The third week of September traditionally means one thing, the start of Ivy League football. While some fans of other conferences can’t quite figure out Ancient Eight football, Patriot League followers have a great appreciation for these yearly battles. This week features games against teams that were picked 2nd, 4th, 5th and 8th in the Ivy League preseason poll. The only game outside of the Ivy League is a great one, Holy Cross vs #19 Albany. Fordham and Georgetown have the week off.
#22 Colgate @ Yale – 17 Sept. 1:30 P.M. Yale Bowl New Haven, CT
(Ivy League Digital Network)
Coming off an early season bye, the Raiders (0-1) travel to New Haven, CT to face Yale (0-0) on Saturday afternoon. Colgate will hope the experience gained from the season opener against Syracuse and the additional week to prepare will help them get past the Eli. Yale defeated Colgate 29-28 in 2015 on their way to a 6-4 record. The Eli were picked 4th in the preseason Ivy League poll.
One major key for Colgate heading into this game will be stopping the run and getting their own rushing attack going.
Yale returns an experienced and talented stable of running backs that’s led by first team All-Ivy Leaguer DeShawn Salter (5’10 212). The junior running back will receive plenty of help from seniors Candler Rich and Dale Harris. All three backs produced at least one monster game last year (Salter 233 yards vs Lehigh, Rich 202 yards vs Columbia, Harris 177 yards vs Princeton).
Colgate will need to significantly improve upon their 45 yard output against Syracuse in the opener if they want to escape the Yale Bowl with a win. If the Raiders are to get their ground attack going they need to do a good job neutralizing defensive end Marty Moesta (6’6 254) and linebacker Matthew Oplinger (6’3 229). Colgate does catch a break in that Yale with be without two preseason All-League defensive players. Copache Tyler is taking the year off from school while Spencer Rymiszewski is still recovering from shoulder surgery.
Of Note: Yale leads the all-time series 28-11-3. The Eli are currently riding a three game winning streak in the series. Colgate’s last three wins over Yale have come in 2012, 2003 and 1998. The Raiders made the FCS/1-AA playoffs each of those years.
Lafayette @ Princeton – 17 Sept. 5:00 P.M. Princeton Stadium Princeton, NJ
(Ivy League Digital Network)
The Leopards (1-1) will look to get back on track this weekend as they take the short bus ride to face their old nemesis from the Ancient Eight, Princeton (0-0). The Tigers figure to once again present a very stern test for Lafayette. While Princeton was picked 5th in the Ivy league preseason poll they were only four points behind 3rd place Dartmouth. The Tigers landed four players on the first team All-Ivy League preseason team. Talented senior QB Chad Kanoff was on the second team. Princeton hammered Lafayette 40-7 last year in Easton to notch their 8th straight victory in the series.
In order for Lafayette to leave Old Nassau with a victory they will need to get the offense going. The Leopards have once against struggled to put up points out of the gate. They slugged out 24 against Central Connecticut State to open the year but were limited to two field goals last weekend in a 24-6 loss to Delaware. Getting going against Princeton might be easier said than done. The Tigers defense features a very experienced group (9 seniors, 2 juniors). The Lafayette offensive line must be able to assert itself against the veteran Tiger front early and often in order to take pressure off of quarterback Drew Reed.
The Leopard defense continues to play well despite being burdened with a lackluster offense to start the year. They will need to get after Kanoff early and often in order to disrupt the Tiger’s up-tempo offense. If the Leopards can force a few quick 3 and outs and win the time of possession battle they have a chance to pull the upset.
Of Note: There may not be a more lopsided out of conference series (Princeton leads 41-4-3) in all of college football than Lafayette-Princeton. Lafayette’s last win at Princeton came in 1982 when the Tiger still played at Palmer Stadium.
Lehigh @ Pennsylvania -17 Sept. 5 P.M. Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA
(Ivy League Digital Network)
For the second straight Saturday the Mountain Hawks (0-2) will face a Big 5 school on the gridiron. Instead of stopping along the posh Main Line, Lehigh will instead be venturing into the depths of Philadelphia to take on the Penn Quakers at Franklin Field.
Hopes are higher than the flying toast in Quaker land. Penn is coming off a seven win season and co-Ivy League Championship. The Quakers were picked to finish second in the league behind only Harvard whom they defeated 35-25 in Cambridge last season. Penn did receive more first place votes than the Crimson.
The Quakers are led by Ivy League preseason offensive player of the year Kyle Torgersen (6’3 225). The senior QB passed for 1,996 yards and 19 TD’s in 2015. It will be imperative for Lehigh’s front 7 to get pressure on Torgersen. Otherwise he will effectively be able to get the ball into his talented wide receivers hands. The most gifted of which is junior Justin Watson (6’3 210). He will be the biggest test for the Lehigh secondary to date. Torgersen will also have two dangerous running backs, Tre Solomon and Brian Schoenauer, at his disposal. The duo led a rushing attack the averaged 169 yards a game in 2015.
