Ivy League Football Preview

By Samuel Kardon | Monday, September 18, 2000

The best way to enjoy Ivy League football is to watch it without thinking of Florida State or Nebraska. The Ivy League schools—small by comparison and consciously dedicated to collecting funds more through tuition than TV revenues—have always been disadvantaged to powerhouses in the Big Ten or the ACC because they do not offer athletic scholarships. The Ivies can only recruit those players who can cut it academically and don't mind paying $35K a year for the privilege of playing. Ivies also have trouble attracting players with pro potential, who would have a hard time honing their skills for the NFL by playing against Division I-AA competition.

This year, in a bit of an exception, is the first of 44 years that the Ivy League has leveled sanctions on a program. Brown acknowledged offering special financial aid tantamount to athletic scholarships to ten separate athletes. The Bears cannot defend their Ivy crown this year and they are docked five recruits in each of the next two years.

Almost every Ivy team looks better on offense than it does on defense, so this season should be marked by many high-scoring, entertaining matches that will be fun to watch even if your team doesn't prevail.

Dartmouth Indians

1999 looked like a lost season for the Indians. They dropped their first five games decisively, upset Cornell at Homecoming, but proceeded to get shelled the next week. Heading into the season's final fortnight, Dartmouth was 1-7. Encouragingly, the Indians saved two of their best performances for last and seemed to have momentum for 2000.

There's bad news and good news for this season. The bad news first. Gone is Wayne Schlohbohm, the consensus all-Ivy first-team punter. Gone from the defense are eight starters including four of the top five tacklers. Gone are the anchors of the defensive line (massive second-team all-Ivy end Kyle Schroeder), the secondary (second-team all-Ivy cornerback Tom Reusser), and the linchpin of the entire defense (first-team all-Ivy linebacker Steve Varney).

Now, the good news: Still around is QB Brian Mann '02 who should be much better after his trial by fire last year. The team also still has unanimous all-Ivy first-team guard Caleb Moore who should make the experienced offensive line Dartmouth's strong point. The Indians also boast honorable mention all-Ivy tight end Lee Roach who caught 30 passes last year and should be even better in 2000.

While it's true that Dartmouth loses eight starters this year, that since-shredded defensive unit gave up 30 points a game and was last in scoring defense, so it might need some shaking up. Despite the pedigree of some players, last year's defense simply wasn't effective. So change is good.

The secondary will be anchored by safety Brad Eissler '01. The defensive line is end Dan Hutchinson's territory. Talented junior Matt Mercer, who would have started last year if not for injury, should guide the linebacking corps from up the middle. The rest of the defense will be a bunch of inexperienced, new faces vying for the vacant spots. In all likelihood, they will give up a lot of points.

If the Indians are going to win, it will be due to their offense. Moore, the captain, will lead an experienced and deep line that still has room to improve and should give Mann time to put up more than the 1,848 yards he threw for last year. Aside from Roach, who should be key in red-zone and possession situations, Mann's targets should be Damien Roomets '02, Matt DeLellis '02, and Matt Davis '03—all of whom caught at least 29 passes last year.

The running game is a little more iffy. Seniors Bob Bunn, Matt Dunning, and Reggie Belhomme—the main ball carrier last year—are all back, but they were not all that effective last season. The team (mainly Belhomme) rushed for 772 yards on 312 carries for an anemic 2.5 yards-per-carry average. Hopefully, another year for the players to improve will translate into a better running back. But if that doesn't materialize, Aaron Pomerantz '02 and Clint Soper '03 are waiting in the wings.

Brown Bears

Behind the tandem of since-graduated QB Joe Perry—one of Division I-AA's best last year—and consensus first-team all-Ivy wideout Stephen Campbell '01, the Bears elbowed their way to a share of the Ivy title in 1999; it's safe to say that won't be happening again in 2000. This summer, Brown was hit for recruiting violations. The Council of Ivy Group Presidents decreed that Brown is ineligible to defend its title this year. It's a shame for Brown fans, because their team would have had a good shot to defend—even without Perry. The offensive line returns two second-team all-Ivy players who should clear out some room for fellow second-teamer, runner Michael Malan '02. Their defense—not the Bears' strong suit last year—will be younger and less experienced. Still, Brown's offense behind Campbell and Malan should win the Bears more than a few games.

Columbia Lions

Columbia's offense, which mustered only a league-low of 95 points during last year's last-place campaign, is again the weaker half of the team. The running game—behind junior Jonathan Reese (who already has 1000+ yards for his career) and an experienced offensive line—figures to be the strong point. Reese did catch 20 passes last year, but after losing their three top receivers from '99 and juggling five different unproven quarterbacks during the spring, the Lions may not have much of an air attack.

