At this point in the season, Princeton and Dartmouth have made themselves the clear favorites for the Ivy League crown. The only question is if one of the two lose before they face off head-to-head in week eight.
Both No. 18/23 Princeton and No. 24 Dartmouth defeated their lesser-favored opponents this week to remain a perfect 6-0 on the year. To go along with Cornell’s 34-16 defeat of Brown, Yale topped Penn to give the favored team in each of this week’s matchup a victory.
Yale 23, Penn 10
On national television, the Bulldogs returned to their Ivy form under the Friday night lights of Franklin Field and easily handled the Quakers. Yale scored on its first two drives of the game and never looked back and the defense more than got the job done. Penn was held to fewer than 300 yards in the game, unaided by the fact that the Bulldogs held the ball for over 11 minutes more of gametime.
Princeton 29, Harvard 21
The Tigers’ dynamic quarterback John Lovett made his return to action against Harvard after missing last week’s game to injury. Nonetheless, the Princeton offense was humbled on the road, and for the first time this season, the Tigers put up fewer than 45 points in a game. Princeton was actually outgained in yardage by the Crimson, 375-357. The two teams were locked in a 10-7 score in favor of Princeton after the second quarter until an explosion in the final frame. There were 33 total points scored in the final quarter, and Princeton ultimately outlasted the Crimson for the win.
Dartmouth 28, Columbia 12
Starting an hour after the Princeton game and seeing the Tigers jump to an early lead, the Green knew it would need a win to keep pace for first. Dartmouth’s performance matched expectations and the final score is not indicative of their dominance over the Lions as Columbia scored a garbage time touchdown in the final minute. It was a game not won in the air but on the ground, as the Green attempted 29 more running plays than passing. Nonetheless, the pass game provided when called upon, going 11-for-12 on the day along with two touchdowns over 15 yards. Five rushers for the Green each achieved 30 yards and shared two ground touchdowns.