Ivy League Football Report, 1995 November 20

The Ivy League careened into its tightest finish in history this past weekend, with Cornell and Princeton entering the day at 5-1, followed closely by their opponents, 4-2 Penn and Dartmouth, respectively. The Big Red brought a huge contingent of fans into rainy Franklin Field, looking to cement a share of the crown with their first victory over their arch-rivals the Quakers in five years. But it was not to be, as Penn took an early 21-0 lead, led 27-10 at the end of a first half in which they never punted, and prevailed 37-18 amid a barrage of turnovers. The Pennsylvania victory was to no avail, however, as the Princeton Tigers squeaked out the Ivy title by tying Dartmouth 10-10 with a last-second field goal in Hanover. Elsewhere, Brown pounded Columbia 33-14 and Harvard edged Yale 22-21 on Elion Hu's touchdown in the final minute.

So, with the season concluded, the Ivy squads are left to savor the bitter taste of a dissapointing season all around. Princeton, despite finishing 5-1-1 in the conference and 8-1-1 overall en route to the Ivy League championship, have to deal with losing to Yale and backing into the title with an 0-1-1 finish after their 8-0 start. Penn may have finished 5-2, 7-3 total, with an impressive win over Cornell, but they were still half a game short of their third consecutive title. The Big Red, despite a 5-2 Ivy mark, 6-4 overall, still found themselves not up to the task of beating the Quakers. Dartmouth's 7-2-1 overall mark looks formidable, but it was their inability to defeat Princeton at home that kept them out of what would have been a four-way tie for the championship and left them in fourth at 4-2-1. Columbia concluded their season with four straight Ivy losses to land at 3-4, 3-6-1 overall. Brown finished 5-5 overall, but only 2-5 in the conference. Yale's 2-5, 3-7 season would have been salvaged by the upset of Princeton, but for their loss to previously winless Harvard in the Game. Ironically, it is the 1-6, 2-8 Crimson who can take some consolation out of the season. They may only have avoided a first-ever 0-7 Ivy slate by a single point, but they finished their season with a thrilling victory over their arch-rivals in the Ivy League, where rivalries mean everything.

With the Ivy League football report, this is Joe P------k, Mr. Squishy Sports.


Last Modified: 1995 December 12
Joe Schlobotnik / squishy@physics.ucsb.edu