PRINCETON, N.J. – The Ivy League football season has reached its midpoint, but the excitement is only ramping up.
 
A five-week sprint of Ivy vs. Ivy matchups begins Friday night with a nationally televised showdown on ESPNU between two reigning Ivy champions -- Columbia and Dartmouth. Saturday’s lineup features marquee contests as No. 14 Harvard visits Princeton, Penn travels to Yale and Brown faces Cornell.
 
Harvard, Penn, and Princeton currently share the top of the league standings at 2–0, with the Crimson (5–0 overall) among just eight unbeaten teams remaining in the FCS.
  
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24

TIME	GAME	COVERAGE
6 p.m.	Columbia at rv Dartmouth	ESPNU | Stats

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25

TIME	GAME	COVERAGE
12 p.m.	No. 14 Harvard at Princeton	ESPN+ | Stats
12 p.m.	rv Penn at Yale	ESPN+ | Stats
1 p.m.	Brown at Cornell	ESPN+ | Stats

QUICK HITS

• Harvard continued to climb in the national polls, moving up four spots in the Stats Perform media poll and three spots in the AFCA coaches poll. Penn is receiving votes in both polls and Dartmouth is receiving votes in the coaches poll.
• Ivies finished non-league play with a record of 16-8. Since 2017, the league has gone 135–57 (.703) in non-conference play. This marks the 13th time in 15 years they’ve finished .500 or better.
• Eight Ivies were represented on the Phil Steele Midseason All-America Team in nine different positions. First Team: Cornell TE Ryder Kurtz, Yale DB Abu Kamara, Penn PR Julien Stokes; Second Team: Penn WR Jared Richardson, Dartmouth TE Chris Corbo, Penn AP Julien Stokes; Fourth Team: Harvard QB Jaden Craig, Yale RB Josh Pitsenberger, Yale LB Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye.
• Six Ivy players were named to the East-West Shrine Bowl 1000: Dartmouth TE Chris Corbo, Harvard DB Ty Bartrum, Harvard QB Jaden Craig, Penn OL Netinho Olivieri, Penn WR Jared Richardson, and Yale RB Josh Pitsenberger. The league's six selections were the third-most among FCS conferences.
• Three Ivies were featured in FCS Football Central’s Preseason Top 10 FCS Prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft: Corbo (No. 5), Richardson (No. 9) and Craig (No. 10). In the outlet’s October update each of their stocks had risen: Corbo (No. 3), Richardson (No. 7) and Craig (No. 9).
• Craig was also one of five FCS prospects – and the only FCS quarterback – named to the Panini Senior Bowl Top 300.
• The league posted a 5–3 record on opening weekend and has achieved a winning record in Week 1 in 14 of the last 15 years (76–44, .633 since 2010).
• The Ivy League will begin competing in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs this season. The decision was approved by the Ivy League Council of Presidents in December 2024, following a proposal from the league’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
• Each of the past two seasons have ended with three Ivy League champions—something that has happened just six times overall (1966, 1969, 1982, 2015, 2023, 2024). Over the last eight years, six different programs have claimed at least one Ivy title.
• Twenty-two former Ivy League standouts are currently on NFL rosters, with all eight schools represented.
• Three of the league’s head coaches were Ivy League football players: Brown’s James Perry (Brown, 1996-99), Harvard’s Andrew Aurich (Princeton, 2002-05) and Princeton’s Bob Surace (Princeton, 1987-89).
• The Ivy League was the only conference across all divisions to have a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy from each institution. Named after former Columbia football team captain and later head coach Bill Campbell, the award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.

WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY SEMIFINALISTS
Brown	John Starman
Columbia	Mark Chapman
Cornell	James Reinbold
Dartmouth	Delby Lemieux
Harvard	Ryan Osborne
Penn	Liam O'Brien
Princeton	Justice Musser
Yale	Mason Shipp

 

• Several Ivies rank in the Top 10 of national statistical categories:

 

