Of course, the Big Red played the Bison tough and very easily could have beaten Bucknell to open up the season. But Cornell did the same thing last year, actually beating the Bison in its opener before losing its last nine games. The Bulldogs aren’t necessarily riding high themselves, after edging a Dayton team which it should have soundly defeated.
Even if there is a bit of a residual effect from Yale’s near miss last weekend, the talent gap here is too large to ignore. Yale wins going away—something residents of lonely Ithaca, NY could surely appreciate.
Dartmouth (0-1) vs. No. 14 New Hampshire (2-1)
For the second straight week, Dartmouth faces a top 15 opponent that is coming off of a difficult loss.
This week’s opponent, New Hampshire, has been all over the board, opening up its season by knocking off defending national champion and then-No. 1 ranked Delaware. The Wildcats proceeded to stun I-A Rutgers, coming back from down 10 at half to beat the Scarlet Knights 35-24. Then, New Hampshire fell asleep for three quarters en route to a 9-7 defeat at the hands of lowly William and Mary.
The Wildcats lost their starting quarterback Mike Granieri in the first game of the year, and while backup Ricky Santos has looked stellar at times, he can be shaken.
The Big Green defense is good enough to keep the team in the ballgame, but without a legitimate rushing attack, Dartmouth will once again fall short and will run its Granite Bowl record to 0-5.
Princeton (1-0) vs. San Diego (1-2)
If the Tigers’ schedule were placed on a golf course, it would have been three feet inside the Quakers ball on the green waiting for that perfect read.
Though Penn sunk its Toreros putt with authority, the read that Princeton got was perfect.
Run. Run. Run some more. Kick a few PATs. Take a brief halftime respite. Run. Run. Run some more.
Princeton ran for 183 yards against Lafayette and travels to San Diego to take on a team that just gave up 313 in a contest. If I were the grounds crew, I’d string a trip wire from endzone pylon to endzone pylon in order to ensure Tiger backs don’t just run right out of the stadium.
I don’t think Princeton has the firepower to break 60, but this game should get ugly fast. But, then again, Toreros coach Jim Harbaugh was on the 2001 Carolina Panthers which went 1-15, so his definition of ugly might be slightly more nuaced than mine.
Columbia (0-1) vs. Bucknell (1-1)
Both of these teams need to get offensive, and fast. In three games, Bucknell and Columbia’s offenses have combined to generate all of TWO scoring drives. Last week, Columbia scored all 14 of its points while the offense remained plastered to benches which remained a safe distance from the field.
This one’s going to come down to which team’s crappy offense shines relative to the other team’s crappy offense. Or it’s going to come down to something strange, like a blocked field goal that’s returned for a touchdown or an interception on a two-point conversion which is returned for two points the other way. In this vein, my final score prediction is 13.2-11.5. Sure, you won’t see it, but you probably shouldn’t see this game either.
—MICHAEL R. JAMES