4. CORNELL: "It's trite but true--there are six contenders for the Ivy League title this year, and it should be very exciting," Cornell head coach Bob Blackman says, and adds, "I'm optimistic enough to count Cornell among those contenders." Blackman, the most successful coach in Ivy history, won seven titles in 16 years with Dartmouth but has yet to bring the crown to Ithaca. The Big Red might be a good darkhorse bet for the title, although uncertainty on the offensive line and in the secondary may spoil Cornell's bid to cop its first championship since 1971.
If Blackman can work some magic with his secondary and offensive line--and he has always had a reputation for pulling off the unexpected--Cornell could threaten for all the marbles. Right now, however, the Big Red look a little thin to maintain consistency over the grueling ten-game slate, which includes formidable Rutgers as an adversary. The Crimson will have the good fortune of catching Cornell the week after the Big Red's showdown with the Scarlet Knights.
5. PRINCETON: The Tigers have improved considerably in the two years that Frank Navarro has been at the helm. Most prominent is their running game, which will probably be the best in the Ivies. All-Ivy first team fullback Larry Van Pelt, a 5-ft. 7-in. bundle of energy, plugged for 550 yards last year and opened innumerable holes for second team All-Ivy halfback Cris Crissy, who piled up 604 yards. In sum, the duo produced nearly 2100 all-purpose yards.
But the loss of quarterback Steve Reynolds to graduation may hinder the running backs. Bob Holly and Mark Lockenmeyer will vie for the starting role this year, and thought the offensive line has potential, it suffers from the loss of outstanding center Ted Sotir to graduation. The receiver corps was also depleted by commencement, so while Navarro has a few potent weapons, it remains to be seen whether the offense will jell as a unit.
As in the case of Cornell, which Princeton should battle for fourth, the Tigers' secondary was ravaged by graduation. The linebackers also run somewhat shallow, but the defensive line--anchored by consistent end Paul Van Pelt and tackle Steve Hart--should be aggressive. But all told, Princeton's defense prevents them from entering the upper echelons of the Ivies--though they might pull off an upset or two. No, Navarro is not switching from spikes to topsiders.
6. BROWN: Many pre-season forecasts have put Brown on top of the Ivy heap. True, the Bruins boast perhaps the best individuals offensive player in the league--quarterback Larry Carbone--and the top defensive player--linebacker John Woodring--but the bears will need more than that to weave their way to the head of the pack.
Coach John Anderson, like his namesake who has designs on the presidency, still hasn't plugged a number of holes for the 1980 campaign. He is in search of seven starters on defense and six starters on offense, and sounded disheartened about his team's prospects last week. "We have too many question marks to have an idea how we'll do," he said.
Although he has a gem of a tailback in Rick Villella, out for much of last season with a rib injury, he has little depth in the backfield, Carbone threw for 895 yards and had a 53.5-per-cent completion ratio last year, but lost topflight receiver Mark Farnham to graduation. But the Bruins will be strong up front, led by hulking senior Jon McCabe.
Anderson calls Woodring the best linebacker he's coached at Brown, and he will be kept extra busy compensating for the weakness of a defensive line that needs a thorough revamping. The secondary is one of the best in the league, however, with Woody Pugh, Chris Weir and Tony Mancini all returning.
Anderson's squad could find itself the butt of even more insults than usual, but the talent dispersed through the lineup gives the Bruins at least on outside chance in the race.
7. COLUMBIA and PENN (tie): Hapless though they may seem, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon for both the Lions and the Quakers. Rookie head coach Bob Naso, an assistant for 20 years at Rutgers, comes to New York and will install a new offense.
Naso hopes his system will catch some his early-season opponents by surprise, and since the Lions meet the Crimson in the first game, he is obviously eyeing what would be a morale booster. The Lions upset the crimson two years ago in Cambridge, but that team was far better than last year's 1-8 version.
Still, Columbia is bound to upset someone, and Naso has solid credentials. Quarterback Bob Conroy and running backs Joe Cabrera and Ralph Brunori should lead the offense, with linebackers Sean D'Arcy and wild Chip Quadri heading the defense.
At Penn, the Quakers will be looking to win. At least one game. Coach Harry Gamble, however, has built a young squad that should arrive as a contender in 1981. Gamble somehow managed to infuse the Quakers with a sense of enthusiasm as they stumbled to an 0-9 record.
Gamble runs a wishbone offense, but since Penn threw the ball 159 times from the primaily run-oriented formation, it is heralded as the "Multi-Bone." Quarterback Doug Marzonie will direct the Multi-Bone. He passed for 944 yards (59-136) last year and rushed for 165 yards after embarking on his Penn career as a defensive back.
The defense figures to be, well, weak. But Penn has no place to go but up.