and Penn.

Yale is a very similar team to the Quakers, who narrowly topped Columbia two weeks ago. Both are defensive powerhouses that can force clutch turnovers. The key for the Lions will be to take care of the ball; they likely would have beaten Penn two weeks ago were it not for quarterback Shane Kelly's three interceptions and two lost fumbles.

But tomorrow will be different. M.A. Olawale, not Kelly, quarterbacked Columbia to 21 points and a victory over Dartmouth last week, and should remain the starter. That means Yale will have to produce on offense, something they've failed to do, due in large part to running back Mike McLeod's struggles.

- Brandon Moyse

Harvard (5-1, 2-1 Ivy) at Dartmouth (0-6, 0-3)

If Harvard wants to keep its hopes of repeating as Ivy League Champions alive, it is going to need some help.

The Crimson's best chance of winning the league would be for Penn to beat Brown tomorrow and then for the Crimson themselves to beat the Quakers two weeks later.

Of course, any title hopes depend on the Crimson winning out. But luckily for them, they play the worst team in the league tomorrow.

Last year, Dartmouth earned three conference victories for just the first time since 2003, and it seemed that maybe they could turn the corner in 2008.

But with the graduation of 15 starters, the Big Green have not followed up on on their 2007 success.

Instead, they've gone 0-6 - including a loss to Columbia, which hadn't won a game before facing the Big Green - and are in the midst of an eight-game losing streak.

Harvard, meanwhile, has played very well, despite finding itself on the outside track to the Ancient Eight championship.

Its only loss was a 24-22 heartbreaker to conference undefeated Brown. And its offense is statistically the best in the Ivy League.

- Zach Klitzman

Princeton (2-4, 1-2 Ivy) at Cornell (3-3, 1-2)

Since Roger Hughes took over as the Princeton head coach eight years ago, the Cornell-Princeton game has been marked by two things: close games and home team dominance.

The average margin of victory in those eight meetings is 5.9 points. Discounting a 2003 28-6 Tigers victory, the margin drops to 3.6 points.

That bodes well for the Big Red, who could use a win to end their three-game losing streak.

In fact, all of Cornell's victories this year have been decided by three points or fewer, as it has beaten Bucknell, 21-20, Yale, 17-14 and Lehigh, 25-24.

Princeton, meanwhile, is 2-2 in games decided by four points or fewer.

The other constant is that the home team has won each of the last five games and six of the eight.

Although the game very well could end up a barnburner, as their records indicate, these teams are middling Ivy squads.

The Tigers lead only one major Ivy League statistical category (rushing offense), while the Big Red's best ranks are in total offense (third) and pass offense (third).

- Z.K.

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