Ivy League Football Power Rankings (Final)

Penn closes out the season as champions with another perfect Ivy League record, and Harvard continued its dominance over Yale by winning the latest 127th playing of The Game, the last 9 of 10 overall. The season was full of surprises – the resurgence of Yale, the play of QB Sean Brackett at Columbia, the loss of Bears signal caller Newhall-Caballero early in the season – but there was no doubt that the Quakers have been the best team in conference. Last Saturday closes out another season of the Ancient Eight, and it seems like football season can’t return soon enough…

Penn (9-1, 7-0) – Since the 3rd week of the season (after Harvard’s loss to Brown), there was no doubt that Penn has been the most dominant team in the Ivy League this year. QB Billy Ragone and TB Jeff Jack, both underclassmen, formed a powerful combo, leading to the top offense in the conference; expect to see them harass Ivy League defenses for years to come. Defensively, no team seemed to match the pressure and havoc they created in the backfield; senior defensive backs Josh Powers and Drew Goldsmith will be sorely missed next season. I don’t know how the Quakers managed to end up with a negative TO margin, but expect head coach Al Bagnoli to address this issue in the offseason. Playing Penn at Franklin Field this year was the scariest place for a football team.

Harvard (7-3, 5-2) – Harvard continued its dominance of Yale by winning the 127th playing of The Game by a score of 28-21. Despite being limited by a stringent Bulldog defense, Harvard was able to capitalize on several special teams mistakes by Yale, with Iannuzi retuning from injury and also returning a kickoff 86 yards to start the second half. Overall, this has been a rollercoaster season for the Crimson; they started the season with a dominant performance against Holy Cross at home and ended the season similarly against Yale, but coming into season picked #1, Harvard has to be disappointed about some of their losses, including a “failure to launch” against Penn. Regardless, winning the last 9 out of 10 games over Yale is a testament to how consistent coach Tim Murphy and his football team are every year.

Yale (7-3, 5-2) – It’s amazing how much Yale has improved in its second year under head coach Tom Williams, winning three more games than previously and surprising many teams along the way. Captain Tom McCarthy was an anchor for the defensive line that paved the way for such an accomplishment, and his leadership/playmaking ability will be a big gap to fill. A loss to Harvard to end the season is de-motivating, but the Bulldogs have much to look forward next season, including the continued development of Patrick Witt, who has shown to be more than capable QB this year. One glaring weakness for the Bulldogs, however, has to be their special teams play, a very much important and momentum-shifting side of football.

Brown (6-4, 5-2) – Since the loss of QB Newhall-Caballero to a season-ending hand injury, Brown has been struggling to replicate its early season successes, which included a dominating victory over preseason favorite Harvard in Week 2. Good news is that Newhall-Caballero will be returning next season to lead the once-vaunted passing game of the bears. Joe Springer stepped up adequately in his place, and explosive playmaker Alex Tounkara created opportunities for the team throughout the year. They ended the season with a resounding victory over Columbia in which they scored 28 points in the first half alone. In addition, the Bears demonstrated that their offense is not one-dimensional, scoring three touchdowns on the ground. If Newhall-Caballero can return back to form, this is a scary team ready to pull some upsets next year.

Dartmouth (6-4, 3-4) – The sleeper pick of the season came close to pulling multiple upsets throughout the year, but fell short repeatedly. Surprisingly, they played the Quakers to overtime, but the Big Green was largely unable to create momentum in the season, never winning more than two games in a row. The best thing is that QB Connor Kempe and fearless TB Nick Schweigger are only juniors, leaving the core of the offense intact for next season, and imagining how they will contribute and improve next year is a scary thought. I have repeatedly declared that Dartmouth is the “best of the rest” and their improved record is a testament to this fact and a sign of better things to come.

Columbia (4-6, 2-5) – I don’t think there was anyone more exciting to watch than Sophomore QB Sean Brackett behind center. As the definition of dual-threat quarterback, the young signal caller singlehandedly willed his teams to victory throughout the season, including a five touchdown performance against Princeton. Alas, the lack of playmakers on offense and defense has led to another disappointing record for the Lions, but the future can’t be brighter. Deep-ball and endzone threat Andrew Kennedy often provided sparks, albeit inconsistent, and the running back committee provided much needed run support for Brackett. The Lions need to solidify a porous run defense and an inexperience secondary to compete with the likes of Harvard and Penn next season.

