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Goodbye to Romance College Football
Here is some season preview stuff. I'll also post some weekly game stuff.
There is another Ivy League thread related to the pick'em league. I know, what am I doing...two Ivy League threads?
Last year I started flirting with Ivy League, teams, names and places I had never watched before, but somehow had always has a fascination about them in the back of my mind with their history as rich as the college game itself.
In the 1870s, six Ivy League teams played their first games putting those 6 among the 10 oldest teams in history. So it is no surprise the oldest rivalries come from the Ivy as well…Princeton-Yale (1873), Harvard-Yale (1875), Princeton Penn (1876), Princeton-Harvard (1877), Yale-Brown (1880), Harvard-Dartmouth (1882) are the 6 oldest rivalries in college football. Add in Cornell-Columbia coming in at the 10th oldest (1889). Princeton and Yale combined for 55 national championships in the 19th century (claimed, a fraction of those are ncaa recognized). Walter Camp came from the Ivy League. Penn’s Franklin Field and Harvard Stadium are the two oldest stadiums in the country and Yale Bowl is 7th oldest.
Ivy League is different. Teams don’t look to realign in their own self interest, the league doesn’t consider expansion to draw in more revenue (so long as ESPN doesn’t start pushing for change now that they own the TV contract). It's very difficult to sign free agent players from the transfer portal due to academic standards. There are no athletic scholarships. They don’t participate in the FCS playoffs. Agreements and standards set 80 years ago along with tradition is their guide. The schools stick together even when it restricts and limits their potential and sports generated revenue. In the offseason their football players are just as likely to be interning on Wall Street or a law firm or at a hospital before they return for fall camp.
One of the first things I noticed about Ivy League football is the competitiveness. There have been 5 different teams win a share of the Ivy League Title in the last 6 years (Dartmouth 3x, Harvard 1x, Penn 2x, Princeton 3x, Yale 2x). Even Brown, who is now among the league’s worst teams, won an Ivy Championship as recently as 2008 (Cornell’s last championship was 1990 and Columbia’s 1961). It historically is a very competitive league at the top through the middle tier teams. Last season Dartmouth and Princeton shared the Ivy Championship even though Dartmough beat them head-to-head, the Ivies don’t break the ties, they share instead. This season a realistic case can be made for 5 of the 8 teams to compete for an Ivy Title.
Ask who the best coach in the Ivy is and you’ll likely get different answers. Harvard’s Tim Murphy, Columbia’s Al Bagnoli and Dartmouth’s Buddy Teavens all have over 20 years in as head coach in the league and they have 23 titles among them. Tim Murphy is the winnest coach in Ivy League history and brough 9 Championships to Harvard. Al Bagnoli has won 9 Ivy titles split between two different Ivy schools. Buddy Teavens won an Ivy Championship as a Dartmouth player 1978 and 9 as their coach. As has Princeton’s Bob Surace winning an Ivy League Championship in 1988 as a Princeton player and has now won 4 Titles coaching is alma mater since 2010.
On to this season:
Various preseason polls I'll copy and paste-
2022 IVY LEAGUE MEDIA PRESEASON POLL (First Place Votes)
Harvard and Dartmouth Voted Football Preseason Favorites
1. Harvard – 108 (8)
1. Dartmouth – 108 (4)
3. Princeton – 105 (4)
4. Yale – 83
5. Columbia – 67
6. Penn – 49
7. Brown – 29
8. Cornell – 27
Hero Sports - Predicted Order of Finish
FCS: 2022 Ivy League Football Preview - HERO Sports
1. Harvard
2. Dartmouth
3. Yale
4. Princeton
5. Columbia
6. Brown
7. Penn
8. Cornell
The Analyst - Predicted Order of Finish
FCS College Football Preview: Ivy League | The Analyst
1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Dartmouth
4. Princeton
5. Columbia
6. Penn
7. Brown
8. Cornell
The Daily Pennsylvanian – Power Rankings
Ivy League Football Power Rankings: Preseason 2022
1. Harvard
2. Dartmouth
3. Princeton
4. Yale
5. Columbia
6. Penn
7. Brown
8. Cornell
For something different, here is a preseason prediction from an excellent Columbia blog site:
culions.blogspot.com
1. Harvard
2. Columbia
3. Yale
4. Princeton
5. Dartmouth
6. Penn
7. Cornell
8. Brown
As for accuracy of any of them I do not know, but I would tend to give more weight to this last one from the Columbia blogger. A little bit of a homer on the Columbia #2, but not impossible if they get more O and the D doesn't slip.
Some personal opinions and observations I have on the teams. I’ll just go in order of the official media poll. I'm not saying the teams will finish in this order.
