Around the Ivies: Football

It’s been almost a full month since our last ranking of Ivy League football. Not unexpectedly, parity abounds at the top of the table. Yale, the most impressive during the first few weeks of play, fell at home in a shootout against Dartmouth. Let’s see how the teams stack up leading up to the season’s midpoint.

Harvard (4-0 overall, 2-0 Ivy League): As expected, junior defensive end Zach Hodges has remained one of the conference’s most disruptive defenders. His 3.5 sacks lead all players. The Crimson’s defense has stifled its opponents thus far, allowing a league-low 10.5 points per game. Opposing offenses haven’t been particularly dynamic, however. Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth, the conference’s highest scoring units, still remain on Harvard’s schedule.

Princeton (2-2, 2-0): In spite of graduating all-American defensive tackle Caraun Reid ’14, the Tigers’ defensive front has smothered opposing rushing attacks. Princeton’s opponents have averaged only 1.9 yards per rush. In service of the Orange and Black running game, junior backs DiAndre Atwater and Dre Nelson have been consistently dynamic, with the former averaging a league-high 8.0 yards per carry and the latter being the only FCS player with two kick return touchdowns.

Dartmouth (3-1, 2-0): Taking the field against what appeared to be an overwhelming Bulldog offense, the Big Green held its opponents to their lowest scoring mark of the year. In the course of the 38-31 away win for Dartmouth, Yale managed only seven points in the second half. Junior quarterback Dalyn Williams and senior receiver Ryan McManus have proven to be one of the most effective duos in the Ivy League. McManus, sidelined for all but one game last year, picked up 188 receiving yards while also returning a punt 60 yards for a score.

Yale (3-1, 1-1): Only one Ivy League runner has averaged more than 100 yards per outing, and that is the Bulldogs' senior Tyler Varga. The shifty tailback leads the conference with nine touchdowns. His classmate, wide receiver Deon Randall, is likewise the only receiver to tally over 100 yards per game while also leading all pass-catchers in receptions and scores. Yale’s matchups with Princeton and Harvard of the season’s final in two weeks could prove decisive in the league title race.

Brown (2-2, 0-1): Bruno dropped its lone conference bout with Harvard two weeks back. Nothing particularly remarkable has come from this Rhode Island side, which returned only two of its 13 all-Ivy selections from last year. While its 19.0 points allowed per game ranks second in the conference, its defensive unit has yet to be meaningfully tested thus far.

Penn (0-4, 0-1): Penn’s losing streak stretches eight games, beginning with a 27-0 loss at Brown in 2013. While the Quakers would rather not settle for three points per drive, they have one of the FCS’s most reliable options in Jimmy Gammill. The junior kicker set a school record with five field goals, one of which traveled 48-yards, the longest distance kick in the Ivy League thus far. Al Bagnoli, head coach of 23 years, will continue to fight for a win in his final season at the helm.

Columbia (0-4, 0-1): The dismal completion percentage of 48.7 should not rest entirely upon the shoulders of junior quarterback Brett Nottingham. A former back-up at Stanford for NFL superstar Andrew Luck, the California-native signal caller faces a dearth of surrounding talent. His classmate, tailback Cameron Molina, is a valuable receiving threat out of the backfield for the Lions — his 24 catches leads all non-receivers. But that’s more or less where the options run out.

Cornell (0-4, 0-2): The lone side thus far to drop two conference matchups, the Big Red has been outscored by an overwhelming margin of 20-75. That differential doesn’t improve if you look at its overall margin of 39-122. Cornell’s standout player occupies the one position where a team does not seek renown: punter. Sophomore Chris Fraser is one of the nation’s top special teamers. The frequency with which his services are required does not bode well for the Big Red’s scoring chances.