Fighting 'til the end, but who will win?

Tight games and fourth-quarter comebacks typify early Ivy League play.

After Yale defeated Holy Cross 33-27 on Sat., Sept. 30, Yale Coach Jack Siedlecki was worried. "We got up big and I think we got a little complacent," he said. Indeed, the Crusaders were able to turn what had been a blowout into a close game, and the outcome was in doubt until the final seconds, when Barton Simmons, MC '04, batted down a Hail Mary toss by Holy Cross backup quarterback Erreick Stewart '03. "We got a little lackadaisical," safety Than Merrill, JE '01, admitted. "We had a pretty decent lead and we got to the point where we were saying, 'We can give up a few points, just not a lot.'"

Yale's anemic play in the fourth quarter against Holy Cross was all the more troubling because it came just a week after the Bulldogs let a 10-point second half lead slip away in a 24-23 loss to Cornell. Yale and Cornell were preseason co-favorites to win the Ivy title. The Bulldogs' six second-half drives in this crucial game resulted in two punts, two missed field goals, an interception—and only three points. Still, Siedlecki said afterwards, "We've had more of those close games go our way than not. We are our own best example that you cannot expect good teams to fold when they get behind."

Over the last three years, this has certainly been true. Of the last eight games Yale has been a part of in which there has been a fourth quarter comeback, Yale has won. These include victories over a favored Brown squad in the 1998 season opener and in the last two Harvard games. However, in Yale's only two losses of the last two seasons, they squandered fourth quarter leads. Since the start of the 1999 campaign, the Bulldogs have outscored opponents 323-115 in the first three quarters, but have been outgunned in the fourth, scoring only 88 points to their opponents' 102. "We haven't lost many games in my time here," running back Rashad Bartholomew, MC '01 said, "but the times we have, we've missed opportunities. We have to be like sharks: smell blood and pounce." Eight sharks in a fourth- quarter pool The wild start to this year's Ivy season indicates how evenly matched the teams are and how often games will be decided in the closing minutes this season. Three of the four Ivy matchups thus far have come down to the closing seconds, and each of these times the winner was trailing going into the last 15 minutes of play. "The biggest change in football over the last 10 to 12 years is that teams can score more points in a hurry," Siedlecki said. "Even when you're up big, you have to realize that teams can come back."

Brown discovered this fact the hard way on Sat., Sept. 23, when they gave up three touchdowns in a six-minute span to Harvard, allowing the Crimson to erase a 10-point deficit and win 42-37. Harvard was led by quarterback Neil Rose '02, who, in his first career start, racked up a Crimson record 412 yards in the air. Rose replaced Barry Wahlberg '03, who had three interceptions in only 16 attempts the week before against Holy Cross. The Crimson's weak ground attack—3.9 yards per carry against the Bears—forced Rose to carry the offense himself. "Going into only my third start, there is a lot of pressure," he said. "I have great poise and I've done fairly well these past few games, and so I think the pressure is on me to continue to do well and get better."

"Sure, we put Rose under too much pressure," Harvard Coach Tim Murphy said, "but the bottom line is, you go with the horse that can get you there."

The Crimson will try to ride that horse one more time this weekend when they take on Cornell at Harvard Stadium. While Cornell's rushing defense is the worst in Div. I-AA—the inexperienced defensive line has given up 949 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground in three games—Murphy said Harvard may not be able to exploit the weakness. "We're down to our fifth-string tailback, who is 5'3" and not that quick," the coach admitted.

The outcome of the Harvard-Cornell game will help clear up what now looks to be a wild Ivy League race between four teams. "The way I see it," Murphy said, "Yale, Cornell, Harvard, and Penn all have a chance to win." Brown has the talent to contend, Murphy added, but the Bears are ineligible to win the league title because of recruiting violations. "The league really lacks a dominant team," Penn Coach Al Bagnoli said. Siedlecki said early league favorites appear to be Cornell, Harvard, and Penn.

Penn was picked to finish third in the preseason media poll, but the Quakers' 48-14 thrashing of Dartmouth last week at historic Franklin Field, their most lopsided victory over the Big Green since 1987, served notice that they may be the team to beat. "Their win over Dartmouth was by a much larger margin than I thought it would be," Princeton Coach Roger Hughes said. "Penn looks to be very strong right now." Harvard's Rose agreed. "I think everyone in the league is impressed with Penn this year," he said. "They are doing well on both sides of the ball, and right now they look like the team to beat."

Quaker quarterback Gavin Hoffman '02 completed 25 of 30 passes for 336 yards and a school record four touchdowns against Dartmouth. Hoffman has thrown for at least 300 yards in every game this season and is the fifth-rated quarterback in Div. I-AA. Running back Kris Ryan '02, a unanimous First Team All-Ivy pick last year, ran for only 51 yards on eight carries; the game was his first of the season after being sidelined with a high ankle sprain. "We need to run the football better," Bagnoli said. "Kris is still rusty after his injury." When Ryan returns to full strength, Penn's offense will indeed be formidable. Big Green dawg treat? Of course, the Penn victory sheds as much light on Dartmouth's weaknesses as on Penn's strengths. "Dartmouth is better than an 0-3 team," Bagnoli said, "but they have a young secondary who right now are not playing at the level they need to be." In fact, they're a few levels off. The Big Green have given up 1,047 yards and 12 touchdowns in the air—more than any other Ivy League team. Opposing quarterbacks have completed 76 percent of their passes and have not been picked off once.

Yale's Peter Lee, TD '02, hopes to be the next quarterback to feast on the Swiss cheese that is the Dartmouth coverage when the Bulldogs take on the Big Green on Sat., Oct. 7 in Hanover, N.H. "Lee's performance through the first three games has been nearly flawless," Siedlecki said. "He is performing beyond what you would expect of a first-year starter." Lee has completed 63.5 percent of his passes and is fourth in the league in passing efficiency.

It may sound like the game this weekend will be a repeat of Yale's 44-3 drubbing of Dartmouth last season, but the Big Green's varied offensive scheme could make it a closer contest. "Dartmouth is a better offensive team with a more diverse attack [than last year's team]," Siedlecki said. "They will spread us out and throw the field." Bagnoli added, "They move the ball against everybody." The biggest target in the Big Green attack is wide receiver Damien Roomets '02, who is second in Div. I-AA with nine catches per game. Yale's passing defense could be hindered by the lack of Merrill; the safety's ankle sprain, which kept him out of much of the second half of the Holy Cross game, could sideline him for the Dartmouth game as well.

Dartmouth's problem thus far has been its poor starts, which have kept its offense from having a major impact. This season, Dartmouth has been outscored 56-7 in the first quarter, while Yale has outscored opponents 23-7 in the first quarter and 64-17 overall in the first half.

But as the Bulldogs know, in the Ivy League, a game with such potential to become lopsided may demand a strong fourth-quarter performance. "Look at our recent history with them," Captain Pete Mazza, JE '01, said. "Two years ago, we dominated the game in terms of yardage [419 to 163] but came away losers. And it cost us the Ivy championship."

Graphics by Sarah England.

IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL STANDINGS
SCHOOL	IVY RECORD	OVERALL
Harvard	1-0	2-1
Pennsylvania	1-0	2-1
Cornell	1-0	1-2
Princeton	1-0	1-2
Yale	0-1	2-1
Columbia	0-1	1-2
Dartmouth	0-1	0-3
Brown*	0-1	2-1
Due to recruiting violations, Brown is ineligible for the ivy league title.

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