Every team has questions and issues. Even while Harvard is picked #1 in each of the 5 different above polls, they have concerns and weaknesses. First off, Harvard hasn’t won an Ivy Title since 2015. Before last season they had 4 seasons of a combined w/l record of 22-18. Two of those years they had losing records in the league. Last year they finished 8-2 and 5-2 in league play winning with defense, outstanding defense at that. The reason they fell short of capturing part of a title last year was because of their offense. In loses to Princeton and Dartmouth, Harvard failed to top 235 yards of offense. Sure the Princeton game was literally stolen from them where the Ivy League apologized afterward, but the issue remains, does Harvard have a champion level offense to match their champion level defense? Harvard played 3 QBs last year, none of them great. 2 of those are back this year. Perhaps Emge who started the final 3 can be the guy and elevate the offense? Harvard has not had an All Ivy QB since 2018. Harvard returns their #1 WR for the first time in 3 years and the other couple receivers who figure to play and their TE are good enough provided the QB play is good enough. You may’ve seen RB Shampklin getting some carries for the Dallas Cowboys in preseason. He is just the 8th different RB in Harvard history to rush for 1000 yards in a season and left as their 7th all-time leading rusher. It might sound bad he is gone, but they return Aidean Borguet who possibly had Harvard’s best all time performance by a RB especially given the opponent (2019 269y on 11att and 4 TDs vs Yale!). He’s a former Ivy Rookie of the Year and last year’s #2 RB. So they are fine at the top of the depth chart here. OL has not returned a lot of experience the last two years and while they lose their best who transferred to UNC, they bring back 7 of the top 10. If some successful shuffling of the line takes place they could be in for their best rushing numbers since 2018 when they ran for over 200ypg. 2019 and 2021 haven’t come close to that standard.
On the Harvard defense, the DL is a rock. They rotate a ton of players and while they typically lose a couple starters, they just plug and play and it will be no different this year. Some call the “front 7” of Harvard the best in the league, but that isn’t accurate. The DL likely is, and while they have one super LB in McGown, he loses his two costarters one of which was the equally outstanding Jordan Hill (4th alltime leading tackler). After returning a bunch of guys the last two years, this year they only return 3 of their top 7 LBs, so some guys will need to step up. The pass D is exceptional as might be expected with a dominant front 7 getting lots of pressure. They return 3 of 4 starters back there and some reserves are primed for bigger roles. Although the K Lipel missed a long game typing TD at the gun in the loss to Dartmouth, he is very good and is back. Their Punter transferred to Notre Dame, so he was obviously good. Harvard excels at blocking punts and kicks as well.
All this sounds like a championship team. This team is very very similar to last year, it just comes down to the offense, the QB, play calling and execution. The offense, just in Ivy league games last year, Harvard only converted 31.7% 3rd downs, that was middle of the league. They were in the bottom half of the league in first downs gained. They only scored 7 TDs on 21 RZ trips! You can see, this is not a championship level offense, or it wasn't last year. What can it be this year? I think all these people picking Harvard are somehow overlooking these shortcomings.
Dartmouth was last year’s champ and also won with amazingly good defense. But on offense, they played two QBs, the passer and the runner. The passer Kyler is gone, transferred to Pitt. Howard the runner I back. They actually both made All Ivy last year, crazy. Howard was just one of two FCS QBs to attend the Manning Passing Academy (HC Teavens is on the board). Dartmouth has been running a two QB system the last few years and while they say that Howard will be the main QB now, and he can pass it well and all, chances are they have a more conventional QB and also play Howard as well. Howard led the team in rushing, but attempted just 18 passes all year. The receivers are strong, the top 6 WRs are back, except #3 Boston was injured in fall camp and will miss. They lose one TE, but return the other and both RBs who were active receiving are back. QBs have led or been second on the team in rushing every year since 2017, so the RB production has been limited, but both the top 2 are back. OL, they lose a lot. They only bring back 4 of the top 10 as last year’s group had 7 Sr or 5th yr Sr in it! Dartmouth has led the league in rushing the last two years and allowed very few sacks, but that figures to change this season.
Big Green DL loses 2 of 3 starters, but should be ok as the reserves played and produced a lot. The depth? Jalen Mackie was a stud at LB (3rd tm AA), but he transferred to UMass of all places. Only 2 of their top 5 LBs are back. In the 5-man secondary, here again they look weaker with just 1 starter back. Now they did that trick last year, but the reserves were pretty experienced and filled in the starting spots. That is not the case this year.
Overall the Dartmouth OL and the D look quite a bit worse off than last year. They look questionable to repeat as Champion.
Princeton shared with Dartmouth even though Dartmouth crushed them head-to-head. This is like the 4th or 5th year that Princeton is going to have to replace their starting QB! They’ve managed to do it really well before, the last two one year starting QBs were HM Ivy and they were even better before that. Can it happen again, just keep putting in different QBs year after year and have it be good? There are 3 guys competing for it and they also have a short-yardage/goal line QB. The receivers whatever QB will be throwing to are outstanding. They lose their #1 but 3 of the top 4 who caught a lot of passes are back. Iosivas, Classi and TE Bobo are a great top 3 to make plays. If you watched Princeton last year you definitely saw Collin Eaddy at RB. He was lost for the year after just 3 carries in the 8th game (Dartmouth). Fr John Volker emerged, his brother Charlie was a big time player here and now the new Volker will be looked upon to lead the RB unit and the depth should be quality as well. As good as Princeton was last year, it is surprising that they allowed a league worse 35 sacks (double ‘19s total and triple ‘18s total)!! And they returned 4 with starting experience last year! The rush YPC has been dropping annually from 6.5 ypc in 2018 to 4.3 in 2019 and just 3.1 2021 (#6 in the conference). They have two starters back and a couple proven reserves to step in a couple other spots, but the depth players behind the front line do not have much of any game experience.
