Ivy League Football Preview

By M. Ryan Clark | Wednesday, September 30, 1998

Prior to this season, most college football pundits picked Harvard and Brown to finish atop the conference. Both, however, were upset on Saturday — Harvard by Columbia and Brown by Yale. These losses have opened up the Ivy field — any of a number of teams, Dartmouth among them, could make a run at the title.

Last Saturday, the Harvard Crimson, who finished undefeated last year and return most of that squad's significant players, were crushed 24-0 by Columbia, the first shut out of Harvard by the Lions since 1953, in a dismal finish to their eight-game Ivy winning streak.

In a wild game, Yale, who was picked to finish last by many, beat Brown on a 27-yard touchdown strike by quarterback Joe Walland as time expired. Princeton shut out Cornell 6-0 on two field goals.

Despite having trouble moving the ball on offense, the Indians nearly knocked off Penn, but eventually fell 17-14. The Dartmouth offense sputtered in the first half, managing only four total yards of total offense. After giving up a touchdown on the Quakers' opening possession, the Dartmouth defense allowed only a field goal for the rest of the half.

With a weak offense, Dartmouth is going to need to rely on the defense and special teams to pull the Indians through. They did — a blocked punt, a fumble recovery, and a series of brilliant punts from Wayne Schlobohm '00 put the Indians in good position to win. In the end, though, the offense couldn't generate any real momentum, and Dartmouth lost, 17-14.

Here are the prospects for this Ivy season:

Dartmouth Indians

The major problem for the Indians entering this season was offense. Last year's offensive inadequacy cost Dartmouth the Ivy League title, and the two best players from that mediocre unit graduated — quaterback Peter Sellers '98 and flanker Zach Ellis '98. The quarterback situation has not been resolved — both Mike Coffey '99 and Mike Poncy '00 took snaps in the Penn game. Consistent play from the quarterback position will be necessary for Dartmouth to make a run at the league title.

Poncy and Coffey's task will be made more difficult by the depletion of the Indians' offensive line. Several linemen graduated in the spring, and these losses showed on Saturday when the quarterbacks were given little time to set up and were sacked four times. The Indians do return their four top rushers from a year ago, led by Reggie Belhomme '00. With the questions surrounding the passing game, these backs will have to account for a larger share of the offense than .

On the other side of the ball, the Indian defense lost superstars Zach Walz '98 (linebacker — Arizona Cardinals and Lloyd Lee '98 (safety — San Diego Chargers) to the NFL, but returns many from last year's best defense. Coach John Lyons, a former defensive coordinator has put together a consistently strong defense during his six-year tenure.

This year is no exception. Fiery middle linebacker and captain Jon Gibbs '99 will lead the defense; cornerback Tom Reusser '00 will also be called upon to contribute. As was the case last year, the defense will be called on to keep Dartmouth in games until the offense gels. Punter Wayne Schlobohm '00 should help; he dropped one 70-yard punt on the one-yard line in the Penn game and is the best returning punter in the Ivy League.

At least three of Dartmouth's wins last season turned on plays made by the defense and special teams, and with the struggles of the offense, the defense and special teams will once again carry the load. However, the offense will have to make big plays of its own for the Indians to have a real chance at challenging for the league championship.

Harvard Crimson

The Crimson are aiming to become only the fourth school to repeat as outright league champions. The strength of this team was supposed to be the offense but after being shut out 24-0 by a somewhat dubious Columbia defense last week, some Cambridge faithful must be wondering if their returning stars, quarterback Rich Linden and running back Chris Menick, had their career years last season.

Linden, who had over two thousand yards passing and 16 TDs last year, was 10 of 17 for 60 yards against Columbia, but was picked off twice.

Menick, who set a school-record last season with 1,267 yards rushing, was held to 37. One possible reason for this drop in production is the loss of two leaders on the offensive line. The new line will have to come together quickly if Linden and Menick want to repeat the accomplishments of last year. On defense, the Crimson return linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski, who may be the best defender in the league. Also returning is cornerback Glenn Jackson and his six interceptions from a year ago.

Harvard was the consensus pick to win the conference this year, but the loss to Columbia proves that they are vulnerable. Dartmouth fans will certainly be marking October 31 on their calendars — that day the Indians get the chance to avenge last year's 24-0 homecoming loss to the Crimson.

Brown Bears

Brown, last year, was the most fun team to watch in the Ivy League, because they had such a terrific offense. The core of that group returns: quarterback James Perry, who had 402 yards passing and 6 TDs in the final game last year, and his favorite target, wide receiver Sean Morey. Morey, last year's Ivy League Player of the Year, is sixth on the all-time recieving yardage list for Division I-AA as the season begins.

Brown's defense was bad last year and will only get worse with the loss of 6 defensive starters. As the opening-week loss to Yale proved, Brown will remain too inconsistent to seriously challege.

Pennsylvania Quakers

The Quakers, who initially finished third last year but were later forced to forfeit all of their league wins because they played an ineligible player are looking to win their first league title since 1994.

They return many of their players at the skill positions, including quarterback Matt Rader, who threw for 1,832 yards last year. He will be looking for receivers Doug O'Neil and David Rogers, who were both impressive last year. Jim Finn, a two-way player, will start at running back where he had six 100-yard games last year. However, Penn will be hurt by important losses on both lines. How these lines recover will be the key to Penn's success.

Columbia Lions

Coming off a disappointing season, the Lions hope to be much improved this year. With five league wins in 1996, Columbia looked forward to a successful season last year. However, last year's team only finished with three wins. Coach Ray Tellier has attributed last season to overconfidence and a loss of motivation.

He promises to refocus his team this season and challenge for the title. The offense will be led by the tailbacks since the quarterback situation is somewhat unsettled. An experienced defense will have to lead this squad, though they proved up to the challenge with their shutout of Harvard.

Cornell Big Red

The Big Red has many holes to fill this year under new coach Pete Mangurian, the former New York Giants offensive line coach. He must replace most of the offensive line, the top rusher, and all-Ivy receiver Eric Krawczyk. This team may challenge in the future, but this season will be sent rebuilding.

Princeton Tigers

The Tigers, who will play in a new stadium this year after spending last year on the road, will have to rely on their defense to carry them with the offense in a state of confusion.

Both the quarterback and running back positions are up in the air, with many candidates for both jobs. If the offense remains in disarray and the defense fails to stop their opponents, this team could make their fans very anxious for the basketball season to start.

Yale Bulldogs

The good news is that 15 starters return from last year. The bad news is that they return from a team whose only win was over Valparaiso. As with many teams in the league, the Bulldogs are unsure of their quarterback. On a positive note, 1996's leading rusher and receiver, Jabbar Craigwell, returns after missing last year with an injury.

Despite the poor showing last year, their experience will keep them in games, and they proved with their win over Brown that they will be a team that cannot be overlooked.For all their promise, however , Yale has too much ground to make up on the rest of the Ivy League. They are too young a team to win this year.

Ivy League Football Preview

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