Here is a link with all eight Ivy League football schedules.
On his Roar Lions 2012 blog Jake Novak ranks those schedules from most difficult to easiest.
Jake has Dartmouth with the softest schedule in the league this fall based on the Big Green's non-league schedule (Butler, Holy Cross and Sacred Heart) and the way the home-away schedule breaks down.
Jake correctly points out that Dartmouth will be at home this year for its games against Penn, Harvard and Brown – the three teams that have been most successful in the Ivy League over the past few years. No question, that's better than playing those teams on the road (even though the Big Green won at Brown last fall).
But while Jake is right that having those teams on Memorial field is a good thing, the contrarian might look at things differently. The contrarian might suggest that having the league's stronger teams at home isn't as much of an advantage as it seems because those teams, unlike weaker teams, are actually capable of winning on the road.
The contrarian might suggest that having to play at some of the teams that have been weaker in recent years isn't necessarily that much of a bargain because those teams can be expected to put up a better fight at home.
So, is Jake right? Yes and no.
Dartmouth's non-league schedule clearly isn't as strong as it was when the Big Green had Colgate, New Hampshire and Holy Cross.
But to spin Jake's argument, there is no question the home schedule is more difficult than it was last year. While the road schedule is easier, it's not easy because Columbia, Cornell and Princeton will be more dangerous on their home turf than they were in Hanover last year.
A variable Jake could have included is that this is one of those years when Dartmouth has four road Ivy League games and three at home. Without question having four at home and three on the road is preferable.
Jake's ranking of schedules
1) Columbia
2) Yale
3) Cornell
4) Penn
5) Brown
6) Harvard
7) Princeton
8) Dartmouth
What do you think?