Tiger DL loses their top guy in Wright, but they bring back 10 of the top 12 to the 3-man group and should still be fine – they were #2 run D last year behind Harvard and the Tiger D trimmed a full yard off the 2019 ypc. They shouldn’t slip much here, Ndukwe will be the new star if he isn’t already. At LB they lose the Bushnell Cup winner on D (best Ivy player) oin Jeremiah Tyler, huge loss. LBs made up 3 of the top 4 tacklers on the team and those 3 are all gone. They do return the unit’s #4 and #5 tacklers, but still some big holes to fill. Big holes to fill are found in the secondary also. After returning a bunch of players the last two years, this year they lose a combined 126 games played by the 4 starters lost! It’s a 5 man group, so 1 starter is back, but this group is green. They do return both kicker and the Ivy League’s best punter in Powers (44avg 12 50y punts).
Princeton could be in the for a big drop among last year’s top teams depending how a new QB plays plus some questions on OL and a lot of concerns at LB and the secondary.
Yale switched QBs last year in the 2H vs UConn and Nolan Grooms nearly led the comeback win there. He started the last 5 and has a bunch of potential, mobile, gun slinger, but wildly inconsistent. He ran for 113y vs Penn then threw for 330y vs Brown, but then had just a 3-6 TD-INT ratio in his final 3 games. He was young last year, he might’ve been a FR so he certainly should improve, but the INTs can really hold this team back. They get back their #1 receiver, lose their #2-4, and return the rest. So they lose 82 catches, but return 67 and it should be a solid group. Tipton is the star. At RB Alston has been either 1 or 2 on the team in rushing since 2018. Grooms actually led last year. This is a good enough group. The OL should be good. They return 3.5 starters from last year and return a veteran guy who missed most of last season. 8 of the top 12 are back here, they have been playing a lot of young guys, that should pay off this year.
On D for Yale, while rival Harvard likely has the best DL, any Yale fan would argue that point. Yale has a strong DL with one of the best DTs Clay Patterson (league high 11.5 sacks). They cut a full yard off the ypc ’19 to ’21, down to 3.2. Most of the team’s sacks and TFLs come from this group and they return 88% of the sacks and 75%o TFLs from last year. All 4 starters are back, but they do lose some depth (5 of top 9 back). LB is a question mark. After returning their guys the last 2 years, this year just 1 starter is back and he was only the team’s #11 tackler (although this guy Pope was really good in 2018 – so maybe he switched responsibilities?). Other than Pope, no other LB on the roster made more than 6 tackles! The DBs bring back 3 of 4 starters plus get the return of a 2019 full time starter. So they have the players, unfortunately they haven’t always been very consistent. They Punter is also their Kicker, he is pretty good P, not so good K and not the greatest at KOs – they lose their star returnman.
Yale is one of the wild cards this year. The offense could be very good if Grooms take his play to another level. They were good last year, in 7 Ivy only games they were the highest scoring (33.3 ppg). The DL is going to be a handful for most teams, but the back 7 could be had.
Columbia is the other wild card. They have Joe Green at QB, rookie of year Ivy last year. They didn’t ask him to do much, he was first year starter and young (transfer originally at San Diego State never played). He set the school record for lowest INT %. They finished last in the league passing yards per game, which was likely the staff playing it safe. They had the #2 rush O and the #1 individual RB, so they had some O, but this year everyone expects them to open it up as Green appears capable. And the receiving unit is also very capable They return 101 of 127 receptions and have some playmakers around. They lost their top RB to South Carolina, but Young returned to the team after thinking of transferring. He’s been either 1 or 2 rushing on the team since 2018. Young is not the game breaker that Miller was, but he is a good all-around RB. They have normally had a 1-2 punch so not sure who that other guy will be. Read they have Navy RB Malcom Terry, I don’t think he actually played there, so we’ll see. The OL is a strength for sure. They only lose 1 starter andrr have 8 of top 10 back and it is a very veteran and experienced OL.
Lion’s D has some holes. They lose 2.5 starters on the DL but the projected starting DL looks good, but the depth is unproven. They lose a LB transfer to Duke, they bring back 2 other starters, but it’s just 2 of the top 7 LBs back. Perhaps worrisome at DB. They lose all 3 of their All Ivy players. They have two proven players back, but after that it is unknown. Columbia has a really good FG kicker, but they lose a good P and their 3x 1st Tm return specialist transferred to Florida State of all teams (I doubt he is playing or traveling on their team).
So Columbia could take a big step on O after averaging just 25ppg last year. The issue is the D could be regressing, which they were statistically kind of middle pack D last year anyway, but they had some strong performances (like shutting out Dartmouth!).
