Harvard, Yale upset in early league contests

Harvard

The Crimson (2-1 overall, 0-1 Ivy League) started the season as co-favorite to win the league title, according to a preseason media poll. Harvard opened its season by edging non-conference opponent Holy Cross, 25-24. The Crimson then kicked off Ivy League play at Brown, where the team suffered a stunning 24-22 upset. With 22 starters returning, this was to be the year Harvard claimed back-to-back Ivy League titles for the first time since 1982 and 1983. The Crimson will try to bounce back this weekend when it hosts Cornell.

Cornell

The biggest surprise of the season so far has to be the Big Red (3-0, 1-0), which is the only unbeaten team left in the Ivy League. Call it lucky, call it disciplined, Cornell has regardless found ways to win tight games this year. Each of its contests has been decided by three points or fewer. In its first Ivy League game, the Big Red upended Yale in a close contest, 17-14. The next weekend, Cornell squeaked past Lehigh, 25-24. The Big Red will attempt to pull off the Harvard-Yale sweep this weekend.

Princeton

The Tigers (2-1, 1-0) have played to expectations so far. Picked to finish fifth in the Ivy League, Princeton has outdueled both Lehigh and Columbia, each by three points. The Mountain Hawks, however, lost their other Ivy contest this season, and the Lions were picked to finish last in the division. The Tigers will host their next big division test in Brown — but first they will have to take on Colgate this weekend.

Brown

The Bears (2-1, 1-0), picked to finish third in the Ivy League, upset favored Harvard two weeks ago. Brown is not a team to underestimate: It was only three years ago that the Bears took the Ivy League crown. Brown got off to a quick start, beating Stony Brook 17-7 and then stunning Harvard. Last week, the Bears were torched by Rhode Island, 37-13. Brown will try to shake off the loss when it plays Holy Cross this weekend.

Yale

The Bulldogs (2-1, 0-1) stormed past Georgetown in their season-opener, 47-7, setting up what appeared to be an easy first league game against Cornell. Not so fast, though: Yale fell short to the Big Red, just like its rival did in its league opener. The Bulldogs came back with a standout double-overtime effort against Holy Cross, pulling out the victory, 31-28. Yale looks to get back on track to the top when it plays Dartmouth this weekend.

Dartmouth

The Big Green (0-3, 0-1) has had a very rough start to the season. In its first game, Dartmouth fell to non-conference foe Colgate, 34-20. The next week was an even worse 42-6 pummeling at the hands of New Hampshire. The team showed some resiliency in its match against heavily favored Penn, playing to a 7-7 tie at halftime. The Big Green ultimately fell, though, 23-10. Dartmouth plays Yale this weekend.

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Penn

The Quakers (1-2, 1-0) struggled to get over the top in the first two weeks, falling to Villanova and Lafayette, 20-14 (OT) and 24-17, respectively. Still, Penn won its most crucial game to date in its quest for the Ivy League championship, overcoming Dartmouth. The Quakers, who were the only team to receive a first-place preseason vote aside from Harvard and Yale, will face off against Georgetown next week.

Columbia

The Lions (0-3, 0-1) have played tough in all three of their games, but to no avail. Columbia has been within a touchdown in every game this season. The team fell to intra-city rival Fordham, 29-22, in its season opener. The next week, the Lions challenged Towson but came up short, 31-24. This past weekend, Columbia stayed with Princeton but could not make the necessary plays to break through and earn its first win of the season. Columbia will look to get the ball rolling this weekend when it hosts Lafayette.