Anyone With an Ivy Prediction?

[carney2]

We get lots of posts here about the A-10, SoCon, Big Sky, Gateway and Patriot League. We hear very little about our non-playoff brethren of the Ivy League. I am hereby soliciting opinions on this off-the-radar bunch.

My "throw it against the wall and see what sticks" prediction for order of finish:

1. HARVARD - Dawson and O'Hagan return so the offense will be tough to stop.

2. YALE - Returning 4 All-Ivy 1st and 2nd teamers, including two wideouts.

3. CORNELL - A lot of underclassmen got significant playing time last year.

4. PENN - Predicting them in the "first division" has become a comfortable habit.

5. PRINCETON - They did well with smoke and mirrors last year, so...?

6. BROWN - They simply lost too much when the diplomas were handed out.

7. DARTMOUTH - They have apparently recruited a big time QB. They need a lot more.

8. COLUMBIA - New coach; same team.

[bulldog10jw]

I predict Yale will lose 3 games that they are leading by a touchdown or more at halftime. That seems to be the legacy of the Siedlecki era.

[Ivytalk]

I went out on a limb (well, not a big one) with my prediction of Brown to win in '05. 2006 may be Cornell's year, with several other teams in the hunt. The Big Red thumped us pretty good.

[ngineer]

Without knowing much of the teams personnel, I would be inclined to go with whoever is returning the most on defense. I grant you Harvard appears to have the most on offense, but the others mentioned in the upper eschelon will be very competitive on offense as well. So, my mantra, as usual is that defense wins championships, while offense may put people in the seats.

[Go...gate]

I think it will be Pennsylvania back on top, followed by Yale, and Columbia will move up. Brown and Princeton will slip back and I think Roger Hughes will be job-hunting at the end of the season.

[colgate13]

I think Cornell might stay the same. They lose they're QB but keep Siwala. It might be a wash. The QB Kuhn (I think) was way better than that frosh.

[Pard4Life]

Just a quick guess..

1. Cornell
2. Harvard
3. Penn
4. Yale
5. Brown
6. Princeton
7. Dartmouth
8. Columbia

Princeton seems to fold every year, with the exception of this year. I don't know why they can't ever get it together. One component of their team seems strong, and then another critical portion falters, i.e. good offense, bad D one year, and then the reverse the next year. Penn is always strong, and they might take a hit with the coach leaving. From what I saw on the ralph depth chart thread, Harvard looks to be losing a lot on offense. So I picked them a step down. Cornell seems to be the rising stud and I think they pull it out this year. Like the Eli above said, they seem to blow to many games to be in contention... i.e. Harvard, Lehigh.

[LeopardFan04]

I'll take a guess too:

Penn
Harvard
Cornell
Yale
Princeton
Brown
Columbia
Dartmouth

[colgate13]

OK, why not me too:

1. Yale
2. Harvard
3. Penn
4. Brown
5. Cornell
6. Dartmouth
7. Princeton
8. Columbia

I feel real confident about my #8 pick. Other than that... based mostly on hunches and trying not to predict to 'predictably' if you catch my drift.

[UNH 40]

I really wish the Ivy league would allow there teams to compete in the playoffs. I think they would be competetive, i think it is a shame.

[bluehenbillk]

Ah, UNH beat me to it, I will predict no Ivy team will make the playoff field.

[LBPop]

I think Roger Hughes will be job-hunting at the end of the season.

Don't know how he survived this long. With that school, those facilities, and the proximity to NY, they should be a perennial contender.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Why not? Of course, this is being done with zero research - by September it will probably be different.

1. Harvard
2. Penn
3. Cornell
4. Yale
5. Dartmouth
6. Brown
7. Princeton
8. Columbia

Hard to pick against Clifton Dawson in his senior year. Hard to see Brown and Princeton back in the running with all those seniors graduating. Going on a hunch that Teevens will have the Big Green playing better this year, kid of like Gilmore for HC in '05.

[carney2]

So far four different teams have been picked first and a few have even predicted that Columbia will give up its long-term lease on the basement. Is it true parity or is it that, since the Ivies don't venture far from their neatly manicured front yard and don't do playoffs, we just don't care? Yale at Georgia Southern anyone? How about a UNI visit to Dartmouth?

