And now we come to the conference that just angers me the most...the Ivy League. It's not because I think its bad or anything, its just those "what ifs?" that dance in my head when I think or talk about them in terms of football. The Ivy League is good but holds this archaic standard where you just go "what about everyone else?"
So for all those who don't know, while the Ivy League is eligible for the playoffs and technically has an auto bid (seriously, did not know that) they refuse any and all bids into the playoffs because of the potential impact on academics. So even though every other sport that the Ivy League offers (19 in all) compete in championship play, football is somehow left out because of the Dec school schedule...pfft
Placement Reasoning
Honestly, this has pretty much everything to do with that giant "what if" question hanging over the head of the conference. How good could they be if they competed for national championships? We've seen in other schools on the Ivy League level dance along that tightrope and be very successful without any sacrifice of academic standing. Outside of that, we just don't really see Ivy League schools play many outsiders. Outside of Cornell road game versus Deleware, no team played anyone in a power conference and only home games versus Ohio Dominican (seriously?) and San Diego did any team play anyone outside of the East Coast. So basically, its the big unknown. You know it can beat lower-tier conferences but even Big South teams it would be a toss up
2017 Recap
This was the year everything got turned on its head, I mean really got flipped for the unexpected. The old guard of Harvard and Penn both finished with disappointing seasons. Penn had to win its last four games to avoid a losing season and Harvard wasn't so lucky as they finished at .500 and has a losing season in the conference. Yale, Dartmouth, and Columbia (a success story overshadowed by Valpo, Austin Peay, and Nicolls St.) all came from the bottom of the conference to surprise with Yale winning its first Ivy League title since 2006. Dartmouth rebounded from a disastrous 2016 to bounce back with its third 8-win season in the last four years
Back to Columbia for a second, the Lions won more games in 2017 than the past five years combined. On top of the turnaround, the six conference wins were the most since the mid-90s when Marcellus Wiley was playing football and not on SportsNation. Yea...this wasn't really expected at all
Playoff/National Championship Contenders
So for all those who don't know, while the Ivy League is eligible for the playoffs and technically has an auto bid (seriously, did not know that) they refuse any and all bids into the playoffs because of the potential impact on academics. So even though every other sport that the Ivy League offers (19 in all) compete in championship play, football is somehow left out because of the Dec school schedule...pfft
Placement Reasoning
Honestly, this has pretty much everything to do with that giant "what if" question hanging over the head of the conference. How good could they be if they competed for national championships? We've seen in other schools on the Ivy League level dance along that tightrope and be very successful without any sacrifice of academic standing. Outside of that, we just don't really see Ivy League schools play many outsiders. Outside of Cornell road game versus Deleware, no team played anyone in a power conference and only home games versus Ohio Dominican (seriously?) and San Diego did any team play anyone outside of the East Coast. So basically, its the big unknown. You know it can beat lower-tier conferences but even Big South teams it would be a toss up
2017 Recap
This was the year everything got turned on its head, I mean really got flipped for the unexpected. The old guard of Harvard and Penn both finished with disappointing seasons. Penn had to win its last four games to avoid a losing season and Harvard wasn't so lucky as they finished at .500 and has a losing season in the conference. Yale, Dartmouth, and Columbia (a success story overshadowed by Valpo, Austin Peay, and Nicolls St.) all came from the bottom of the conference to surprise with Yale winning its first Ivy League title since 2006. Dartmouth rebounded from a disastrous 2016 to bounce back with its third 8-win season in the last four years
Back to Columbia for a second, the Lions won more games in 2017 than the past five years combined. On top of the turnaround, the six conference wins were the most since the mid-90s when Marcellus Wiley was playing football and not on SportsNation. Yea...this wasn't really expected at all
Playoff/National Championship Contenders
Yea, we have talked about my frustration for why the Ivy League doesn't participate in the playoffs so I won't rehash. But I have another option...why not go the route of the SWAC/MEAC and have a conference championship game? Can stick in some major market (you know fans will show up) have the week or two after the end of the season and avoid all the shared titles or give some better sense of finality instead of "hey week 10! that's all folks!" Maybe it's just really wishful thinking...but just a thought.
Anyways...for the conference race, Ummm, this is a deep race with five or six teams with a legit argument to why they could win the Ivy League. Let's dive in
The Favorite
Yale
In a league in which five or six teams have a shot, the favorite has to be the one with the crown in the first place. Yale just might have the pieces to keep a firm grip on that crown too...while having to replace three starters on the offensive line and outside linebacker Matthew Oplinger, the Ivy defensive player of the year...the Bulldogs return 14 starters and get additional firepower with returning RB Alan Lamar.