Penn has fallen on some hard times. Back-to-back 6-4 seasons in 2017-18 to 5-5 2019 and 3-7 last year. They have finished with a losing record in Ivy play the last 3 years. They lost a pretty good QB entering last year and they finished the season with a FR QB starting, Sayin (first FR QB to play here since 2013). He had some good moments, was named to Ivy weekly honor rolls twice, but then finished with a 1-6 ratio his last 3 starts. It’s Sayin’s job now, so hopefully he developed this offseason. They only return 60 of their 147 receptions from last year and about a dozen of those were to RBs. Two guys came on down the stretch with the new QB in WR Casilli and TE Sweitzer, those and they return their #3 receiver who is a multiyear guy (Starkey previously led the team in TD receptions ’19). Their top RB the last 2 years is gone, but the #2 is back. I assume some young guy will emerge there. The rushing and sack numbers were bad last year, just 126 rush ypg and 24 sacks allowed, those were their worst since 2014. They only returned 1 starter last year and their next experienced guy missed the season. There were only 2 SRs in the 10 man 2-deep last year. 4 of 5 starters are back and 7 of the top 10 return. Atleast they should be better prepared and more cohesive to start this season. I'd figure this offense should be improved as last year was kind of a mess and things are more settled now.
The Penn DL takes a big hit in losing DT Prince Emili who had 3 really good and productive seasons. Last I saw he was signed by the Bills. Their DL has been getting tons of TFLs and sacks for them since switching to a 4-man group and they allowed just 3.5 ypc rushing which was their best since 2011! They do return 2 of 4 starters and the top 4 reserves are all back as well (8 of top 10 back). They lose their #1 tackler at LB and the unit’s #3 tackler, 1 starter and 2 key reserves are back. They look ok at OLB, but need somebody to step up at MLB. They lose their top two CBs while returning both Safeties and a top reserve CB. The pass D as with the oveall D had been improving, but it might regress this year with losing their top DL, top LB and two top CBs.
Penn could be about the same, or maybe a little better. The O can improve, but the D probably won’t. Probably a .500 team at best and only if the QB really improves.
Brown loses EJ Perry who transferred in from Boston College in 2019. He lead the FCS in total O ’19 and in ’21 his rushing yards dropped but he passed for over 3000y. He was Bushnell Cup runner-up in ’19 and he won it last year as the league’s best offensive player. Last I saw he was playing for the Jaguars in the preseason. It is really hard to think what the Brown O will look like without him. His uncle is the HC and is an offensive minded coach, so I guess they will try to find somebody else to do the same things? One thing Perry did a lot was throw INTs 14 of them last year. So the yardage and completions and all has to drop, but maybe they can turn the ball over less. Whomever is the QB will have good and proven receivers to throw to. The top 6 WRs are all back and the top 9 receivers overall. Allen Smith is a two-year captain at RB and the RB unit is capable. The OL was in experienced last year, but they improved their sacks allowed to 28 (on 450 pass attempts). 8 different players started, they lose their top 2, but the 5 projected starters should atleast be better off to start the season than they were last year.
Brown D has been bottom of the league for a couple years now, and I’m not sure when the last time it was actually even average. Last year they allowed 179 ypc (5.0). Coaches say they feel good about their DT rotation for the first time. Coaches say a lot of things. 2 of the top 3 DEs are back as are 4 of the top 5 DTs. Two starters are back at LB and they’ve increased their sack and TFL numbers here nicely year over year, atleast for them. 4 of the top 5 LBs return. Brown has ranked last in Pass Eff D the last 3 seasons and while I’m not sure much improvement can be expected, they are more veteran than they have been the last 2 seasons. It’s not a bad special teams unit, but they need to improve FG kicking.
Losing a talented QB like Perry for Brown is going to be really tough. I would expect significant drops in offensive production, but like I said, maybe they avoid turnovers that plagued Perry. The D is always bad here, so not sure it gets better, but it could slightly improve as they are pretty experienced at least.
And now we have Cornell. They played 3 QBs last year, sometimes they played them all in the same game. It was a mess. But they did see that Jameson Wang is a pretty good runner, he played in 7 as a Fr and actually led the team in rushing (349y). It will probably be Wang’s job this year. He hit 65% with a 4-4 ratio last in limited passing plays. They return their top WR who is pretty good in Glover, but overall just 35% of their receptions are back and Glover has 80% of those. The top 3 RBs are gone. Last year the OL was a team strength, this year it returns, just 1 starter. Their best OL who many teams were after transferred to Penn State and in total 3 of their OL transferred out. 4 starters gone and 2 top reserves gone, Yeah.
It's a veteran DL back, but they don’t sack, TFL or stop the run well. As bad as Cornell is it is a shame that LB Jake Stebbins can’t have a better team around him. He burst onto the scene as a FR in 2019. He was named Ivy Rookie of the Week 3x that season finishing second in tackles, TFLs and led in sacks. He’s an AA candidate this season and they do return 4 of their top 5 LBs, so like the DL it is a veteran group. For the experience the front 7 has, the back 4 does not. Cornell loses 4 of their 5 starters plus they lose 4 of their top 5 reserves! Right. Both K, P, and LS are gone this year.
The Cornell coach will likely be fired this year. It's hard to understand how he hasn't been already. The only answer is that people don't care about Cornell football. The alumni and fans that do care seem to hate the AD as well with some speculating that secretly she would like to just fold football. It could be a winless season.