[colgate13]

Whatever the prediction may be, I don't think Cornell is ready to leap to that next level just yet. Maybe in 2007.

[Go...gate]

At the same time, I am not ready to concede Columbia the bottom. I hope I am wrong, but I believe this could be Princeton's worst season in many years. The program badly needs a fresh start.

[coop]

I really wish the Ivy league would allow there teams to compete in the playoffs. I think they would be competetive, i think it is a shame.

Play -offs ....Please they would get killed!!!I think you played An Ivy Team every year..... Your UNH plays Dartmouth every year & it amounts to a good scrimmage for the NH back-ups. NH routinely scores over 40 everytime. It could be more except McDonnell always pulls his starters out early.

They Don't give scholarships & the other play-off teams do.

[DTSpider]

Similar to the Patriot League, the Ivy appears to have vastly different levels from top to bottom. I imagine the top level teams would be competitive in the playoffs. The Patriot League has shown you can be successful without giving scholarships. To be perfectly fair, the financial aid packages from many Ivy & Patriot league schools are essentially scholarships. It's amazing how many academic scholarships have an athletic participation requirement.

[Marcus Garvey]

At the same time, I am not ready to concede Columbia the bottom. I hope I am wrong, but I believe this could be Princeton's worst season in many years. The program badly needs a fresh start.

Are they really that bad? The last time I saw Princeton was in '99 at Harvard. I gave up tickets for Miami at BC because I figured that'd be a blowout. Instead, I missed a great game (Miami overcomes a 17 point deficit in the last 15+ minutes) and I STILL want my money back from the Harvard ticket office!

I was sitting near some Princeton alums and informed them that Steve Tosches needed to be fired after the season. After watching the Tigers that day, I determined they could not block, tackle, catch, run, kick or throw the ball! It was like watching a bad club team. Did Hughes manage to do worse than that?

[Go...gate]

Hughes has recruited some decent (but not outstanding) talent, but they are inconsistent, out of condition and poorly coached and lose 2-3 games a year on that alone. Last year, those games were Colgate and Yale, and the Yale game cost them a share of the Ivy League title. It was only 2005's soft 7-3 that kept his job.

Frankly, IMO, he is the worst Princeton FB coach in my time of watching the team, which dates to the very early 1960's. Yes, even worse than Bob Casciola.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

2005's soft schedule? Beating I-AA playoff-bound Lafayette? Beating Harvard at Harvard? Losing by 3 to eventual champion Brown? Losing by 6 to playoff-bound Colgate?

On top of that, CB Jay McCariens is going to be playng on Sundays.

Sure, Hughes has had some underachieving teams. But you've got to give him credit for a great 2005.

[Lafalumni29]

Similar to the Patriot League, the Ivy appears to have vastly different levels from top to bottom. I imagine the top level teams would be competitive in the playoffs. The Patriot League has shown you can be successful without giving scholarships. To be perfectly fair, the financial aid packages from many Ivy & Patriot league schools are essentially scholarships. It's amazing how many academic scholarships have an athletic participation requirement.
FINALLY........ A NON PATRIOT-LEAGUER GETS IT !!!!!! THANK YOU !!!!!

[Lafalumni29]

Play -offs ....Please they would get killed!!!I think you played An Ivy Team every year..... Your UNH plays Dartmouth every year & it amounts to a good scrimmage for the NH back-ups. NH routinely scores over 40 everytime. It could be more except McDonnell always pulls his starters out early.

They Don't give scholarships & the other play-off teams do.
From what I've seen, there are many more successful Ivy league players playing on Sundays than Patriot League players, and the Patriot League seems to have done ok in the playoffs for the past few years. Bottom line, the top Ivys could compete very well in the playoffs. Oh......I know, your next statement will be, "Well, why don't they?". If you need to ask that, then I can tell you were never recruited by an Ivy league school. Those schools have more money then anyone could imagine. The extra exposure and money that comes along with making and being successful in the playoffs is a drop in the bucket compared to the endowments of these schools. One may argue that it could hurt their reputation by being associated with some schools in the playoffs. Hence their close relationship with the PL. The argument that the Ivys suck because they dont participate in the playoffs is BS. Get over it......their **** doesnt stink. We all should be so lucky to have played for Penn, Harvard or Princeton and NOT make the playoffs.

