With two games remaining in Ivy League play, three universities sit atop the standings: Dartmouth College, Princeton University, and Yale University. All three schools own 4-1 Ivy League records. Dartmouth and Princeton sit at 7-1 overall, while Yale sits at 5-3. Currently in fourth place in Ivy League play sits Harvard University at 3-2 in Ivy League play and 6-2 overall. In fifth is Columbia University at 2-3 in Ivy League action and 5-3 overall. Rounding out the standings are the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, and Cornell University. These three institutions own identical 1-4 records within league play. Penn is 3-5 overall while Brown and Cornell are 2-6 overall.

As our readers may remember, Dartmouth, the winningest Ivy League football program in history, and Yale both claimed a share of the 2019 Ivy League football title. The 2020 Ivy League football season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic so Dartmouth and Yale are both on their way to defending their titles. Yale faces Princeton this weekend (so at least one of these three schools will fall out of first place in the Ivy League — possibly two), while Dartmouth faces Cornell. It was Cornell that spoiled Dartmouth’s then-perfect 2019 season in one of the year’s great upsets. Will history repeat itself? Will Ivy Coach’s crystal ball forecast of Dartmouth defending its Ivy League title prove true?

The Ivy League was founded as a football league and football remains an important part of the culture of these institutions as well as the admissions process since many slots in each incoming class are earmarked for these athletes. So as to the folks who wonder why we occasionally report on Ivy League athletics, know that it’s where it all began and to not report on football is to ignore an important piece of the puzzle.