There is another Ivy League thread related to the pick'em league. I know, what am I doing...two Ivy League threads?
Last year I started flirting with Ivy League, teams, names and places I had never watched before, but somehow had always has a fascination about them in the back of my mind with their history as rich as the college game itself.
In the 1870s, six Ivy League teams played their first games putting those 6 among the 10 oldest teams in history. So it is no surprise the oldest rivalries come from the Ivy as well…Princeton-Yale (1873), Harvard-Yale (1875), Princeton Penn (1876), Princeton-Harvard (1877), Yale-Brown (1880), Harvard-Dartmouth (1882) are the 6 oldest rivalries in college football. Add in Cornell-Columbia coming in at the 10th oldest (1889). Princeton and Yale combined for 55 national championships in the 19th century (claimed, a fraction of those are ncaa recognized). Walter Camp came from the Ivy League. Penn’s Franklin Field and Harvard Stadium are the two oldest stadiums in the country and Yale Bowl is 7th oldest.
Ivy League is different. Teams don’t look to realign in their own self interest, the league doesn’t consider expansion to draw in more revenue (so long as ESPN doesn’t start pushing for change now that they own the TV contract). It's very difficult to sign free agent players from the transfer portal due to academic standards. There are no athletic scholarships. They don’t participate in the FCS playoffs. Agreements and standards set 80 years ago along with tradition is their guide. The schools stick together even when it restricts and limits their potential and sports generated revenue. In the offseason their football players are just as likely to be interning on Wall Street or a law firm or at a hospital before they return for fall camp.
One of the first things I noticed about Ivy League football is the competitiveness. There have been 5 different teams win a share of the Ivy League Title in the last 6 years (Dartmouth 3x, Harvard 1x, Penn 2x, Princeton 3x, Yale 2x). Even Brown, who is now among the league’s worst teams, won an Ivy Championship as recently as 2008 (Cornell’s last championship was 1990 and Columbia’s 1961). It historically is a very competitive league at the top through the middle tier teams. Last season Dartmouth and Princeton shared the Ivy Championship even though Dartmough beat them head-to-head, the Ivies don’t break the ties, they share instead. This season a realistic case can be made for 5 of the 8 teams to compete for an Ivy Title.
Ask who the best coach in the Ivy is and you’ll likely get different answers. Harvard’s Tim Murphy, Columbia’s Al Bagnoli and Dartmouth’s Buddy Teavens all have over 20 years in as head coach in the league and they have 23 titles among them. Tim Murphy is the winnest coach in Ivy League history and brough 9 Championships to Harvard. Al Bagnoli has won 9 Ivy titles split between two different Ivy schools. Buddy Teavens won an Ivy Championship as a Dartmouth player 1978 and 9 as their coach. As has Princeton’s Bob Surace winning an Ivy League Championship in 1988 as a Princeton player and has now won 4 Titles coaching is alma mater since 2010.
On to this season:
Various preseason polls I'll copy and paste-
2022 IVY LEAGUE MEDIA PRESEASON POLL (First Place Votes)
Harvard and Dartmouth Voted Football Preseason Favorites
1. Harvard – 108 (8)
1. Dartmouth – 108 (4)
3. Princeton – 105 (4)
4. Yale – 83
5. Columbia – 67
6. Penn – 49
7. Brown – 29
8. Cornell – 27
Hero Sports - Predicted Order of Finish
FCS: 2022 Ivy League Football Preview - HERO Sports
1. Harvard
2. Dartmouth
3. Yale
4. Princeton
5. Columbia
6. Brown
7. Penn
8. Cornell
The Analyst - Predicted Order of Finish
FCS College Football Preview: Ivy League | The Analyst
1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Dartmouth
4. Princeton
5. Columbia
6. Penn
7. Brown
8. Cornell
The Daily Pennsylvanian – Power Rankings
Ivy League Football Power Rankings: Preseason 2022
1. Harvard
2. Dartmouth
3. Princeton
4. Yale
5. Columbia
6. Penn
7. Brown
8. Cornell
For something different, here is a preseason prediction from an excellent Columbia blog site:
Roar Lions 2024
The unofficial fan blog of Columbia University football. (My previous CU Lions blog ran from 2005-2011 at http://roarlions.blogspot.com/)
culions.blogspot.com
1. Harvard
2. Columbia
3. Yale
4. Princeton
5. Dartmouth
6. Penn
7. Cornell
8. Brown
As for accuracy of any of them I do not know, but I would tend to give more weight to this last one from the Columbia blogger. A little bit of a homer on the Columbia #2, but not impossible if they get more O and the D doesn't slip.
Some personal opinions and observations I have on the teams. I’ll just go in order of the official media poll. I'm not saying the teams will finish in this order.