Lehigh’s chances of winning will likely come down to the offense finally breaking out. After averaging over 30 points in 2015 the unit has put up 21 in both games to start this season. Facing the Penn defense might what Mountain Hawks need to get going. The Quakers “D” struggled at times last year giving up 40 points on three occasions (Lehigh, Dartmouth, Fordham). Given the number of new faces (six starters with 2 or less career starts) and Lehigh’s weapons on offense, the Penn defense might once again struggle out of the gate. Penn will look to first team all-league LB Donald Panciello to lead the way.
Of Note: In 2002 Penn ended Lehigh’s nation leading 26 game regular season winning streak. Lehigh entered the game ranked #2 in the TSN Poll. It was their highest regular season ranking to date in school history.
Cornell @ Bucknell – 17 Sept. 6 P.M. Christy Mathewson Stadium Lewisburg, PA
(Patriot League Network)
Bucknell (1-1) hosts the Cornell Big Red in their 2016 home opener. There will be few secrets between the ‘Nells since this will be the 15th straight year the two have played.
The Bison were thoroughly outplayed by Duquesne last week in Pittsburgh. Cornell’s struggles go well beyond the last seven days. It’s been over a decade since they’ve posted a winning season. To make matters worse the Big Red have finished 1-9 the last two years.
There’s little doubt fourth year head coach David Archer’s rebuilding job remains a work in progress. It should come as no surprise that Cornell was picked to finish last in the Ivy League and had only one player make the All-League preseason first team. Not so ironically it’s the punter, senior Chris Fraser.
Bison quarterback R.J Nitti may return this week after being knocked out of the Duquesne game in the second quarter. If he’s able to go his presence alone should help the offense get back on track. If Matt Muh is once again pressed into action, Bucknell will hope RB Joey DeFloria can pick up some of the slack. The junior running back is averaging 121.5 (145 vs Marist, 98 vs Duq.) yards a game to begin the season. He should find success against a Big Red rush defense that allowed 189 yards per game in 2015. Another thing of note regarding the Cornell defense; only one starter will be a senior, OLB Jackson Weber (6’2 229).
This figures to be a fairly low scoring slugfest since both offenses are still a work in progress. Turnovers, special teams and field position will likely be the three areas where this game is won or lost.
Cornell is 7-3 against Bucknell over the last 10 years but the Bison have won the last two.
Of Note: Bucknell was shutout by Cornell in 18 of the first 27 meetings. That’s a stretch of games that spanned 90 years, 1888-1978. The Bison’s lone win during that time was ironically, a 4-0 blanking in 1891. Bucknell’s next win in the series? 10-0 in 1979
Holy Cross @ #19 Albany – 17 Sept. 7 P.M. Tom & Mary Casey Stadium Albany, NY
(Great Danes TV)
The Crusaders (1-1) will get another crack at a quality CAA team when they head to the Capitol District of New York to face the Danes (2-0) Saturday night. After falling to New Hampshire last week in a thrilling battle the Crusaders figure to be chomping at the bit to get back after it. They should have confidence heading into Saturday night’s game given their dominating 37-0 win over Albany last season in Worcester. That was the Crusader’s first win over a CAA member since a 42-21 victory over Northeastern in 2009.
Albany has gotten off to a surprising start. Their win over cellar dweller Rhode Island did not raise many eyebrows last weekend but taking down FBS Buffalo to begin the year certainly did. The Danes 2-0 start has been aided by a +6 turnover margin which is tied for tops in the country. Their offense has relied on the tough running of sophomore RB Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks (5’9 199). He’s averaging 141 yards a game and has 4 rushing touchdowns. The passing game has been slow out of the gates. Neven Sussman has passed for a grand total of 120 yards on 30 attempts.
If Holy Cross wants to head home victorious Peter Pujals must avoid the costly turnover(s). He had two fourth quarter interceptions last week against New Hampshire that went a long way in sealing the Crusaders fate. The stellar senior quarterback was otherwise great again. He’s averaging 374 total yards a game and has accounted 7 TD’s so far this season. Whoever wins the battle between Holy Cross’s high flying offense versus the Danes stingy defense (allowing11 ppg) will likely emerge victorious. Senior LB Abner Logan has led the Dane defense so far with 13 solo tackles and 1 TFL. The Maryland transfer missed all of last season due to injury.
Holy Cross wide receiver Brendan Flaherty might play after missing the New Hampshire game.
Of Note: Holy Cross’s 37 point win over Albany last year was their largest margin over victory over a current CAA member since 1988 when they blasted Rhode Island by 42 (49-7). Their legendary 1987 team beat William & Mary by 43 and Villanova by 33.