Complete Football Weekly Release in pdf format
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Six teams are within two games of #IvyFootball-leading Yale with two games remaining in the 2017 season.
LEAGUE NOTES
- Yale and Harvard each control their own destinies, although only the Bulldogs control their destiny to win the title outright.
- Should Yale defeat Princeton and Harvard to close out its season, it will win the outright championship with a 6-1 League mark.
- If Yale beats Princeton but falls to Harvard, and the Crimson defeats Penn, that sets up the possibility that the winner of the Columbia/Cornell game and Dartmouth could share the title as well, with matching 5-2 records.
- Should Harvard lose to Penn but beat Yale and the Bulldogs also fall to Princeton, that could set up the possibility of a seven-way tie for first-place with Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale all at 4-3, broken down very nicely by the Yale Undergraduate Sports Analytics Group.
- With its win over Columbia, Yale claimed its 900th all-time victory. The Bulldogs are the third team in Division I history to accomplish the feat, joining Michigan and Notre Dame.
- Penn senior wide receiver Justin Watson continues to climb in the Ivy League records book, as he now ranks third in receptions (265) and yards (3,537) and is fourth in touchdowns (31). Watson has caught a touchdown pass in all eight games so far this season, matching the all-time Ivy League record, and needs at least one reception over his final two games to break the League mark for consecutive games with a catch.
- Princeton senior quarterback Chad Kanoff is 11th in passing yards (6,621), sixth in completion percentage (63.8) and tied for 23rd in touchdown passes (36).
- #IvyFootball finished 18-6 in non-conference play in 2017, its best overall out-of-conference record since 1994, when it went 19-3-1. The Ivy League went 10-2 over its first two weeks this season, its best non-conference start since 1970, when it opened 12-0.
- The Ivy League’s .750 non-conference winning percentage leads the FCS and ranks fourth overall in Division I, trailing the SEC (.825), Pac 12 (.771) and Big Ten (.762).
- Of the League’s 18 wins, three have come against the 2016 Pioneer and Patriot League champions, including two wins by the Ivy League over Lehigh (Penn, Yale) and one victory over a San Diego team that reached the second round of the 2016 NCAA FCS Championship last season (Princeton). The Ivy League also has a win over a ranked team thanks to Dartmouth’s 27-26 overtime victory over then No.-25 Holy Cross on Sept. 23.
- Three teams appear in the national rankings. Dartmouth and Yale are receiving votes in the coaches poll, while the Big Green, Bulldogs and Columbia are receiving votes in the STATS FCS poll.
- All four games this week will be broadcast on a television network. The week begins with Dartmouth against Brown at Fenway Park in Boston on Friday night on NBCSN, followed the next day by Penn at Harvard on NESNPlus, Yale at Princeton on Eleven Sports and Twitter, and Columbia at Cornell on SNY.
- All three of Saturday’s games will also be broadcast live on the Ivy League Network (ILN), now available on Apple TV, Roku and the ILN app on Apple and Android devices.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Penn senior wide receiver
Justin Watson (Bridgeville, Pa.) finished with eight receptions, 124 yards and two touchdowns against Princeton, with the second of his TD catches coming with 1:12 remaining as Penn held off Princeton, 38-35. Watson he broke the school record for career receptions (265) and tied the Ivy League record with eight consecutive games with a receiving touchdown.
The FCS leader in receiving touchdowns with 12, Watson is one away from tying Penn's single season record and three away from matching the Ivy League single-season mark. Watson’s 1.5 TD receptions per game ranks second in all of Division I football behind West Virginia’s
David Stills (1.8). He becomes the 19
th Ivy all-time to earn five career Player of the Week honors and the first from Penn.
Watson’s Statistics for the Week
8 rec., 124 yds., 15.5 avg., 36 long, 2 TDs vs. Princeton
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Harvard junior defensive tackle
Richie Ryan (Pittsburgh) led a stout Crimson D in its 21-14 win at Columbia, setting career-highs in sacks (2.5), tackles for loss (3.5) and tackles overall (11). He also forced a fumble to help limit the potent Lions’ offense to just 14 points.
Ryan earns his first career Ivy League weekly award. He is the first Crimson to be named Defensive Player of the Week since
Tanner Lee on Oct. 10, 2016.
