Opening-week predictions can be a little tricky but I'm not going to lie to you. My crystal ball was miserable this time around. Sure, I was 4-4, but the four I got right were easy picking. In alphabetical order:
My pick: Brown 35, Georgetown 14
Final: Brown 34, Georgetown 21
I should've quit when I was ahead. The Hoyas hava way to go.
My pick: Columbia 17, Fordham 14
Final: Columbia 37, Fordham 7
Good for the Lions and good for new coach Norries Wilson. But I suspect this says more about how bad Fordham is than how good Columbia might be.
My pick: Cornell 21, Bucknell 7
Final: Bucknell 20, Cornell 5
Don't blame me for this one. Bucknell was picked to finish between Fordham and Georgetown toward the nether regions of the Patriot League basement. Cornell racked up 436 yards of total offense and didn't get a touchdown. That's tough to do. Four turnovers didn't help.
My pick: Harvard 17, Holy Cross 7
Final: Harvard 31, Holy Cross 14
How much difference does a great runner make? Clifton Dawson piled up 170 rushing yards as the Crimson, already down to its second quarterback, lost Chris Pizzotti to a knee injury early in the second period and still racked up almost twice as many points as I expected.
My pick: Lafayette 21, Penn 7
Final: Penn 21, Lafayette 11
Going with the previously unbeaten Pards to defend their home turf in the first game in their renovated stadium made sense. But Joel Sandberg's 166 rushing yards (see Harvard above) and a 17-for-27 passing performance by Robert Irvin in his first game (182 yards) gave the Quakers what had to be a confidence-building win.
My pick: Lehigh 35, Princeton 3
Final: Princeton 14, Lehigh 10
Got part of this one right. I didn't think Princeton would be able to put up many points with an all-new offensive line. But I just didn't think the Tigers would keep the Mountain Hawk offense down the way they did. I should have taken Lehigh's loss to Albany more seriously.
My pick: Yale 42, San Diego 21
Final: San Diego 43, Yale 17
This can mean one of three things. San Diego has officially come of age as a I-AA program. Or Yale, one of my surprise teams this fall, is exactly that, but not in the way I expected. Or both. No matter how you look at it, this was a shocker and not a good result at all for the Ivy League.
My pick: UNH Name that Score, Stony Brook 14
Final: UNH 67-7
Nailed this one but I won't hurt my arm patting myself on the back. Boy George could've picked this one. Hard as it is to believe, the Wildcats showed mercy on the Seawolves with David Ball and Ricky Santos not playing in the second half and Ball catching just three passes.
Season Record: 4-4. Ugh.
The Syracuse Post-Standard story on yesterday's game is understandably light on the Dartmouth angle, but you can find it here. ... The Colgate sports information take on the game: Colgate Rolls Over Dartmouth. I might take a little issue with that characterization. Yes, Jordan Scott piled up his yards and yes, the final score showed a 21-point Colgate win. But this game was anything but a roll over until the Raiders' final two possessions. ...
The Ivy League's "leaders" roundup from Week One can be found here. ...
Casey Cramer may be in for a busy day with the Tennessee Titans according to this from chargers.scout.com: "FB Ahmard Hall (ankle) is likely out of the San Diego game. In his absence the Titans will use their tight ends more, especially Casey Cramer, who is the best blocker of the group."
Off to junior varsity football vs. Middlebury. It will be hard to top last year's game for entertainment. Midd jumped out to leads of 23-0 and 30-6 before Dartmouth made the score a more respectable, 30-20.
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