The only thing standing between Brown and its first Ivy League championship since 2005 is Yale.
Sure, there's a pesky road trip to Dartmouth next weekend and then a home date with Columbia on Nov. 22, but those two teams are a combined 1-7 in Ivy play (1-13 overall).
With Harvard and Penn each at 3-1, a game back of Brown, the Bears can't afford to slip up tomorrow.
To be sure, Yale is nowhere near the Ivy powerhouse it was expected to be heading into the season. The Bulldogs were picked to finish first but have foundered to a 4-3 record (2-2 Ivy), with their staunch defense carrying an impotent offense.
Yale's defense certainly is an impressive one, yielding just 13.1 points per game, best in the Football Championship Subdivision, and 293 yards per contest, good for second in the Ivy League.
Brown isn't a defensive slouch itself. It currently leads the Ancient Eight and is seventh in FCS with just 79.6 rushing yards allowed per game.
But the real reason why Brown has reached the 4-0 mark in Ivy play for the first time in school history is its offense. The Bears' attack is ranked second in the conference in points per game, third in total offense and second in passing yards. Quarterback Matt Dougherty has thrown for 272 yards per game and a league-best 14 touchdowns.
Columbia (1-6, 1-3 Ivy) at Harvard (6-1, 3-1)
Ever since it lost to Brown by two points Sept. 27, No. 21 Harvard has known what it has to do to repeat as Ivy League champions: win out and pray for some help.
Unfortunately for the Crimson, Brown has continued to win, so they're still on the outside looking in.
The Crimson have done their part, as they're now on a five-game winning streak since losing to the Bears. And with a Columbia team that has only one victory this year - over winless Dartmouth - entering Harvard Stadium tomorrow, Tim Murphy's team has a great chance to keep that run going.
Despite their record, the Lions aren't statistically terrible (compared to, say, the Big Green). In fact, the Lions are second in the conference in pass defense and third in overall defense.
That will greatly help them against Harvard, which is third in the league with 264.6 passing yards per game and first in the league with 416.6 total yards per contest.
But while the Lions' defense versus the Crimson's offense is the critical showdown, the other matchup is more "bleah" than "yeah."
The Harvard defense and Columbia offense crack the Ivy's top two in just one statistical category - rushing 'D,' in which Harvard ranks second.
Dartmouth (0-7, 0-4) at Cornell (3-4, 1-3)
With its defeat last week to Harvard, Dartmouth has now clinched a losing record in the Ivy League. But if it wants to get off the schnide and earn its first win of the year, tomorrow against Cornell might be its best chance.
The Big Green's opponent next week is Ivy League-leading Brown, so only the biggest upset of the year would get them a win.
And finally, the Big Green play Princeton on the last day of the year, and while the Tigers have the same overall record as Cornell, Princeton has a better Ivy mark thanks to its 31-26 win in last week's head-to-head showdown.
But beating Cornell is easier said than done. The Big Green rank last in every statistical category except passing offense (they're fifth). Who leads that stat? The Big Red.
Dartmouth might just have some luck on its side: The last time the Big Green picked up a win was against Cornell, a 59-31 thrashing on Nov. 3, 2007.
And Cornell hasn't exactly been spectacular this season. It's in the middle of a four-game skid, but with the hapless Big Green coming to town, there's a good chance that the team's longest losing streak since 2004 will come to an end tomorrow.