Ryan’s Statistics for the Week
4 tckls., 7 asst., 11 total, 3.5 TFL, 12 yds., 2.5 sacks, 10 yds., 1 FF at Columbia
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cornell sophomore kicker
Nickolas Null (Bradenton, Fla.) broke all-time Big Red and #IvyFootball great
Chris Fraser’s record with seven of his 12 punts downed inside the 20 in his team’s hard-fought loss at Dartmouth. Only two of his 12 kicks were returned (for a total of 10 yards) and all seven punts were downed inside the 15, with three ending inside the 10. In large part due to Null, Dartmouth’s average starting position was its own 27, with four third quarter possessions starting on average at its own 10. He also booted his only kickoff through the end zone for a touchback, making him 11-for-11 on kickoff touchbacks this season.
Null takes home his third-straight Special Teams Player of the Week honor, the first Ivy to receive three-consecutive weekly awards since Harvard’s
Justice Shelton-Mosley was named Rookie of the Week four-straight weeks in 2015.
Null’s Statistics for the Week
12 punts, 398 yds., 33.2 avg., 45 long, 7 FC, 7 in20; 1 KO, 60 yds., 1 TB at Dartmouth
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Yale freshman running back
Zane Dudek (Kittanning, Pa.) showed why he was put on the Jerry Rice Award Watch List for the FCS’ top rookie by notching a 165-yard, three touchdown performance in his first collegiate start. He scored from 68, 36 and seven yards, and needed just 13 carries to get to 165 yards.
Dudek takes home his fourth Rookie of the Week honor, the seventh Ivy to accomplish the feat and the first-ever Bulldog.
Dudek’s Statistics for the Week
13 rushes, 165 yds., 12.7 avg., 68 long, 3 TDs; 1 rec., 8 yds. vs. Brown
HONOR ROLL
Daryle Banfield, Brown (Jr., DT – Bronx, N.Y.)
4 tckls., 3.0 TFL, 12 yds., 1.0 sack, 6 yds. at Yale
Nico Bayless, Princeton (Sr., LB – Glendale, Ariz.)
6 tckls., 2.0 TFL, 5 yds., 1 FR at Penn
Davis Brief, Dartmouth (So., P – Warwick, N.Y.)
11 punts, 375 yds., 34.1 avg., 44 long, 2 TB, 4 FC, 1 in20 vs. Cornell
Alex Galland, Yale (Jr., K – Bakersfield, Calif.)
6 punts, 210 yds., 35.0 avg., 45 long, 3 FC, 4 in20; 4-4 XP, 4 pts. vs. Brown
Nick Gesualdi, Cornell (Sr., S – Sykesville, Md.)
5 tckls., 4 asst., 9 total, 2 PBR, 2 PD at Dartmouth
Ryan Gilbert, Columbia (Jr., DB – Bellevue, Wash.)
4 tckls., 6 asst., 10 total, 1 INT, 1 PD vs. Harvard
Jesper Horsted, Princeton (Jr., WR – Shoreview, Minn.)
9 rec., 114 yds., 12.7 avg., 20 long, 2 TDs at Penn
Chad Kanoff, Princeton (Sr., QB – Pacific Palisades, Calif.)
32-45-0, .711 comp. %, 351 yds., 3 TDs; 3 rushes, 11 yds., 3.7 avg. vs. Princeton
Nick Miller, Penn (Jr., LB – New Market, Md.)
5 tckls., 5 asst., 10 total, 1 PBR, 1 FR, 1 PD vs. Princeton
Chris Schroer, Columbia (Sr., RB – Cincinnati)
24 rushes, 125 yds., 5.2 avg., 24 long; 7 rec., 46 yds., 6.6 avg., 14 long, 1 TD vs. Harvard
JP Shohfi, Yale (So., WR – San Marino, Calif.)
3 rec., 107 yds., 35.7 avg., 83 long, 2 TDs vs. Brown
Ryder Stone, Dartmouth (Sr., RB – Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
28 rushes, 119 yds., 4.3 avg., 15 long; 2 rec., 7 yds. vs. Cornell
Jelani Taylor, Cornell (So., S – Mount Morris, Mich.)
3 tckls., 3 asst., 6 total, 4 PBR, 4 PD at Dartmouth
Nick Tomkins, Dartmouth (Sr., DE – Matawan, N.J.)
1 tckl., 7 asst., 8 total, 2.0 TFL, 6 yds., 0.5 sack, 1 yd. vs. Cornell
Joe Viviano, Harvard (Sr., QB – Berwyn, Pa.)
6-12-0, .500 comp. %, 120 yds., 2 TDs; 8 rushes, 10 yds., 1 TD at Columbia