The Big Green was slated to finish fourth in the Ivy League's preseason poll, behind defending champion the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University and Brown University. The Big Green did not receive a first-place vote and were only three points ahead of fifth-place Princeton University. For the fifth consecutive year, Penn and Harvard occupied the top two spots in the poll.
"Penn and Harvard have set a very high bar over the last 10 years," head coach Buddy Teevens said at the conference. "We're looking at them as the standards of this league. We have to compete at their level if we want to beat them and win the title."
Quarterback Alex Park '14 said the team will not treat games against Penn and Harvard differently than other league games.
"There are eight great teams in the Ivy League," he said. "We're not going to look up at them as if they're better than us. We're a great team and we're going to go in with an attitude."
Tri-captain Bronson Green '14 said that the ranking is a motivator and indicates the team's improvement.
Last season, the Big Green went 6-4 and 4-3 in the Ivy League, nabbing a tie for third place. The team lost two games by seven points or fewer, and games against Penn and Brown both came down to the final minutes.
The Big Green returns key position players like quarterbacks Park and Dalyn Williams '16, both of whom started last season after Park suffered an injury in week seven. Williams won the 2012 Ivy League Rookie of the Year.
Teevens called the pair supportive of and competitive with one another at the conference.
"We feel like we have two starters," Teevens said.
Dominick Pierre '14, who helped to fill the hole left in the backfield after Nick Schwieger '12 graduated, returns as running back. Pierre comes off of a second-team All-Ivy season in which he rushed for 830 yards and nine touchdowns.
The team's strength will be its defense once again, especially its linebackers and secondary. Linebackers Michael Runger '14 and Green will anchor a front seven that was second in the league in yards allowed last season. Runger's 98 tackles led the Ivy League last season.
At the conference, Teevens said that the defensive line led by All-Ivy first-teamer and fifth-year senior Garret Waggoner '13 and Stephen Dazzo '15 is the team's biggest vulnerability but that he is confident the players will fill holes left by graduated players.
"There are some names you haven't heard much, but they have had experience and have a lot of talent," he added.
Quakers' head coach Al Bagnoli said he seeks to lead his team into unprecedented territory in the annals of Ivy League history by winning four outright titles in five years. The team has won three of the last four league titles outright.
Penn finished last season 6-4 overall but went an astounding 6-1 in the Ivy League, ending the season with a dramatic four-game winning streak even though senior quarterback Billy Ragone missed the final game with an ankle injury.
"Our kids have a confidence level that we can win close games on the final drives," Bagnoli said.
The Quakers return multiple fifth-year seniors to their team, including Ragone, who has emerged as one of the league's best clutch performers over his tenure. While Bagnoli said he is thrilled to have Ragone back on the field this year, he understands that the team needs to be cautious bringing him back after his injury.
The Crimson finished the season 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the Ancient Eight, earning them second place. Harvard coach Tim Murphy said that there are "a lot of question marks we have to answer," especially on the offensive side of the ball. The team must replace quarterback Colton Chapple and running back Treavor Scales.
"Our replacements have the ability, but the QB position never really gets answered until you're out there in the line of fire," Murphy said.
Last season, Harvard seemed a shoo-in for the Ivy title until they gave up 29 points to Princeton in the fourth quarter. A loss to Penn sealed their fate.
"This was the best Harvard team to not win a title," Murphy said. "That collapse against Princeton was un Harvard-like. It's what you do in the biggest of games, and these days everybody's a good team and every game is a big game."
With the questions on offense, Harvard looks to its top-ranked defense to be the strength of the team this season. The Crimson gave up the fewest yards per game in the 2012 season.
Every coach emphasized the parity of the Ivy League.
"This is going to be one of the most competitive leagues we've seen, so I don't put a whole lot of credence on preseason rankings," Bagnoli said. "It's really wide open this year and multiple teams have an opportunity to win the championship."
Murphy added that anyone in the top five could emerge victorious at the end of the season.
Teevens cited coaching, recruiting and player development as the league's strengths.
"We all coach intelligent young men, so because of that I think we collectively as a league can do more things on both sides of the football," Teevens said. "The physicality in the league has gotten better and better, which has been demonstrated by the number of young men that have gone on to sign as free agents and draft choices."
In practices this summer, Jvonte Brooks '15 said he can tell teammates are "hungry for a championship."
"Coach T demands respect, intensity and focus," Brooks said. "He's not going to let us sell ourselves short. It rubs off on us. It trickles down."
The Big Green will open its season on Sept. 21 with a trip to Indianapolis to take on the Butler University Bulldogs, whom they defeated 35-7 last season under the Memorial Field lights.
