Nice Guys Finish Last

Not long after Yale decided to pull the classless move of calling a timeout with six seconds left to score a rub-it-in touchdown against our Lions, Cornell finished off a surprising win over Princeton at Schoelkopf, thus handing sole possession of first place to those same Elis.

Yale now controls its own destiny as it looks to win its first outright Ivy title since 1980. But the road ahead is not without serious challenges. First, the Bulldogs have to face a resurgent Brown team in Providence. Then, they have the tough match up at the Bowl against Princeton before traveling to Cambridge for The Game. I'd be surprised if the Elis can run the table, but they do have the talent, if not the head coaching class and decency, to do it.

Here's a closer look at Saturday's other Ivy games:

Cornell 14 Princeton 7

Princeton's dreams of a perfect 10-0 season died in the cold and the rain in Ithaca as the Big Red used turnovers and clutch defense to stop the Tigers. Princeton QB Jeff Terrell's two interceptions really hurt the Tigers; the second came after Princeton had driven to the Cornell 25 with 22 seconds left. And on the previous Princeton possession, Terrell fumbled the ball after a sack at the Big Red 44.

Impressions: Cornell has been a much better team at home this season, and the bad weather only added to that advantage. I don't think the Big Red are quite as good as a victory over Princeton would seem to suggest, but they should have little trouble avoiding last place this season. Princeton will have to work hard to overcome this loss, but having to face Penn and then Yale back-to-back now will keep the Tigers focused on the present and not the past.


Brown 30 Penn 27 (OT)

Brown is back from the dead after two straight wins, the latest one a big overtime victory over Penn at Franklin Field. Bear QB Joe DiGiacomo had just about the best game of his career, going 27-of-49 for 340 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw two interceptions, but kept his poise and saved his best for the last stages of the game. Penn's kicking woes continued after Derek Zoch missed a 26-yard attempt in overtime. Brown then took the ball, missed on a 35-yard FG attempt of their own, but got a second chance on a Quaker offsides penalty. Steve Morgan's next attempt from 25 yards out three plays later was good. Another key was Brown's ability to shut Joe Sandberg down. Penn's star tailback was held to just 62 yards on 21 carries.

Impressions: Penn is probably not going to collapse down the stretch like they did last year, but team confidence has to be waning after losing two straight overtime contests largely due to unreliable kicking. Brown has a great chance to finish in the top three of the Ivies if it can find a way to continue stopping the opposing running game. In their last two games, the Bears have shut down Luke Siwula and then Joe Sandberg. Next up is Mick McLeod and Yale.

Harvard 28 Dartmouth 0

As Bruce Wood of BigGreenAlert writes, this one was over before it started. Clifton Dawson ripped off a 74-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage, (what a difference a week makes for Dartmouth. The previous week against Columbia, the Lions fumbled away the ball to the Big Green at their own 25 on the first play from scrimmage). Dawson finished the day with 164 yards and three touchdowns, allowing QB Liam O'Hagan to throw the ball just 13 times in the poor weather. Dartmouth QB Mike Fritz ran the ball 16 times, but netted only 17 yards because of four big Crimson sacks.

Impressions: If you shut down Fritz, you beat Dartmouth. That's what Harvard did and Dawson provided all the offense. The Crimson don't face any single weapon to fear too much against Columbia this coming weekend, and they should cruise. Dartmouth will have its hands full against Cornell in Ithaca and I would expect the worst for the Big Green.