AROUND THE IVIES: I-AA Lovefest Not for the Ivies

Hard to believe, but the biggest college pigskin plotline of the season has included a team from Division I-AA, I mean, the Football Championship Subdivision. Eh…I-AA. When Appalachian State knocked off a fifth-ranked Michigan team in Ann Arbor two weeks ago, and the pundits immediately started ranking it among the greatest upsets in the sport’s history, the ugly sister of college football was thrust into the spotlight.

Some fans were incredulous: how can a team with so many fewer scholarships and a relatively miniscule budget upend a storied program of Michigan’s caliber? Others were allegedly unsurprised, pointing to the Mountaineers’ consecutive national titles under coach Jerry Moore and winning streak that stretches back to 2005.

However plausible, the Apps’ stunning win made them instant media darlings, earning them a Sports Illustrated cover and votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, after a policy adjustment allowed them, despite their under-division status, to appear on the ballot. A record crowd turned out in Boone, N.C., this past Saturday to watch the de facto No. 33 Mountaineers (they’re eighth among teams “also receiving votes”) dismantle Lenior-Rhyne.

With all the attention has come a perceptible, if modest, surge in respect for the I-AA brand in general, a softening of the skeptics from which the Ivy League will also benefit. There are, after all, at least a dozen former Ivy Leaguers playing on Sundays, including four Crimson stars of yesteryear.

Until the league’s presidents lift their ban on playoff participation, though, it will unfortunately be near impossible to judge how the Ancient Eight’s best stack up against I-AA’s best, which so impressively went toe-to-toe with the Big Ten’s best.

So, in this space, we’ll content ourselves with trying to figure out how they stack up against each other, or, this week, against opponents from equivalent conferences like the Patriot League. On to the picks for Week 1:

HARVARD AT HOLY CROSS (0-1)

The opener against the Crusaders should prove more of a challenge for the Crimson than in the recent past. The matchup to watch will surely be the pass-first Holy Cross offense, led by junior quarterback Dominic Randolph, who set a school single-game record with 62 throwing attempts in the team’s opener (a 40-30 loss to No. 3 UMass) against one of the best secondaries of the Tim Murphy Era, highlighted by preseason All-American corner Andrew Berry.

Other stories to watch: the debut of the Cheng Ho Show, as the sophomore inherits the feature back role from the legendary Clifton Dawson ’07, and the start of the first full year of Liam O’Hagan since the senior signal-caller led the league in total offense as a sophomore.

Harvard should control the trenches, so if Randolph is held to a reasonable passing day, it will leave Worcester with a win. But if he’s up near 300 yards, the Crimson could be 0-1 for the first time since 2000.

Prediction: Harvard 27, Holy Cross 20

NO. 21 YALE AT GEORGETOWN (0-2)

Easily the mismatch of the week. The Bulldogs, the Ivies’ preseason favorite, have the best running back in the league in Mike McLeod and the Hoyas surrendered a stunning 349 yards on the ground in a loss to Stony Brook. The overrated Elis will storm Washington like the Brits in 1812 and live another week without being exposed.

Prediction: Yale 41, Georgetown 7

PRINCETON VS. LEHIGH (0-1)

Now for the toughest call of the week. Hawks’ quarterback Sedale Threatt in the kind of dual-threat playmaker Liam O’Hagan hopes to be—he turned in 302 yards passing and 58 rushing in Lehigh’s season opener. Roger Hughes has done an excellent job in Jersey for a couple of years running now, but there has to be a hangover from last year’s co-Ivy title and the graduation of team heart and soul Jeff Terrell.

Prediction: Lehigh 28, Princeton 27

PENN VS. NO. 25 LAFAYETTE (2-0)

At least one expert observer I know likes the Quakers to take the Ivy bacon this season. They certainly looked like a team that was putting it back together after the suicide of a team member in ’05 and some uncannily bad luck early in ’06, when they beat Harvard up and down the field in Philly late last season.

They’ll have to stop Lafayette’s talented three-man running back committee, but they’re up to the task. Prediction: Penn 30, Lafayette 20

BROWN VS. DUQUESNE (0-1)

The Ivy champs in 2005 sank near the cellar last season and lost their best player from that squad, middle linebacker Zak DeOssie, to the NFL. In other words, the Bears will be bad this year, so it’s “Brown and Duquesne and pray for rain.” This is one a few games they should win, and they will, but not by the two touchdowns the bookies predict.

Prediction: Brown 23, Duquesne 14

DARTMOUTH VS. COLGATE (1-1)

Expect the Raiders to “brush” aside the putrid Big Green, plunging Dartmouth into a season-long search for a W.

Prediction: Colgate 17, Dartmouth 7

COLUMBIA AT FORDHAM (1-1)

The battle for New York City bragging rights. I’ll take Barnard.

Prediction: Fordham 21, Columbia 12

—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman@fas.harvard.edu.