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Dartmouth, Cornell, Yale Should Win Ivy Games

By Boisfeuillet JONES Jr.

All eight Ivy League football teams swing into full action against each other this afternoon, and the two teams which were stung last Saturday are likely to be doing the stinging today.

Dartmouth and Yale, both pre-season Ivy favorites, were edged out of the undefeated ranks by non-league opponents Holy Cross and Rutgers last week Today, you can be sure. Princeton and Brown will suffer for those two upsets as they invade Hanover and New Haven.

Cornell, another title contender, moved up as the team to beat in the Ivy League after last Saturday's 15-14 triumph over powerful Colgate. Today the Big Red hosts Pennsylvania, which boasts a 2-0 mark and a handy 20-0 win over Brown last Saturday.

In the fourth Ivy game, Harvard's totally untested squad travels to Columbia to face a tested team that outgained Princeton by over 250 yards but missed by two points on the scoreboard, 14-12.

The big game this week, of course, is the Dartmouth-Princeton battle. Three field-goal attempts and a two-point conversion pass play missed against Holy Cross, and Dartmouth's 11-game victory streak vanished, 7-6. But today, everything points to Dartmouth: the released pressure, the angry rebound, the home field advantage.

Dartmouth to Rebound

The early-season game is much to Dartmouth's advantage. Princeton, though with 22 returning lettermen, lost 17 players from its 1965 team through graduation and must use new personnel, especially on the offense. Despite occasional sharp running and passing from tailback Dick Bracken and fullback Bill Berkley, the Tiger offense simply has not jelled into a consistent unit. The return of injured tailback Bob Weber should help a bit.

Against a defensive line as tenacious as Dartmouth's, Princeton must live a charmed existence if it can score much more than one touchdown.

By the same token, Dartmouth does not have an offensive line to match the calibre of its polished backfield of quarterback Mickey Beard, halfback Gene Ryzewicz, and fullback Pete Walton. Princeton's defense, notably tackle John Seifert and linebacker Ron Grossman, is generally solid and has not had a sustained drive scored against it this year.

All four of the touchdowns scored against Princeton this season--two each by Rutgers and Columbia--have been long plays of 80 or more yards. Unfortunately for the Tigers, this type of bomb is just the thing for Beard. Ryzewicz, and those two fine Indian receivers, Bill Calhoun and Bob McLeod.

This game won't decide the Ivy League championship by any means, but Dartmouth should take a step forward in that direction today, say 21-7 over Princeton.

Cornell Rolls On

Cautious eyes will be following Penn's attempt to overturn Cornell, the emerging Ivy powerhouse. The game has special interest because two of the League's most outstanding running backs will be pitted against each other: Penn's Cabot Knowlton and Cornell's Pete Larson.

Knowlton, a transfer student from Florida State, has provided the running threat to accompany quarterback Bill Creeden's strong passing. Against Lehigh, Knowlton scored four touchdowns; against Brown, he carried 36 times (a league record) for 133 yards. In all, he has gained 263 yards on 58 tries for a 4.5 average and five touchdowns.

Cornell's Larson is a bit more spectacular. He gained 185 yards in 33 tries at Buffalo and rushed for 143 in 24 attempts last week against Colgate. That's a total of 328 yards for a 5.7 average.

Although Cornell has the better balanced attack, both teams have outstanding passers. Penn's Creeden, last week's "Ivy Back of the Week," has completed 31 of 54 passes for 402 yards and three touchdowns. Cornell's Bill Abel has connected on 17 of 30 tosses for 235 yards.

Penn is off to its best start in years, but Cornell should continue to roll, something like 28-13.

Yale Should Romp

Yale, after a frustrating 17-14 loss to Rutgers, will be gunning for a punchless Brown today, and the Bruins should take to the hills. The Elis will be without star quarterback Brian Dowling, who suffered a torn knee ligament last week, but that doesn't matter: Brown last week lost both of its top quarterbacks, Jack McMahon and Wynn Jessup.

Today Pete Doherty will quarterback the Elis, and Mike Maznicki will call signals for the Bruins.

Yale, on the basis of a vastly superior defense and the powerful running of sophomore fullback Calvin Hill (220 lbs.), should romp over Brown by about 24-0, unless the Elis fumble 10 times again this week, and then the margin of victory would be by about one touchdown less.

Harvard, 17-13

And don't forget the Harvard-Columbia fray. For sentimental reasons at best, Harvard should get the edge, 17-13.

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