[Harvard Worship]

Hey I'm prejudiced but here's my predictions:

1) Harvard
2) Cornell
3) Penn
4) Brown
5) Yale
6) Princeton
7) Dartmouth
8) Columbia

These predictions are based on the assumption that Dawson isn't injured or anything... he's really playing at the wrong level. A shark in the goldfish bowl.

Also Columbia is really abysmal.
And we won't really know how good Cornell is until we see Harvard play against them. :mad:

[Ivytalk]

Hey I'm prejudiced but here's my predictions:

1) Harvard
2) Cornell
3) Penn
4) Brown
5) Yale
6) Princeton
7) Dartmouth
8) Columbia

These predictions are based on the assumption that Dawson isn't injured or anything... he's really playing at the wrong level. A shark in the goldfish bowl.

Also Columbia is really abysmal.
And we won't really know how good Cornell is until we see Harvard play against them. :mad:

The Crimson's offense will be just fine next year, at least at the skill positions. Dawson has one more year; the top two QBs are back; and Mazza will return at WR. The line may be a bit of a question mark. Harvard definitely played its worst Ivy game of 2005 against Cornell. The rematch in Cambridge will be interesting.

[Go...gate]

Except for the Penn rout (which was far and away their best game under Coach Hughes), PU was less than sparkling in the games that really counted. The Colgate (admittedly a bad-weather game), Yale and Brown lossses were close, yes, but were lost because the Tigers made the kind of continuing mental errors (such as stupid penalties and horrendous clock management) which kill any team seeking to move up. This has gone on throughout Hughes' tenure - he is simply an awful game-day coach. I keep thinking what a Higgins, Clawson, Tavani or Biddle would do with those players, and it is much better than anything Hughes has done.

I really love PU football and do not like having to say this stuff - but things are not good in Tigertown. Another 4-6 or 5-5 and Hughes is gone, and I think it could be much worse than that.

[bonarae]

My take:

1. Harvard
2. Penn
3. Cornell
4. Yale
5. Brown
6. Dartmouth
7. Princeton
8. Columbia

We'll see how these stand up next fall. It's going to be a hot race for the title this fall.

[AZGrizFan]

We get lots of posts here about the A-10, SoCon, Big Sky, Gateway and Patriot League. We hear very little about our non-playoff brethren of the Ivy League. I am hereby soliciting opinions on this off-the-radar bunch.

My "throw it against the wall and see what sticks" prediction for order of finish:

1. HARVARD - Dawson and O'Hagan return so the offense will be tough to stop.

2. YALE - Returning 4 All-Ivy 1st and 2nd teamers, including two wideouts.

3. CORNELL - A lot of underclassmen got significant playing time last year.

4. PENN - Predicting them in the "first division" has become a comfortable habit.

5. PRINCETON - They did well with smoke and mirrors last year, so...?

6. BROWN - They simply lost too much when the diplomas were handed out.

7. DARTMOUTH - They have apparently recruited a big time QB. They need a lot more.

8. COLUMBIA - New coach; same team.

I'm guessing that either Yale, Harvard, Cornell, Penn, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth or Columbia will win it this year. And of those that don't win, one of those will come in second. And none of them will be in the playoffs.

That's just my guess. :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Ivytalk]

My take:

1. Harvard
2. Penn
3. Cornell
4. Yale
5. Brown
6. Dartmouth
7. Princeton
8. Columbia

We'll see how these stand up next fall. It's going to be a hot race for the title this fall.

Welcome back to the board, Bonarae! Thought you'd be a bit closer to Cambridge by now!;)

[DetroitFlyer]

I predict that San Diego of the Pioneer Football League will beat Yale at Yale this season. San Diego beat Yale at San Diego last year and Princeton was darn lucky to barely defeat San Diego at Princeton last season!