FORDHAM at BROWN (-21)
Hartigan is going to have a field day against the Rams. The All-American Brown rusher just put up 252 yards on Rhode Island, the 74th ranked rushing defense in the nation, and now he gets to face a Fordham squad that sits eight spots back in that category.
Hartigan should have little trouble getting to 200 in this contest, and the Bears should have little trouble beating a terrible Rams squad by more than 21.
COLGATE (+7.5) at PRINCETON
This contest could be the clincher in the Ivy-Patriot series, as wins by heavy favorites Brown and Penn and a victory by the Tigers in this one would put the Ancient Eight up 9-4 with just four games left between the two leagues.
Princeton enters the game fresh off a 43-3 romp over lowly Columbia and holds the title of the Ivy League’s lone remaining unbeaten.
These facts are nice, but they are also deceptive. The Tigers still have a shaky quarterback situation, they lack a standout wide receiver, and, aside from last weekend’s matchup with the Lions, they have had trouble moving the ball in general.
Princeton’s staunch defense—the eighth best in the nation—will keep the game close and give the Tigers a chance to pull out the win. A victory is one thing, but covering the points is another, so take Colgate and the touchdown.
COLUMBIA at LAFAYETTE (-16)
After slipping past two mediocre I-AA squads to open up the season 2-0, the Lions got slaughtered at Princeton last weekend, finally putting to rest the preposterous claims that Columbia was poised for some sort of dramatic revival.
Reality Check No. 2 comes this weekend.
The Leopards aren’t quite as good as the Tigers, and the Lions shouldn’t enter the game with any hint of over-confidence, as might have been the case last week. But it’s hard to win if you can’t score, and Lafayette has the 11th best defense in the nation, while Columbia counters with the eighth worst offense.
The primary question is whether the Leopards can score enough to cover. They’ve been scoring almost three touchdowns a game thus far, and that should be enough in this one.
—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames.com.