Every team has questions and issues. Even while Harvard is picked #1 in each of the 5 different above polls, they have concerns and weaknesses. First off, Harvard hasn’t won an Ivy Title since 2015. Before last season they had 4 seasons of a combined w/l record of 22-18. Two of those years they had losing records in the league. Last year they finished 8-2 and 5-2 in league play winning with defense, outstanding defense at that. The reason they fell short of capturing part of a title last year was because of their offense. In loses to Princeton and Dartmouth, Harvard failed to top 235 yards of offense. Sure the Princeton game was literally stolen from them where the Ivy League apologized afterward, but the issue remains, does Harvard have a champion level offense to match their champion level defense? Harvard played 3 QBs last year, none of them great. 2 of those are back this year. Perhaps Emge who started the final 3 can be the guy and elevate the offense? Harvard has not had an All Ivy QB since 2018. Harvard returns their #1 WR for the first time in 3 years and the other couple receivers who figure to play and their TE are good enough provided the QB play is good enough. You may’ve seen RB Shampklin getting some carries for the Dallas Cowboys in preseason. He is just the 8th different RB in Harvard history to rush for 1000 yards in a season and left as their 7th all-time leading rusher. It might sound bad he is gone, but they return Aidean Borguet who possibly had Harvard’s best all time performance by a RB especially given the opponent (2019 269y on 11att and 4 TDs vs Yale!). He’s a former Ivy Rookie of the Year and last year’s #2 RB. So they are fine at the top of the depth chart here. OL has not returned a lot of experience the last two years and while they lose their best who transferred to UNC, they bring back 7 of the top 10. If some successful shuffling of the line takes place they could be in for their best rushing numbers since 2018 when they ran for over 200ypg. 2019 and 2021 haven’t come close to that standard.
On the Harvard defense, the DL is a rock. They rotate a ton of players and while they typically lose a couple starters, they just plug and play and it will be no different this year. Some call the “front 7” of Harvard the best in the league, but that isn’t accurate. The DL likely is, and while they have one super LB in McGown, he loses his two costarters one of which was the equally outstanding Jordan Hill (4th alltime leading tackler). After returning a bunch of guys the last two years, this year they only return 3 of their top 7 LBs, so some guys will need to step up. The pass D is exceptional as might be expected with a dominant front 7 getting lots of pressure. They return 3 of 4 starters back there and some reserves are primed for bigger roles. Although the K Lipel missed a long game typing TD at the gun in the loss to Dartmouth, he is very good and is back. Their Punter transferred to Notre Dame, so he was obviously good. Harvard excels at blocking punts and kicks as well.
All this sounds like a championship team. This team is very very similar to last year, it just comes down to the offense, the QB, play calling and execution. The offense, just in Ivy league games last year, Harvard only converted 31.7% 3rd downs, that was middle of the league. They were in the bottom half of the league in first downs gained. They only scored 7 TDs on 21 RZ trips! You can see, this is not a championship level offense, or it wasn't last year. What can it be this year? I think all these people picking Harvard are somehow overlooking these shortcomings.
Dartmouth was last year’s champ and also won with amazingly good defense. But on offense, they played two QBs, the passer and the runner. The passer Kyler is gone, transferred to Pitt. Howard the runner I back. They actually both made All Ivy last year, crazy. Howard was just one of two FCS QBs to attend the Manning Passing Academy (HC Teavens is on the board). Dartmouth has been running a two QB system the last few years and while they say that Howard will be the main QB now, and he can pass it well and all, chances are they have a more conventional QB and also play Howard as well. Howard led the team in rushing, but attempted just 18 passes all year. The receivers are strong, the top 6 WRs are back, except #3 Boston was injured in fall camp and will miss. They lose one TE, but return the other and both RBs who were active receiving are back. QBs have led or been second on the team in rushing every year since 2017, so the RB production has been limited, but both the top 2 are back. OL, they lose a lot. They only bring back 4 of the top 10 as last year’s group had 7 Sr or 5th yr Sr in it! Dartmouth has led the league in rushing the last two years and allowed very few sacks, but that figures to change this season.
Big Green DL loses 2 of 3 starters, but should be ok as the reserves played and produced a lot. The depth? Jalen Mackie was a stud at LB (3rd tm AA), but he transferred to UMass of all places. Only 2 of their top 5 LBs are back. In the 5-man secondary, here again they look weaker with just 1 starter back. Now they did that trick last year, but the reserves were pretty experienced and filled in the starting spots. That is not the case this year.
Overall the Dartmouth OL and the D look quite a bit worse off than last year. They look questionable to repeat as Champion.
Princeton shared with Dartmouth even though Dartmouth crushed them head-to-head. This is like the 4th or 5th year that Princeton is going to have to replace their starting QB! They’ve managed to do it really well before, the last two one year starting QBs were HM Ivy and they were even better before that. Can it happen again, just keep putting in different QBs year after year and have it be good? There are 3 guys competing for it and they also have a short-yardage/goal line QB. The receivers whatever QB will be throwing to are outstanding. They lose their #1 but 3 of the top 4 who caught a lot of passes are back. Iosivas, Classi and TE Bobo are a great top 3 to make plays. If you watched Princeton last year you definitely saw Collin Eaddy at RB. He was lost for the year after just 3 carries in the 8th game (Dartmouth). Fr John Volker emerged, his brother Charlie was a big time player here and now the new Volker will be looked upon to lead the RB unit and the depth should be quality as well. As good as Princeton was last year, it is surprising that they allowed a league worse 35 sacks (double ‘19s total and triple ‘18s total)!! And they returned 4 with starting experience last year! The rush YPC has been dropping annually from 6.5 ypc in 2018 to 4.3 in 2019 and just 3.1 2021 (#6 in the conference). They have two starters back and a couple proven reserves to step in a couple other spots, but the depth players behind the front line do not have much of any game experience.
