Brown receiver Buddy Farnham’s reign of terror over the Ivy League finally came to an end last week against Penn. The valiant Quakers shed the mantle of pacifism and vanquished the tyrant Farnham—who in Weeks 5 and 6 oppressed Princeton and Cornell to the tune of a combined 19 catches for 406 yards. Penn held the Bears’ wideout to six receptions for 52 yards.
Yale also boasts a formidable pass defense—the league’s best, in fact—and could pose yet another challenge for Farnham and Brown, which relies heavily on its aerial attack.
The Bears would seem to be the favorite in this one despite the identical records of the two teams, but I like the stingy Bulldogs D and expect some timely throws from the resurgent Patrick Witt, who orchestrated Yale’s comeback win against Columbia last week after a stretch of limited and mediocre play.
Prediction: Yale 21, Brown 17
PRINCETON (2-5, 1-3 IVY) AT PENN (5-2, 3-0 IVY)
The current state of each of these teams nicely illustrates the idea that not all momentum is created equally. While Princeton snapped a four-game losing streak with a 17-13 victory over Cornell last week, Penn has won five in a row.
The Quakers should easily come away with the victory here, but might also benefit from heeding the advice I gave to Harvard by keeping their collective foot on the gas. The last thing Penn needs is a letdown against the Tigers before what will likely be the de facto Ivy League championship game in Week 9.
Prediction: Penn 28, Princeton 10
HARVARD (5-2, 3-0 IVY) AT COLUMBIA (2-5, 1-3 IVY)
If you read The Crimson’s sports page yesterday, you know that Harvard senior running back Cheng Ho has suffered what will most likely be a career-ending lisfranc (mid-foot) sprain. So while I have this space, I’d like to congratulate Ho on a fine tenure with the Crimson, one in which he performed whatever duty his team required of him and performed it well.
Prediction: Harvard 31, Columbia 17
Last Week: 2-2
Record to Date: 25-15
—Staff writer Loren Amor can be reached at lamor@fas.harvard.edu.