Mano-a-Mano: Can anyone challenge Penn football & Harvard?

We’re getting into the swing of things in the Ivy football season, and both Penn and Harvard, the preseason favorites to battle it out for the Ancient Eight crown, have looked as strong as ever. But behind the Quakers and Crimson, the field gets extremely crowded, as teams like Yale and Princeton have made waves early. Can anyone rise up out of the pack and challenge the Ivy elite?

Sports Editor Ian Wenik: I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Dartmouth is going to pose a big challenge the rest of the way in the Ancient Eight. I think that the Big Green’s 20-13 win over previously-unbeaten Yale last week was a real statement win. Running back Dominick Pierre and quarterback Dalyn Williams torched the Bulldogs on the ground, just like they had done the week before against Penn, and we all know how that game turned out.

With the head-to-head loss against the Quakers, I don’t think that Dartmouth can leapfrog both Penn AND Harvard to take the crown, but that Nov. 2 date with the Crimson in Cambridge is looming. I’m not so confident that Harvard’s defense can contain Dartmouth’s read-option (Penn just barely could), so that game could be an upset in the making. And remember, Williams is only a sophomore. He’ll be back next year, and the 2014 Ivy title could easily belong to the boys from Hanover.

Sports Editor John Phillips: I agree that Dartmouth definitely poses a problem, but at the end of the day, Penn has already tackled the Big Green (despite being taken to the brink), so it comes down to Harvard and Dartmouth. While the Big Green have definitely shown the Ivy League that they are a force to be reckoned with, I’ll still take the Crimson in that one game. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s just between Penn and Harvard.

Princeton has shown a lot over the course of the season. The Tigers took Lehigh, a ranked team, to the limit. They only lost by one, and they’ve trounced inferior competition in Georgetown and Columbia. Last week’s game against Lafayette showed me the most though, as Penn has seen firsthand how tough Lafayette can be to put away, and the Tigers did so admirably.

IW: I’m not as hot on Princeton as others have been, to be honest. They absolutely gagged against Lehigh, and I’m not sure that a team should be given style points for beating up on programs as lackluster as the Hoyas and Lions. Princeton has potential, especially junior wide receiver Connor Kelley (eight catches for 102 yards and a score against the Leopards on Saturday), but I don’t think they’re quite ready yet to pose a serious threat to either Penn or Harvard. Back-to-back road games against Brown and the Crimson should bring them back to reality.

The Verdict: Let’s be real here. Harvard and Penn are far and away the two best teams in the Ivy League this season and have successfully warded off all challengers so far. Princeton and Dartmouth are both solid teams, but they are at least a year away from being serious contenders in the Ancient Eight. Nobody wins.