PRINCETON, N.J. – The Ivy League football weekend kicks off Friday night as Penn hosts Brown at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. Saturday’s three-game slate concludes with Dartmouth visiting No. 12 Harvard.
 
The Big Green and the Crimson have earned a share of the Ivy League title in each of the past two seasons. Harvard -- one of just six remaining unbeaten teams in the FCS -- leads the conference at 3–0, while Dartmouth, 5–1 overall, is among four teams tied for second at 2–1 in Ivy play.
 
Eight of the last nine meetings between the two programs have been decided by a single possession. In last year’s matchup, Harvard rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, scoring twice in the final six minutes to win 31–27.
  
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31

TIME	GAME	COVERAGE
6 p.m.	Brown at Penn	ESPNU | Stats

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1

TIME	GAME	COVERAGE
12 p.m.	Columbia at Yale	ESPN+ | Stats
1 p.m.	Princeton at Cornell	ESPN+ | Stats
3 p.m.	rv Dartmouth at No. 12 Harvard	ESPN+ | Stats

QUICK HITS

• Harvard continued to climb in the national polls, moving up two spots to No. 12 in the Stats Perform media poll and two spots to No. 15 in the AFCA coaches poll. Dartmouth is receiving votes in both polls.
• 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). The trio remained in the Top 10 in the outlet’s most recent update: Richardson (No. 3), Craig (No. 6) and Corbo (No. 8).
• 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, 12.11) Fumbles Lost (4th, 1) Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (9th, 35.67) Fewest Penalties Per Game (10th, 4.33)
Columbia	4th Down Conversion Pct Defense (9th, 0.333)
Dartmouth	3rd Down Conversion Pct (2nd, 0.549) Fewest Penalties Per Game (4th, 3.83) Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (4th, 33.5) Sacks Allowed (5th, 0.5) Completion Percentage (9th, 0.688)
Harvard	Red Zone Defense (1st, 0.583) Tackles for Loss Allowed (1st, 2.83) Winning Percentage (124 ranked) (1st, 1) Sacks Allowed (2nd, 0.33) Scoring Defense (2nd, 11.5) Total Defense (2nd, 255.5) Fewest Penalties Per Game (3rd, 3.67) Team Passing Efficiency Defense (3rd, 99.22) Scoring Offense (4th, 43.2) Defensive TDs (5th, 3) Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (5th, 34.67) Turnover Margin (5th, 1.33) Blocked Punts (6th, 2) Passes Intercepted (6th, 10) Passing Yards per Completion (7th, 14.67) Time of Possession (7th, 33:17) 4th Down Conversion Pct Defense (8th, 0.313) Passing Yards Allowed (8th, 161.7) Rushing Defense (8th, 93.8) 3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense (9th, 0.308) Passing Offense (9th, 278.7)
Penn	Punt Return Defense (1st, -5.5) Punt Returns (1st, 19.22) 4th Down Conversion Pct Defense (9th, 0.333)
Princeton	Fewest Penalties Per Game (5th, 4)
Yale	Tackles for Loss Allowed (3rd, 3.5) Sacks Allowed (5th, 0.5) Team Passing Efficiency Defense (7th, 106.62) Red Zone Defense (9th, 0.706) Kickoff Return Defense (10th, 16.17) Kickoff Returns (10th, 25.36) Scoring Defense (10th, 17)

 

IVIES IN THE TOP 10 (INDIVIDUAL)
Elias Archie, Brown DB	Passes Defended (9th, 1.33)
Miles Brophy, Brown DB	Solo Tackles (7th, 5.6)
James Murphy, Brown QB	Completions Per Game (5th, 22.5)
Ike Odimegwu, Brown DB	Sacks (6th, 1)
Jack Smiechowski, Columbia LB	Interceptions Per Game (3rd, 0.5)
Justin Townsend, Columbia DL	Tackles For Loss (10th, 1.42)
Braylon Howard, Cornell CB	Passes Defended (4th, 1.5)
Keith Williams Jr., Cornell LB	Interceptions Per Game (3rd, 0.5)
Grayson Saunier, Dartmouth QB	Total Offense (10th, 282.8)
Sean Williams, Dartmouth DB	Interceptions Per Game (3rd, 0.5)
Jaden Craig, Harvard QB	Passing Yards Per Game (9th, 255.2)
Liam O'Brien, Penn QB	Total Offense (5th, 302.5) Points Responsible For Per Game (8th, 18) Passing Yards Per Game (10th, 254.7)
Bisi Owens, Penn WR	Receptions Per Game (6th, 6.5)
Jared Richardson, Penn WR	Receiving Yards Per Game (1st, 118.8) Receptions Per Game (2nd, 7.83) Receiving TDs (2nd, 9) Scoring (6th, 9) Receiving Yards (9th, 713)
Julien Stokes, Penn RS/RB	Punt Returns (1st, 22.9) All Purpose (3rd, 156.4)
Brady Clark, Princeton P	Punting (9th, 45.7)
Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye, Yale LB	Total Tackles (7th, 11.8) Solo Tackles (8th, 5.5)
Nico Brown, Yale WR	Receiving Yards Per Game (3rd, 104.2) Receptions Per Game (4th, 6.8)
Abu Kamara, Yale DB	Fumbles Recovered (5th, 2) Passes Defended (9th, 1.33)
Josh Pitsenberger, Yale RB	Rushing Yards Per Game (5th, 114) Scoring (6th, 9)
Joshua Tarver, Yale RS	Kickoff Returns (10th, 27.9)