Cornell (2-8, 1-6) – Starting a true freshman at quarterback was a gutsy move by new head coach Kent Austin, but it seems like his gamble will payoff heavily next year when gunslinger Jeff Matthews brings a year of experience in the Cornell offense. Not a great year record wise, but they managed to avoid a winless season in conference play by dominating the Princeton Tigers at home. The defense had given up more than 30 points four times throughout the year, none more pronounced than a 7-41 drubbing by Wagner College at the season opener, but this is a very young team, and this season should provide a baseline on which to improve.

Princeton (1-9, 0-7) – The Tigers ended the season in a whimper, being shut out 31-0 by Dartmouth at home, and much like the entire season, Princeton’s offense was ineffective. After a successful campaign last year, Tommy Wornham played well as the signal caller for the Tigers, but the offensive line failed provide and protection and create holes for Jordan Culbreath and Matt Zimmerman. Senior WRs Trey Peacock and Andrew Kerr will leave gaping holes in terms of playmakers and offensive production, and allowing five TDs through the air will give the coaching staff much to think about in the offseason.

Until next year...

Tune in to WHRB's coverage of Harvard - Yale!

Next for Harvard

Opponent: Yale Bulldogs

Date: Saturday, November 20th

Time: 12noon

Where: Harvard Stadium

Coverage: 95.3FM in Greater Boston area (listeners outside area may listen in to our online stream at whrb.org)

It's the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and that means one thing: Harvard is playing Yale. The 127th playing of The Game will take place in Cambridge, MA, at Harvard Stadium. Kickoff is at noon, and Scott Reed and Charlie Hobbs will be there to provide live commentary. Don't forget to tune in at 11:00 for an extended edition of the Harvard Pregame Show with James Yoon, Raafi Alidina, and Matt Patton

Harvard-Yale Pranks

The annual Harvard-Yale game traditionally invokes memories of sportsmanship and intensity as one of the oldest college rivalries in the United States. The lighter side of The Game’s mystique is the penchant of its participants to pull pranks. Students from Harvard, Yale, and even MIT have carried on these crazy pranks during the football game over the years.

The most widely known and recent of these pranks is Yale’s (“we suck”) prank in 2004. Led by Michael Kai and David Aulicino, a group of Yalies, disguised as the "Harvard Pep Squad," placed white and crimson placards in the central area of Harvard Stadium. The crowd was told that by lifting the placards they would spell "GO HARVARD." The placards were actually set to spell ("WE SUCK.") (something far different and far less complimentary). Viral videos of the prank spread across the sports world and even featured on ESPN. Another famous prank was in the pregame show of 1992. The Harvard marching band attempted to "X-out" the Yale Marching Band, which stood in its traditional Y formation during the show. However, plans leaked to the Yale band, and it quickly switched to form a large “H” for Harvard as the Harvard band walked out. In one of the more classless acts in The Game’s prank history, Yale painted on Widener Library in 1963 a graffiti that said “beat Harvard”

MIT has also intervened in the rivalry to make their presence known. In 1982, MIT students installed a black weather balloon full of talcum powder with MIT painted on it before the game. During the second quarter, the balloon exploded, showering the stadium with powder. In 1990, during the third quarter, MIT students fired a rocket which hung an MIT banner over the goal post.

Harvard has also done its part to participate. In 1933, the Harvard Lampoon kidnapped Handsome Dan II, Yale’s bulldog mascot, prior to The Game. In 1962, Harvard Band members marched through New Haven, playing their instruments at 3 a.m. much to the chagrin of the New Haven police.

The presence of these pranks has grown to be part of the The Game’s annual traditions. Even Princeton attempted to join the prank rivalry in their 2006 game against the Bulldogs by painting seats in the Yale Bowl orange and black, but, like with most Princeton activities, they run a distant third to the hijinks of the Game’s actual schools. The pranks continue to be one of the many hallmarks of the rivalry between Harvard and Yale. Spectators in Harvard Stadium today should be on the lookout for these famous attractions as they continue to fuel the rivalry between Harvard and Yale.

Photo-Blog: WHRB goes to Philadelphia, PA

This week WHRB went to Philadelphia, PA for the Harvard-Penn game. While the result on the field wasn't great, we hope we got some good photos.

Franklin Field and a Commuter rail station

The view from the press box

Color commentator Charlie Hobbs scores at the Palestra

Treavor Scales getting ready to take on Penn

The Crimson in warm-ups

The oh-so-intimidating Quaker mascot

Senior Day festivities at Franklin Field

First Quarter action

Can you spot the WHRB banner?

There it is!

Charlie Hobbs

That's Charlie on the left and myself, Scott Reed, on the right