Tiger DL loses their top guy in Wright, but they bring back 10 of the top 12 to the 3-man group and should still be fine – they were #2 run D last year behind Harvard and the Tiger D trimmed a full yard off the 2019 ypc. They shouldn’t slip much here, Ndukwe will be the new star if he isn’t already. At LB they lose the Bushnell Cup winner on D (best Ivy player) oin Jeremiah Tyler, huge loss. LBs made up 3 of the top 4 tacklers on the team and those 3 are all gone. They do return the unit’s #4 and #5 tacklers, but still some big holes to fill. Big holes to fill are found in the secondary also. After returning a bunch of players the last two years, this year they lose a combined 126 games played by the 4 starters lost! It’s a 5 man group, so 1 starter is back, but this group is green. They do return both kicker and the Ivy League’s best punter in Powers (44avg 12 50y punts).
Princeton could be in the for a big drop among last year’s top teams depending how a new QB plays plus some questions on OL and a lot of concerns at LB and the secondary.
Yale switched QBs last year in the 2H vs UConn and Nolan Grooms nearly led the comeback win there. He started the last 5 and has a bunch of potential, mobile, gun slinger, but wildly inconsistent. He ran for 113y vs Penn then threw for 330y vs Brown, but then had just a 3-6 TD-INT ratio in his final 3 games. He was young last year, he might’ve been a FR so he certainly should improve, but the INTs can really hold this team back. They get back their #1 receiver, lose their #2-4, and return the rest. So they lose 82 catches, but return 67 and it should be a solid group. Tipton is the star. At RB Alston has been either 1 or 2 on the team in rushing since 2018. Grooms actually led last year. This is a good enough group. The OL should be good. They return 3.5 starters from last year and return a veteran guy who missed most of last season. 8 of the top 12 are back here, they have been playing a lot of young guys, that should pay off this year.
On D for Yale, while rival Harvard likely has the best DL, any Yale fan would argue that point. Yale has a strong DL with one of the best DTs Clay Patterson (league high 11.5 sacks). They cut a full yard off the ypc ’19 to ’21, down to 3.2. Most of the team’s sacks and TFLs come from this group and they return 88% of the sacks and 75%o TFLs from last year. All 4 starters are back, but they do lose some depth (5 of top 9 back). LB is a question mark. After returning their guys the last 2 years, this year just 1 starter is back and he was only the team’s #11 tackler (although this guy Pope was really good in 2018 – so maybe he switched responsibilities?). Other than Pope, no other LB on the roster made more than 6 tackles! The DBs bring back 3 of 4 starters plus get the return of a 2019 full time starter. So they have the players, unfortunately they haven’t always been very consistent. They Punter is also their Kicker, he is pretty good P, not so good K and not the greatest at KOs – they lose their star returnman.
Yale is one of the wild cards this year. The offense could be very good if Grooms take his play to another level. They were good last year, in 7 Ivy only games they were the highest scoring (33.3 ppg). The DL is going to be a handful for most teams, but the back 7 could be had.
Columbia is the other wild card. They have Joe Green at QB, rookie of year Ivy last year. They didn’t ask him to do much, he was first year starter and young (transfer originally at San Diego State never played). He set the school record for lowest INT %. They finished last in the league passing yards per game, which was likely the staff playing it safe. They had the #2 rush O and the #1 individual RB, so they had some O, but this year everyone expects them to open it up as Green appears capable. And the receiving unit is also very capable They return 101 of 127 receptions and have some playmakers around. They lost their top RB to South Carolina, but Young returned to the team after thinking of transferring. He’s been either 1 or 2 rushing on the team since 2018. Young is not the game breaker that Miller was, but he is a good all-around RB. They have normally had a 1-2 punch so not sure who that other guy will be. Read they have Navy RB Malcom Terry, I don’t think he actually played there, so we’ll see. The OL is a strength for sure. They only lose 1 starter andrr have 8 of top 10 back and it is a very veteran and experienced OL.
Lion’s D has some holes. They lose 2.5 starters on the DL but the projected starting DL looks good, but the depth is unproven. They lose a LB transfer to Duke, they bring back 2 other starters, but it’s just 2 of the top 7 LBs back. Perhaps worrisome at DB. They lose all 3 of their All Ivy players. They have two proven players back, but after that it is unknown. Columbia has a really good FG kicker, but they lose a good P and their 3x 1st Tm return specialist transferred to Florida State of all teams (I doubt he is playing or traveling on their team).
So Columbia could take a big step on O after averaging just 25ppg last year. The issue is the D could be regressing, which they were statistically kind of middle pack D last year anyway, but they had some strong performances (like shutting out Dartmouth!).
