Cornell is a mess. Its best quarterback, Stephen Liuzza, is listed at wide receiver but spends most of his time at running back, which I think says it all.
Even so, the Big Red should easily dispatch Princeton, which is basically a less-exciting version of Dartmouth at this point.
Prediction: Cornell 27, Princeton 20
YALE (3-3, 1-2 IVY) AT COLUMBIA (2-4, 1-2 IVY)
This matchup is almost as uninspiring as the last one.
Yale has scored 16 points in its last two games, and somehow won one of them. The Bulldogs’ imposing defense and non-existent offense make Yale games seem about as fun to watch as UC meetings. Having said that, while it’s unlikely you’ll find me watching our campus’ would-be legislators at work anytime soon, I will trek down to New Haven in November for The Game. Yale, after all, allows kegs at tailgates, while the UC’s history with kegs and the like is tenuous at best.
As for Columbia, I’d rather not speak of the Lions. I heralded them all year as an Ivy League sleeper pick, and how do they repay me? Three-straight losses in ascending order of embarrassment to Lafayette, Penn, and...Dartmouth.
Prediction: Yale 13, Columbia 10
DARTMOUTH (1-5, 1-2 IVY) AT HARVARD (4-2, 3-0 IVY)
Dartmouth blew Columbia out of the water last week, and suddenly the “What Ifs?” start to appear. What if the Nick Schweiger Express, now running with a full head of steam, rolls into Cambridge and plows through the Crimson? What if the Big Green becomes a spoiler, ruining better teams’ championship hopes and turning the Ivy League on its head? What if we all let one week make us forget everything we know about Dartmouth and erect a shrine to Keggy the Keg on top of the John Harvard statue?
Maybe we should all take a deep breath and look at this matchup objectively.
Both teams bring a balanced approach to the game of football.
Harvard is second in the league in total offense, with 1,034 rushing yards and 1,097 passing yards. Dartmouth also mixes up the run and the pass, in that the Big Green allows almost as many yards in the air as it does on the ground and is dead last in the Ivies in total defense.
It’s the perfect storm for a blowout. Expect the Crimson to haunt Dartmouth at every turn tomorrow, turning the Big Green’s dream week into a nightmare.
Happy Halloween!
Prediction: Harvard 42, Dartmouth 13
Last Week: 3-1
Record to Date: 23-13
—Staff writer Loren Amor can be reached at lamor@fas.harvard.edu.