There was a time when every Ivy League school pulled together a comprehensive spring football prospectus with rosters, numbers of returning letterwinners/starters and an outlook for the team. Sadly, those days are behind us.
Fortunately, Craig Haley – one of the leading FCS experts in the nation and a former Princeton beat writer – has posted a spring Ivy League outlook on STATS. Here's his intro:
Harvard and Penn, which have dominated the league for two decades, stepped aside as champion Yale and surprising Columbia didn't just turn the league upside down, but did so with a number of young players in key positions. Even Cornell's struggling program knocked off Harvard and Princeton, the league's preseason co-favorites.
The old and the new should come together to form a deep title race in 2018.
And here's what he has to say about Dartmouth:
The quarterback job is the biggest storyline of the offseason, with juniors Jake Pallotta and Jimmy Fitzgerald (injured last season) and sophomore Derek Kyler trying to replace Jack Heneghan, who was excellent in his senior campaign. The other players in the skill positions are experienced, the depth will grow with running back Miles Smith being healthy and returning to his 2016 form. While the defense is strong on the back end, it's retooling up front. Defensive tackle Jackson Perry, who missed most of six games, can plug a whole (sic) in the middle.CLICK HERE to read the full STATS look at the Ivy League.
Green Alert Take: The takeaway from Craig's stuff is Yale looks to be tough again, watch out for Princeton with the return to action of some talented players Dartmouth didn't see last fall, and if you think Harvard is going away after a disappointing year, think again.
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From the Worcester Telegram regarding Holy Cross:A month after college leadership decided to keep the college’s “Crusader” nickname, Holy Cross President Rev. Philip L. Boroughs announced in a message this week the school will drop its knight mascot.
In a letter to alumni, students, faculty and staff, the Rev. Boroughs said the Crusader knight, which adorns much of the college’s paraphernalia, “inevitably ties us directly to the reality of the religious wars and the violence of the Crusades.”Green Alert Take: Think what you will about the decision, commenters on the message boards are having a field day. One wondered about the future of the saying, "a knight in shining armor," and another asked if the time will come when the Big Green's Sept. 22 opponent mulls removing "Holy" and "Cross" from its name.