Penn has fallen on some hard times. Back-to-back 6-4 seasons in 2017-18 to 5-5 2019 and 3-7 last year. They have finished with a losing record in Ivy play the last 3 years. They lost a pretty good QB entering last year and they finished the season with a FR QB starting, Sayin (first FR QB to play here since 2013). He had some good moments, was named to Ivy weekly honor rolls twice, but then finished with a 1-6 ratio his last 3 starts. It’s Sayin’s job now, so hopefully he developed this offseason. They only return 60 of their 147 receptions from last year and about a dozen of those were to RBs. Two guys came on down the stretch with the new QB in WR Casilli and TE Sweitzer, those and they return their #3 receiver who is a multiyear guy (Starkey previously led the team in TD receptions ’19). Their top RB the last 2 years is gone, but the #2 is back. I assume some young guy will emerge there. The rushing and sack numbers were bad last year, just 126 rush ypg and 24 sacks allowed, those were their worst since 2014. They only returned 1 starter last year and their next experienced guy missed the season. There were only 2 SRs in the 10 man 2-deep last year. 4 of 5 starters are back and 7 of the top 10 return. Atleast they should be better prepared and more cohesive to start this season. I'd figure this offense should be improved as last year was kind of a mess and things are more settled now.
The Penn DL takes a big hit in losing DT Prince Emili who had 3 really good and productive seasons. Last I saw he was signed by the Bills. Their DL has been getting tons of TFLs and sacks for them since switching to a 4-man group and they allowed just 3.5 ypc rushing which was their best since 2011! They do return 2 of 4 starters and the top 4 reserves are all back as well (8 of top 10 back). They lose their #1 tackler at LB and the unit’s #3 tackler, 1 starter and 2 key reserves are back. They look ok at OLB, but need somebody to step up at MLB. They lose their top two CBs while returning both Safeties and a top reserve CB. The pass D as with the oveall D had been improving, but it might regress this year with losing their top DL, top LB and two top CBs.
Penn could be about the same, or maybe a little better. The O can improve, but the D probably won’t. Probably a .500 team at best and only if the QB really improves.
Brown loses EJ Perry who transferred in from Boston College in 2019. He lead the FCS in total O ’19 and in ’21 his rushing yards dropped but he passed for over 3000y. He was Bushnell Cup runner-up in ’19 and he won it last year as the league’s best offensive player. Last I saw he was playing for the Jaguars in the preseason. It is really hard to think what the Brown O will look like without him. His uncle is the HC and is an offensive minded coach, so I guess they will try to find somebody else to do the same things? One thing Perry did a lot was throw INTs 14 of them last year. So the yardage and completions and all has to drop, but maybe they can turn the ball over less. Whomever is the QB will have good and proven receivers to throw to. The top 6 WRs are all back and the top 9 receivers overall. Allen Smith is a two-year captain at RB and the RB unit is capable. The OL was in experienced last year, but they improved their sacks allowed to 28 (on 450 pass attempts). 8 different players started, they lose their top 2, but the 5 projected starters should atleast be better off to start the season than they were last year.
Brown D has been bottom of the league for a couple years now, and I’m not sure when the last time it was actually even average. Last year they allowed 179 ypc (5.0). Coaches say they feel good about their DT rotation for the first time. Coaches say a lot of things. 2 of the top 3 DEs are back as are 4 of the top 5 DTs. Two starters are back at LB and they’ve increased their sack and TFL numbers here nicely year over year, atleast for them. 4 of the top 5 LBs return. Brown has ranked last in Pass Eff D the last 3 seasons and while I’m not sure much improvement can be expected, they are more veteran than they have been the last 2 seasons. It’s not a bad special teams unit, but they need to improve FG kicking.
Losing a talented QB like Perry for Brown is going to be really tough. I would expect significant drops in offensive production, but like I said, maybe they avoid turnovers that plagued Perry. The D is always bad here, so not sure it gets better, but it could slightly improve as they are pretty experienced at least.
And now we have Cornell. They played 3 QBs last year, sometimes they played them all in the same game. It was a mess. But they did see that Jameson Wang is a pretty good runner, he played in 7 as a Fr and actually led the team in rushing (349y). It will probably be Wang’s job this year. He hit 65% with a 4-4 ratio last in limited passing plays. They return their top WR who is pretty good in Glover, but overall just 35% of their receptions are back and Glover has 80% of those. The top 3 RBs are gone. Last year the OL was a team strength, this year it returns, just 1 starter. Their best OL who many teams were after transferred to Penn State and in total 3 of their OL transferred out. 4 starters gone and 2 top reserves gone, Yeah.
It's a veteran DL back, but they don’t sack, TFL or stop the run well. As bad as Cornell is it is a shame that LB Jake Stebbins can’t have a better team around him. He burst onto the scene as a FR in 2019. He was named Ivy Rookie of the Week 3x that season finishing second in tackles, TFLs and led in sacks. He’s an AA candidate this season and they do return 4 of their top 5 LBs, so like the DL it is a veteran group. For the experience the front 7 has, the back 4 does not. Cornell loses 4 of their 5 starters plus they lose 4 of their top 5 reserves! Right. Both K, P, and LS are gone this year.
The Cornell coach will likely be fired this year. It's hard to understand how he hasn't been already. The only answer is that people don't care about Cornell football. The alumni and fans that do care seem to hate the AD as well with some speculating that secretly she would like to just fold football. It could be a winless season.
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