Ragone not an Ivy MVP...yet

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You might have seen earlier today that Harvard's Gino Gordon and Dartmouth's Nick Schwieger, both upperclassmen running backs were picked to share the Ivy League's player of the year award, beating out Penn sophomore quarterback Billy Ragone and Princeton wideout Trey Peacock.

My initial reaction is that the League is too stuck in tradition to think outside the box on this one. No disrespect to Gordon and Schwieger; they're both incredible players for their programs, but the fact of the matter is a "most valuable player" is one that brings his team not just wins, but championships, and there's only one player of those four who did that this year. And he just so happens to not be an upperclassmen. It's as if the League feels compelled to honor its outgoing players.

I think the fact that Ragone is a sophomore — and in his first year playing all season for Penn — played a big role in the decision. It also hard to justify choosing a player who was solid statistically but not a touchdown leader or rushing leader. But as my colleague Brian Kotloff pointed out last week, the championship should speak for itself.

Maybe I'm being a bit of a homer, but I'm surprised the coaches didn't pick Ragone, especially after he wreaked havoc on their defenses game after game.

UPDATE: I expanded on this post for a print column in Tuesday's paper. Check it out here.