Ivy League 2010 Preview

By Raul Colon

Much like 2009, this season’s Ivy League winner should come down to two teams. Pennsylvania, last year’s champions, and Harvard figure to be right in the thick of the league race from day one. But unlike last fall, there are a few schools ready to challenge the “Order” for league supremacy. Chief among them is Brown which could ride the arm of talented quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero all the way to the title.

Two other legendary programs, Yale and Princeton could make thing interesting if all their chips fall in the right places. Even Dartmouth and Cornell, considered by many to be the league’s worse football teams, have the talent to compete with the Big Boys on a regular basis.

Overall, 2010 looks to be a very exciting time for the ‘Ancient Eight’.

1. Harvard (7-3 overall, 6-1 in league play): The school is the only Ivy member with five (nine overall) or more 7+ wins seasons in a row. Fueling the Crimson drive is an athletic defense led by all everything safety Collin Zych (53 un-assisted tackles, 12 Passes Broken Up). The offense, which spotted much of last season, should be more consistent in 2010 thanks to the development of QB Collier Winters. The 5-foot-11 senior is poise to have a breakthrough season after a huge finish versus Yale (19-26 for 211 yards and 3 TDs). The key may be incoming freshman wide receiver Bisi Ezekoye who could have a major impact on the return game.

2. Penn (8-2, 7-0): The current champions have the fire power to repeat. Lead by a trio of quarterbacks (Keiffer Garton, John Hurley and Billy Ragone) Penn has the ability to score in bunches. Of the three, Ragone has the more upside. Whoever is behind center will have the most talented group of skill position players at his disposal. WR Ryan Calvert and TE Ryan Murray should help the team maintain its offensive output (24.7 ppg) on a consistent basis. Defensively, the Quakers are the top school in the Ivy. They allowed opponents to score less than ten (8.3) points a contest. Their 212.7 total yards allowed is even more impressive.

3. Brown (6-4, 4-3): One of the surprise teams in the league last fall. The ‘Brownies’ utilized the strong arm of Newhall-Caballero all the way to an unexpected third place finish. His 263 passing yards per game were a league best. As was his 1,841 total yards and 10 TDs (8 interceptions). If the Browns defense can hold opponents below 18, something they had done only twice in the last 10 years, they could crash the Harvard-Penn party.

4. Columbia (4-6, 3-4): The Lions are one of only four teams in the league to topple the 20 point (21.6) per game scoring output. Spearheaded the attack is the league’s most punish running game. Columbia ranked third in total yards gained through the ground with 158. Seventy of them running between the tackles. No other team can match that. Its passing attack (177 pypg) wasn’t too shabby either. Unfortunately for the Lions, their defense proved to be awfully thin, especially in the front seven. Opponents routinely were able to exploit one of the smallest defensive lines to a tune of 170 ground yards a game.

5. Princeton (4-6, 3-4): A year after struggling to stop some of the weakness offensive teams in the country, the Tigers decided to began anew this season with a new man at the helm. It’s a good thing that new head coach Robert Surace’s forte is defense because he has his work cut out. Princeton allowed a league worse 412.6 yards a game. The 27.4 points allowed are a decade’s worse for this once proud unit. Although the stats are pedestrian, the Tiger defense does have some talent. OLB Steven Cody led all Ivy teams in tackles per game (11.6). He is the reason the team’s rushing (5th place) defense was way ahead of its passing counterpart (8th). The lackluster offense should at least improve on its league low 13 ppg production.

6. Dartmouth (2-6, 2-5). Despite winning only two games, the Big Green does have some talent. DE Charles Bay is capable of taking over a game. So is OLB Garret Wymore. But they need help if Dartmouth hopes to improve on its 20.9 points allowed a game. The offense is also in a state of flux. But the team hopes that QB Conner Kemper will take a big leap forward. The 6-foot-4 has the talent to become one of the Ivy League best, but he needs to improve his accuracy and mobility if he is to lead Dartmouth out of the league’s cellar.

7. Yale (4-6, 2-5): The Bulldogs are one of the best kept secrets this season. Sophomore signal caller Patrick Witt had a great spring. He is clearly the most talented QB in the Ivy League sporting NFL-type talent. The defense should be decent with junior DT Joe Young paving the way.

8. Cornell (2-8, 1-6): The league worse offensive (12.6 ppg) team has little hope of improving in 2010. The main culprit has to be the passing attack. The Big Red utilized three quarterbacks in ’09 and still finished at the bottom of the league in yards per game with 151.4. New head coach, Kent Austin main task this spring was to improve the air game. Look for Austin to settle on Elliot Corey as their starting quarterback. The defense, especially the secondary with anchor S Anthony Ambrosi leading the way, is good enough to win two games. If the offense could score above 15 a game Cornell could surprise.