Ivy eyes on Princeton at Harvard

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While Penn takes on Yale this weekend at Franklin Field, the most important Ivy League football contest of the season thus far will be taking place up in Cambridge, Mass., at the same time.

Harvard, Princeton and the Quakers all sit atop the Ancient Eight with undefeated records in the conference. Each team has started Ivy play 2-0, with Penn’s quadruple-overtime squeaker the closest any of the three has come to losing.

However, this weekend, either Princeton or Harvard will fall from the ranks of the unbeaten. The Crimson host the Tigers in Cambridge tomorrow afternoon.

The Crimson have also entered the national FCS rankings, coming in at No. 23 in this week’s table.

Harvard is led on the defensive side of the ball by junior defensive end Zach Hodges. The junior has forced three fumbles this season, recovered another and is averaging 2.1 tackles for a loss per game, leading the team in all three categories.

The Crimson will look to pound the ball on the ground with running back Paul Stanton, Jr., who leads the team and is second in the Ivy League with eight scores.

Though Harvard features a handful of threats on both fronts, Princeton will not go away easily. Last season, the Tigers rallied from a 24-point deficit in the fourth quarter to knock off the Crimson, 39-34. That victory by rival Princeton helped send Penn on its way to the conference title.

While Harvard has won 15 straight at home, the second longest streak in the nation, the Tigers have won five of their past six away from New Jersey.

With the highest scoring offense in the Ivy League on their side (42.4 points per game), Princeton will rely heavily on junior quarterback Quinn Epperly and senior wide receiver Roman Wilson.

The winner of Saturday’s game will take command of the driver’s seat in the Ivy League standings along with the Quakers, unless Yale is victorious tomorrow.