Wins by Dartmouth and Penn made the Ivy League title race less cloudy as Princeton and Penn remain the only unbeaten teams in the Ancient Eight. Both the Tigers and Quakers are now 2-0 and could each be 4-0 in league play when they square off in three weeks.
Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale are tied for third place with 1-1 marks while both Brown and Cornell are 0-2 in league play. Here is a roundup from the past weekend's action.
Penn 20, Columbia 0
The Quakers recorded six sacks on their way to their first shutout since November, 1994. Offensively, QB Matt Rader (Jr., Yardley, Pa.) threw for 169 yards on 17-of-25 efficiency, and he tossed one TD pass. WR Doug O'Neill (Jr., Colts Neck, N.J.) was Rader's favorite target, catching six passes for 106 yards. RB Jim Finn (Sr., Fair Lawn, N.J.), though not as productive as in recent weeks, still totaled 77 yards on 27 attempts, and he scored on a 5-yard run. Columbia QB Ted Schroeder (Sr., Aurora, Ill.) was 16-of-27 for 187 yards. Six of the pass attempts were snagged by WR Mark Cannan (Jr., Naperville, Ill.), who racked up 81 yards receiving on the afternoon. FB Norman Hayes (Jr., Richmond, Calif.) was Columbia's top rusher with 56 yards. OLB Kevin Wright (Jr., Bronx, N.Y.) was credited with nine tackles, one of which was for a loss. Pennsylvania now takes its 2-0, tied-for-first-place Ivy League record to Brown next Saturday for the Bears' Homecoming game.
Brown 38, Fordham 21
The Bears had another huge offensive afternoon, racking up 555 yards of total offense en route to the victory. QB James Perry (Jr., Andover, Mass.) completed 31 of 46 passes for 352 yards and four touchdowns (10, 9, 11 and 10 yards). Two of the scoring strikes went to WR Sean Morey (Sr., Marshfield, Mass.), who totaled 139 yards on 10 receptions. WR Steve Campbell (Jr.,Kent, Ohio) had one of the TDs among his seven catches for 62 yards. TE Zach Burns (Sr., Lebanon, Ohio) caught nine passes for 101 yards. RB Kevin Coyne (Jr., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) had a productive day on the ground, running for 142 yards and one touchdown (a 9-yarder). Defensively, Brown recorded five sacks, one by LB Louis Ames (Jr., Atlanta, Ga.); Ames also had eight tackles in the contest.
Cornell 23, Bucknell 19
The Big Red completed its non-League schedule with a perfect 3-0 record, defeating the Bison before a crowd of 13,188 in Ithaca. QB Mike Hood (Sr., Simsbury, Conn.) scored on his second 1-yard run of the day with 30 seconds left to propel the home side. Hood had a terrific game, passing for 296 yards and one touchdown on 23-of-36 efficiency. The scoring pass went to WR Joe Splendorio (So., Moraga, Calif.), who caught six passes for 113 yards for the game. Cornell battled back from a 19-7 halftime deficit. The Red looks for its first Ivy win of the season when Dartmouth comes to town this Saturday.
Harvard 20, Holy Cross 14 (OT)
RB Chris Menick (Jr., Port Chester, N.Y.) accounted for all three Harvard touchdowns, the last one a 16-yarder up the middle in overtime, and the Crimson defeated the Crusaders. Menick had his third straight 100-yard rushing game, totaling 167 yards on 29 carries. QB Brad Wilford (Jr., Plainfield, Ill.), who relieved starter Rich Linden (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.), completed 10-of-16 passes for 98 yards and one touchdown, an 11-yarder to Menick. The Harvard defense rose up in the second half, limiting Holy Cross to just 73 yards of total offense. Harvard, 1-1 in Ivy play, faces a big showdown in Princeton this Saturday against the 2-0 Tigers.
Princeton 28, Lafayette 0
Complete domination was the pretty simple storyline in this one as the Tigers outgained the Leopards, 359-166, and held a 36:00-23:00 edge in time of possession. Lafayette's rushing offense, which entered the game ranked 17th nationally, was held to just 93 yards (2.8 per carry). DE David Ferrara (Jr., Ramsey, N.J.) moved a little closer to the school record for sacks in a season; he had two against Lafayette and upped his season total to 8.5. A balanced offense was quarterbacked by John Burnham (Sr., Washington, D.C.), who completed 14-of-19 passes for 161 yards and no interceptions. Four different runners helped Princeton amass 198 yards on the ground. It was Princeton's second shutout of the season.
