Could the Big Green be the next Princeton? Dartmouth’s only two losses this year are to Penn and Harvard, the first of which came in quadruple-overtime, while the Crimson squeaked by the Big Green by three at home. Dartmouth relies on its defense, the best in the league, and has given up just as many passing touchdowns as it has accrued interceptions. A win at Brown will give the Big Green some more momentum heading into 2014.
PICK: Dartmouth 23, Brown 17.
COLUMBIA (0-8, 0-5 Ivy) AT CORNELL (1-7, 0-5 Ivy)
Don’t let the records fool you, this game will be exciting: The Battle for New York and the Battle for Last Place, all in one place. Saturday, we will find out what happens when a very stoppable force meets an easily moved object. Columbia scores just seven points a game, but Cornell gives up 38 each week. All of that said, there is bad and then there is horrible. Saturday, Cornell will be happy to be the bad team.
PICK: Cornell 45, Columbia 14.
YALE (5-3, 3-2 Ivy) AT PRINCETON (7-1, 5-0 Ivy)
The biggest game of the weekend pits Harvard’s newest rival against its most famous. Yale’s current spot of third in the conference is misleading given it still has games against the top two teams left on its schedule, but these Bulldogs are better than they have been in years.
They showed that last week, scoring a touchdown with 19 seconds left to beat Brown. The most impressive stat from that game might have been Yale’s near-50 percent 3rd-down conversion percentage, which it compiled while having four different players throw multiple passes.
Princeton uses multiple signal-callers too, but that’s by design rather than desperation. The Tigers also have the best defense on third-down situations and are looking more and more like a well-oiled machine with each win. Even if Harvard sells its soul and roots for the Bulldogs on Saturday, it still will not be enough to trip up the Tigers. They appear to be the team of destiny this year.
PICK: Princeton 38, Yale 24.
—Staff writer Jacob Feldman can be reached at jacob.feldman@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @jacobfeldman4.