Mercifully, Columbia is significantly better on the other side of the ball. Last year's third-best scoring defense returns relatively intact and will be led by co-captain Avery Mosely at corner and senior linebacker Matt Porter. If the defense can really come together and keep the Lions in some games, Columbia might just crawl out of the cellar.

Penn Quakers

The Quakers will try to ride junior running back Kris Ryan, the 19th most prolific runner in the entire country last year, to an Ivy title. If their young defense can mature quickly, they just might get there. Even though the offensive line took a few hits to graduation, unanimous first-team all-Ivy selection Ryan and quarterback Gavin Hoffman '02 (a 6'6, 235-pound transfer from Northwestern) should have no trouble putting up points. Hoffman passed for a Penn-record 2,322 yards. Ryan averaged 119.7 yards and a touchdown per game on his way to only the sixth quadruple-digit rushing season in Ivy history. But the two will need to control the clock in addition to putting up numbers this year.

The defense lost its core, unanimous first-team linebacker Jim Hisgen, and will start and play many untested players. Tackle Mike Geronimo '01 returns from a first-team all-Ivy campaign to anchor the D-line, but Penn will only go as far as its high-flying offense can pull them.

Cornell Big Red

After being tomahawked out of contention for the league crown by the Indians late last year, the Big Red air show—picked by the media to finish tied for first with Yale—is one of the top contenders in 2000. Cornell, led by quarterback Ricky Rahne '02 and the best receiving corps in the Ivies, will undoubtedly put up a lot of points, but will they be able to control the clock and keep the other guys out of the end-zone? Behind the returning offensive line, Rahne, who passed for a school-record 2,762 yards and an impressive 25 touchdowns, should find 6'6 senior wide-out Joe Splendorio and co. early and often. Splendorio, one of seven unanimous all-Ivy first teamers, averaged 100 yards receiving and a touchdown per game last year.

Harvard Crimson

Harvard sported the league's best scoring defense in '99, led by four-year starter and current Seattle Seahawk Isaiah Kacyvenski and an offense featuring the school's all-time leading rusher, Chris Menick, and receiver, Terence Patterson. Nevertheless, Harvard was only 3-4 in league play. This year, the Crimson loses those three, plus seven other all-Ivy players (six from defense) and the two quarterbacks who have combined to start every game the Crimson has played for the past three and a half seasons.

The new quarterback, Hawaiian Neil Rose '02, and the new running back, sprinter Chuck Nwokocha '01, seem like they could be nice players, but Rose missed all last year with a foot injury and Nwokocha, despite his speed, is a career back-up. Granted, they do have hulking left guard Mike Clare '01, the team's captain and an excellent pro prospect, but offensive linemen, no matter how good, don't put points on the board. The defense not only lost seven starters, they lost seven all-Ivy starters! Any pundit will tell you that Crimson Football is in an unenviable position and it seems unlikely that they can improve on last year's mediocre finish.

Princeton Tigers

Eight of last year's starters have graduated, but that may not be so bad for the Tigers. The team went 1-6 in the Ivies and is starting over in 2000 with a new coach, former Dartmouth offensive coordinator Roger Hughes. The Tigers hope that Hughes, who has a track record of developing QBs and innovative offensive strategies, can stabilize the Tiger attack which has had seven signal-callers in eight years and an unstable four-headed running attack in 1999.

The offensive line, led by two-time first-team all-Ivy senior Dennis Norman, is solid and experienced and should give the young Princeton offense at least some security to develop. The defense should be more consistent if it can avoid the injury bug that bit its secondary last year. The linebacking corps, led by captain Michael Higgins, is especially strong. Defensive end Nate Podsakoff '01, honorable mention all-Ivy last year, should continue to improve. Still, in the first year under a new coach, the Tigers have no delusions that they are not rebuilding.

Yale Bulldogs

The Bulldogs are returning 15 starters from a team that went 9-1 and shared the Ivy League title, so it's not surprising that they've been picked to finish first again. It won't be as easy as it sounds; one of their six lost starters was the key to their second-best offense in the league: record-setting quarterback Joe Walland. 6'5 junior Peter Lee will try to take over for Walland, but he won't be asked to carry the entire offensive load. Running back Rashad Bartholomew is back after a second-team all-Ivy campaign.

Yale's defense, however, is its strong suit. Last year's unit was second in the Ivies in scoring defense and it returns all-Ivy players in the secondary and at linebacker. The D-line was hit hard by graduation, but the secondary, with the duo of unanimous first-team corner Todd Tomish and regular first-team safety Than Merril, should be even better.n

Ivy League Football Preview

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