Thrilling finishes and offensive shootouts were par for the course this past weekend in college football, and the Ivy League contributed its share of both.

Four games involving Ivy teams were decided by four points or less, including three games decided in the final two minutes, and five Ivy offenses, including Harvard, put more than 30 points on the board.

Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Princeton all opened their Ivy campaigns this week. All eight league squads now have one conference matchup under their belts. Harvard, Penn, Yale and Princeton stand at 1-0, while Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia and Brown dropped their league openers to fall to 0-1.

Next weekend, Dartmouth travels to Yale for the only Ivy intraleague matchup while the other six teams take on non-conference opponents. The main portion of the Ivy schedule begins in two weeks.

Penn 21, Dartmouth 20

Penn sophomore Kyle Chaffin blocked a Big Green extra point attempt with 1:36 remaining in the game as Ivy favorite Pennsylvania (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) avoided a huge upset at the hands of last year’s Ivy doormat, Dartmouth.

Dartmouth running back Michael Gratch plowed into the end zone from two yards out to bring the Big Green (0-2, 0-1) within one before Chaffin blocked kicker Tyler Lavin’s attempt.

After both teams hit paydirt on each of their first two possessions, a defensive struggle ensued with Penn running back Kris Ryan providing the game-winning score with a two-yard touchdown plunge in the second quarter.

Ryan, fresh off a 159-yard performance against Lafayette, finished the day with 134 yards on 34 carries and all three Quaker touchdowns. He scored on runs of one, two and two yards. All-Ivy quarterback Gavin Hoffman was shut down by the Dartmouth defense and managed only 155 yards on 17-of-31 passing with an interception.

The Penn defense, which allowed only 178 total yards in blanking Lafayette in its first game, was picked apart by Big Green quarterback Greg Smith, who racked up 275 yards and two touchdowns while going 24-for-41 with an interception.

Penn hosts Patriot League opponent Holy Cross next weekend while Dartmouth travels to the Yale Bowl for a showdown with the Bulldogs.

Princeton 44, Columbia 11

Sophomore quarterback Dave Splithoff accounted for four touchdowns as Princeton scored 34 unanswered points en route to a 44-11 pasting of Columbia Saturday at Princeton Stadium.

Following an early Columbia field goal, Splithoff scored on runs of two and 12 yards, and the Tigers led 17-3 at the half.

The onslaught continued in the third quarter as Splithoff hooked up with Chisom Opara for a 78-yard touchdown and Brendan Dillon for a 31-yard score.