A hearty congratulations to Dartmouth, which is gasping for air right now after emerging from the dank, suffocating cellar of the Ivy League. I must say, Big Green, I didn’t know you had it in you. The grit you showed in your double-overtime win against Cornell last week was certainly the hallmark of a team on the rise.
I look forward to seeing you next season, when, like this year’s Columbia team, you’ll jump out to a hot start, evoke uncontrollable shrieks of “Sleeper!” from the “experts,” and inevitably disappoint everyone who ever believed in you. I’m not bitter, Lions.
Also, does anyone realize that Brown is the only other good team in the Ivy League besides Harvard and Penn? Seriously, look at the records. Yale’s at .500 because it fills its nonconference schedule with creampuffs and everyone else is just awful.
Prediction: Brown 35, Dartmouth 14.
COLUMBIA (2-6, 1-4 IVY) AT CORNELL (2-6, 1-4 IVY)
Ah, the two teams who lost to Dartmouth now play in some kind of Bizarro championship game of ineptitude. At least Cornell has its men’s basketball team and Columbia, well, Columbia’s got Park Terrace Deli across the street from its sports complex. Fantastic sandwiches. If you’re watching a baseball doubleheader, head over in the seventh inning so you can avoid the between-game rush.
Prediction: Cornell 28, Columbia 24.
YALE (4-4, 2-3 IVY) AT PRINCETON (2-6, 1-4 IVY)
Remember how after Harvard started imposing all those draconian tailgate restrictions the Yalies started talking about how now Yale-Princeton was The Game? Yea, have fun at this one Elis. Your limitless kegs are going to come in handy.
Prediction: Yale 13, Princeton 6.
PENN (6-2, 5-0 IVY) AT HARVARD (6-2, 5-0 IVY)
Best. Game. Ever. If there were ever a time for junior quarterback Collier Winters to have a statement game, this would be it. Harvard’s run game might make a dent, but it won’t be anything close to the juggernaut it’s been in recent weeks. It’s your moment, Collier. A huge game from you and Chris Pizzotti ’08-’09 becomes a distant memory and you roll into the Yale Bowl a hero.
That would be nice to see, but this game is impossible to call with any semblance of confidence.
Prediction: Harvard 17, Penn 14.
LAST WEEK: 2-2
RECORD TO DATE: 27-17
—Staff writer Loren Amor can be reached at lamor@fas.harvard.edu.