IVIES IN THE TOP 10 (TEAM)
Brown	Kickoff Return Defense (1st, 11.93) Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (1st, 27.2) Fumbles Lost (4th, 1) Fewest Penalties Per Game (5th, 3.8)
Columbia	4th Down Conversion Pct Defense (3rd, 0.25) Fumbles Lost (4th, 1)
Dartmouth	3rd Down Conversion Pct (2nd, 0.55) First Downs Offense (5th, 24) Fewest Penalties Per Game (4th, 4) Sacks Allowed (6th, 0.6) Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (10th, 35.8)
Harvard	Red Zone Defense (1st, 0.6) Sacks Allowed (1st, 0.2) Tackles for Loss Allowed (1st, 2.6) Team Passing Efficiency Defense (1st, 90.5) Winning Percentage (1st, 1) First Downs Defense (2nd, 14) Scoring Defense (2nd, 11) Total Defense (2nd, 238.6) Defensive TDs (3rd, 3) Passing Yards Allowed (3rd, 145.6) Blocked Punts (4th, 2) Fewest Penalties Per Game (4th, 3.6) Scoring Offense (4th, 44.8) Turnover Margin (4th, 1.6) Rushing Defense (5th, 93) Passes Intercepted (6th, 9) Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (7th, 33.6) Passing Offense (7th, 291.2) Passing Yards per Completion (7th, 14.86) Time of Possession (7th, 33:29) Team Passing Efficiency (8th, 169.27) Blocked Kicks (9th, 3) Total Offense (9th, 475) 3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense (10th, 0.303)
Penn	Punt Return Defense (1st, -5.5) Punt Returns (1st, 20.38) 4th Down Conversion Pct (6th, 0.517)
Princeton	Passes Had Intercepted (5th, 2)
Yale	Kickoff Return Defense (6th, 14.63) Sacks Allowed (6th, 0.6) Team Passing Efficiency Defense (6th, 105.83) Red Zone Defense (9th, 0.692) Tackles for Loss Allowed (9th, 3.8) Kickoff Returns (10th, 25.5)

 

IVIES IN THE TOP 10 (INDIVIDUAL)
Miles Brophy, Brown DB	Solo Tackles (9th, 5.6)
James Murphy, Brown QB	Completions Per Game (7th, 21)
Jack Smiechowski, Columbia LB	Interceptions Per Game (3rd, 0.6)
Justin Townsend, Columbia DL	Tackles For Loss (5th, 1.7)
Braylon Howard, Cornell CB	Passes Defended (7th, 1.4)
Grayson Saunier, Dartmouth QB	Completions Per Game (8th, 20.8) Total Offense (8th, 296)
Sean Williams, Dartmouth DB	Interceptions Per Game (3rd, 0.6)
Owen Zalc, Dartmouth K	Field Goals Per Game (10th, 1.4)
Brady Blackburn, Harvard WR	Yards per Reception (5th, 22)
Jaden Craig, Harvard QB	Yards per Pass Attempt (5th, 9.6) Passing Yards Per Game (7th, 263) Passing Yards per Completion (8th, 14.45) Passing Efficiency (10th, 170.6)
John Lista, Penn LB	Solo Tackles (6th, 5.75)
Liam O'Brien, Penn QB	Points Responsible For Per Game (2nd, 20.4) Total Offense (3rd, 310) Passing Yards Per Game (8th, 261.6) Completions Per Game (10th, 20.6)
Bisi Owens, Penn WR	Receptions Per Game (7th, 6.4)
Jared Richardson, Penn WR	Receiving Yards Per Game (1st, 125.6) Receptions Per Game (2nd, 8.2) Receiving TDs (3rd, 8) Scoring (5th, 9.6) Receiving Yards (9th, 628)
Julien Stokes, Penn RS/RB	Punt Returns (1st, 22.9) Punt Return TDs (2nd, 1) All Purpose (3rd, 156.4) Combined Kick Returns (5th, 491)
Brady Clark, Princeton P	Punting (7th, 46.3)
Marco Scarano, Princeton LB	Passes Defended (7th, 1.4)
Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye, Yale LB	Solo Tackles (5th, 5.8) Total Tackles (5th, 11.6)
Nico Brown, Yale WR	Receptions Per Game (5th, 6.5) Receiving Yards Per Game (5th, 100)
Abu Kamara, Yale DB	Passes Defended (2nd, 1.6)
Josh Pitsenberger, Yale RB	Scoring (5th, 9.6) Rushing Yards Per Game (9th, 107.8)
Joshua Tarver, Yale RS	Kickoff Returns (4th, 29)