October looks to be the make or break month as trips to Penn and Columbia end the month while Dartmouth comes to New Haven at the start of the month. To finish the month, a very tricky non-conference game at home versus Mercer who should be in the thick of the SoCon race
The Contenders
Columbia
Like other teams I will talk about, the biggest question surrounding Columbia is can last year's success be duplicated? A few pieces need to be replaced to make their outlook clearer but with 15 starters returning a trip back to the bottom of the conference seems unlikely. Just like Yale, October is a tricky month to navigate as a trip to Penn is followed by home games versus Dartmouth and Yale
Dartmouth
Dartmouth has some holes to fill and none bigger than the one at quarterback as three men will try and take over for departed Jack Heneghan. The schedule does the Big Green no favors as road trips to Yale, Columbia, and Princeton highlight the schedule. Though a recovery could be made at the end of the season with Cornell and Brown the last two games of the year
Harvard
To say last year was rare is an understatement...the Crimson finished below .500 in the league for the first time since 1999. Good news, injured players Larry Allen Jr. (yea, his son) and Zach Miller are coming back along with 15 starters to help bring normalcy back to Harvard football. Questions at quarterback play may end up being the reason why Harvard falls short but they are hoping for an improvement in play. Harvard ends the year with games versus the other four teams on the list, including an end of the year tilt versus Yale which could be for the league title.
The sleeper
Penn
This could be a very interesting year for the Quakers. Last year's late-season surge should be a boost into this year but so many questions make it hard to peg where this season could go. Questions at QB, WR, DL, and the secondary all loom large for a team that is now looking up at a few teams and unless answers come it could be another interesting, yet disappointing year
Teams to add/subtract
Alright, do we really need to talk about this? The same eight schools have been apart of the Ivy League since the beginning...nobody has come in or left. So the likelihood of anyone leaving or entering is basically zero. So let's move on with this one
Best/Worst
So just like the last segment, this won't be particularly long. Because let's face it, this is about as old school and simple as it gets. Doesn't mean they are bad...just means that to say one is the best or worst is muddled.
Stadium
Best - Franklin Field
I was initially going to go with Wein Stadium because of the view of the Hudson River but its hard to beat arguably the most iconic place to play a college football game. I mean, look at this place, it really looks like a literal cathedral that had a space carved out for football and the Penn Relays (sports event bucket list). It is simply beautiful
Worst - Brown Stadium
I think why this is the worst of the bunch is just how it is disconnected from everything it is and feels. Yes, other schools play games off campus but when you have seven other stadiums/fields that make you feel connected, this falls short. I don't think the trapezoid shape design helped either
The sleeper
Penn
This could be a very interesting year for the Quakers. Last year's late-season surge should be a boost into this year but so many questions make it hard to peg where this season could go. Questions at QB, WR, DL, and the secondary all loom large for a team that is now looking up at a few teams and unless answers come it could be another interesting, yet disappointing year
Teams to add/subtract
Alright, do we really need to talk about this? The same eight schools have been apart of the Ivy League since the beginning...nobody has come in or left. So the likelihood of anyone leaving or entering is basically zero. So let's move on with this one
Best/Worst
So just like the last segment, this won't be particularly long. Because let's face it, this is about as old school and simple as it gets. Doesn't mean they are bad...just means that to say one is the best or worst is muddled.
Stadium
Best - Franklin Field
I was initially going to go with Wein Stadium because of the view of the Hudson River but its hard to beat arguably the most iconic place to play a college football game. I mean, look at this place, it really looks like a literal cathedral that had a space carved out for football and the Penn Relays (sports event bucket list). It is simply beautiful
Worst - Brown Stadium
I think why this is the worst of the bunch is just how it is disconnected from everything it is and feels. Yes, other schools play games off campus but when you have seven other stadiums/fields that make you feel connected, this falls short. I don't think the trapezoid shape design helped either
Logo and Nickname
This may come off has a huge cop-out, cause in part it is, but when it comes to the logos and nicknames there isn't a thing about them that makes them the best or worst. With mostly basic logos with Princeton being the lone exception and nicknames that are either run of the mill (Tigers, Lions, Bears, Bulldogs), colors (Big Red/Green, Crimson) and then that one unique one (Quakers) you have an overall bland bunch. Damn I really copped out on this one lol
Uniforms
Does any uniform look head over heals better than another, hell no, like I have said this is a pretty by the numbers conference. But, there are a couple of standouts including...
Best - Princeton
Its the little touches on this that make this better than some of the others. Even the all-white road uniforms are nice with the nod to the past in the helmets. But its the all black home uniforms that I like so much, the orange is placed perfectly along the sides and numbering and the helmets
Worst - None
Look I could jump on a few times for overly simple uniforms but I won't. Like I said everything is so by the numbers it's not worth it to jump on one school without jumping on others. So as weak as it looks, no reason to say anything but they all just really plain
2018 Outlook
End of the day, we can talk about the crap reasoning for not going to the playoffs or the schedule or plain jane look, but this is a solid conference. There are some good teams and its deep and will be very unpredictable. Your guess is as good as mine as to who will come on top. October is gonna be a huge month as almost all the favorites play each other. That alone will make for a compelling race.
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