Meanwhile, Holy Cross has put together two straight wins to bring its record back to .500. That includes a 17-13 victory over Brown last weekend, when Ryan Taggart picked apart the Bears’ defense to the tune of 331 passing yards.
The Crusaders’ defense seems suspect, and Dartmouth tailback Nick Schwieger is a serious threat on the ground. This one should be close, but my faith in the Big Green is gone.
Prediction: Holy Cross 31, Dartmouth 28.
BROWN (2-2, 1-0 Ivy) at PRINCETON (1-3, 0-1 Ivy)
Brown is now a Newhall-Caballero-less team again, and that is good news for the rest of the Ivy League. The Bears had to turn to their third-string sophomore quarterback, Patrick Donnelly, last week (sound familiar?) after backup Joe Springer failed to get a first down in the opening quarter against Holy Cross, and Brown sputtered to a loss.
The Bears are still an undefeated Ivy team, but they will have trouble keeping that unblemished record intact without Newhall-Caballero. Still, that perfect record should remain standing after this Saturday. Princeton has been outscored, 86-24, over its last two contests. Depleted as they are, Brown should pick up another W.
Prediction: Brown 24, Princeton 10.
COLUMBIA (3-1, 1-0 Ivy) at No. 25 PENN (3-1, 1-0 Ivy)
If you’re going to pay attention to any Ivy football game this weekend, make it this clash in Philadelphia. Columbia is looking darn good, and its sophomore QB Sean Brackett has won two straight Ivy Offensive Player of the Week awards. Brackett has thrown for eight touchdowns in the last two games, and he added a rushing score of his own in a win over Lafayette last week.
But the Lions’ offense is coming up against the top defense in the Ivy League, a team that’s allowed an average of just 165 passing yards per game this season. Penn isn’t flashy—it’s just good. And the Quakers haven’t lost to Columbia since 1996.
Brown’s down for the count, and the Crimson has already picked up a league loss, so this game is going to determine who the rest of the Ancient Eight is going to be chasing. Call me crazy, but I’m putting my proverbial money on Brackett and his Lions.
Prediction: Columbia 24, Penn 22.
LEHIGH (3-2, 0-0 Patriot) at HARVARD (3-1, 1-1 Ivy)
Last year, Harvard rolled over Lehigh and Cornell before being handed its worst loss of the season at home at the hands of Lafayette. This year, the Crimson has steamrolled the Leopards and Big Red, and now it’s facing a bigger test in the visiting Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh is much better than the 4-7 team that Harvard dominated last year—its only two losses have been against nationally-ranked Villanova and New Hampshire. But the Mountain Hawks aren’t a great team, and they’re giving up an average of 427 yards of offense per game. This is a perfect test for the injury-battered Crimson to find out what it’s made of before plunging head-first into the rest of its Ivy schedule.
Prediction: Harvard 21, Lehigh 14.
—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kleist@college.harvard.edu.