Princeton hosts Dartmouth in battle of unbeatens
The Ivy League Game of the Year is here.
Undefeated Princeton. Undefeated Dartmouth.
Either the 14th-ranked Tigers (7-0, 4-0) or the 20th-ranked Big Green (70, 4-0) will be in the drivers’ seat for the Ivy League title with two games to go.
The matchup pits the league’s top two offenses and top two defenses against each other. Princeton averages an incredible 50.7 points, while allowing just 9.1. Dartmouth, on the other hand, averages 35.3 and allows 10.7.
It’s hard to guess whether this will be a shootout or a low-scoring contest. Last season’s game was 54-44 in favor of the Big Green, but it’s hard to see a healthy Tigers defense getting cut up like that.
Princeton is coming off a 66-point explosion against Cornell and has been held under the 30-point threshold just once, in a 29-21 win over Harvard. Dartmouth will have to slow down quarterback John Lovett (1,272 yards, 14 TDs) and his top two targets Jesper Horsted (104.1 yards per game, 9 TDs) and Stephen Carlson (83 yards per game, 5 TDs).
Running back Charlie Volker leads the Ivy in scoring with 13 touchdowns.
Dartmouth quarterback Derek Kyler has thrown for 972 yards, 10 TDs and 1 INT, while adding 22.7 yards per game on the ground.
While the Big Green haven’t blown away opponents the way Princeton has, they play solid defense and will take their chances in a low-scoring game against a Tigers team, that frankly, hasn’t been tested all too often this season.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.