Passing Fancy

Jeff Otis had the best single season as a QB for the Lions in the 2000's


Last week I was all about rushing stats in the 2000's.

Now let's look at passing, specifically passers.


2,500+ Yard Passers, 2000-2009


1. Gavin Hoffman Penn 3,214 2000 (Penn won Ivy title)

2. Eric Webber Brown 3,175 2000

3. Michael Dougherty Brown 3,039 2007

4. Al Cowan Yale 2,994 2003

5. Rich Rahne Cornell 2,944 2000

6. Brian Mann Dartmouth 2,913 2002

7. Nathan Ford Cornell 2,815 2008

8. Mike Mitchell Penn 2,803 2002 (Penn won Ivy title)

9. Kyle Newhall Brown 2,709, 2009

10. Kyle Slager Brown 2,679, 2002

11. Michael Dougherty Brown 2,677 2008 (Brown tied for Ivy title)

12. Neil Rose Harvard 2,655 2000

13. Jeff Otis Columbia 2,552 2003

14. Craig Hormann Columbia 2,505 2007


I think 2,500 yards passing is the stat most similar to 1,000 yards rushing and that said, there were 14 individual 2,500+ yard passing seasons in the 2000's turned in by 13 different QB's. Only Brown's Michael Dougherty was able to reach that plateau twice.

Only Princeton did not have a 2,500-yard passer this past decade.

By contrast, there were 21 individual 1,000 yard rushing seasons turned in by 13 different players in the 2000's. Five of those 13 players did it more than once. Only Dartmouth didn't have a 1,000 yard rusher this past decade.

As much as I like to make the point that the Ivies have recently been making a run back to the run, you can't deny that the 2000's saw an overall explosion in passing.

In the 1990's, there were only seven individual 2,500+ yard passing seasons turned in by just four QB's, (Brown's James Perry did it three times and Dartmouth's Jay Fiedler did it twice).

An incredible FIVE Ivy teams did not produce even one 2,500-yard passer in the entire decade of the 90's including Columbia.

So again, this was a decade for passing; I just contend the last few years have seen that overall trend slowing and even reversing a bit.

In the 2000's, three of 2,500 yard passers led their teams to Ivy titles or shared titles.

Four of the 1,000 yard rushers led their teams to Ivy titles or shared titles.

Both of the decade's leading rushers, (Nick Hartigan, 2005), and leading passer, (Gavin Hoffman, 2000), led their teams to solo Ivy titles.


Columbia and Passing

Of course, most of the Ivy pioneers in passing were Columbia Lions.

Archie Roberts was the first Ivy QB to pass for 1,000+ plus yards in a season three times.

Marty Domres was the first 2,000+ yard passer in Ivy history.

John Witkowski was the first 3,000+ yard passer in Ivy history.

And older guys like Sid Luckman and Gene Rossides were trendsetters as well.