PRINCETON, N.J. – The Ivy League football weekend once again takes the national stage as No. 22 Harvard hosts Cornell Friday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU, headlining a three-game Friday slate.
 
Saturday’s action features two ranked non-conference matchups -- Columbia welcomes No. 7 Lehigh, while Princeton hosts No. 19 Mercer-- followed by a highly-anticipated Ivy matchup between Dartmouth and Yale.  
 
The last four games in the Bulldogs-Big Green series have been split. Each have been decided by one-possession and two have gone to overtime, including last year’s thriller which saw Dartmouth score three touchdowns in the final 7:30 to overcome a 21-point fourth quarter deficit and ultimately win 44-43.   

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10

TIME	GAME	COVERAGE
7 p.m.	Cornell at No. 22 Harvard	ESPNU | Stats
7 p.m.	Marist at Penn	ESPN+ | Stats
7 p.m.	rv Brown at Bryant	FloSports | Stats

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11

TIME	GAME	COVERAGE
12 p.m.	No. 7 Lehigh at Columbia	ESPN+ | Stats
12 p.m.	No. 19 Mercer at Princeton	ESPN+ | Stats
1:30 p.m.	Yale at Dartmouth	ESPN+ | Stats

QUICK HITS

• Harvard moved up three spots to No. 22 in the Stats Perform media poll and entered the AFCA coaches poll at No. 25. After beating No. 8 Rhode Island in the Governor’s Cup, Brown received votes in both polls. The Bears were the Stats Perform National Team of the Week. 
• Ivies are 10-6 in non-league play this fall. Since 2017, the league has gone 129–55 (.701) outside of conference. Ivies went 16–8 last season, the 12th time in 14 years they’ve finished .500 or better.
• 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).
• 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.
• 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).
• Craig was also one of five FCS prospects – and the only FCS quarterback – named to the Panini Senior Bowl Top 300.
• 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).
• 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	Fumbles Lost (1st, 0) Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (2nd, 3.33) Kickoff Return Defense (3rd, 12.2) Team Sacks (3rd, 3.67) Turnover Margin (4th, 1.33) Fewest Penalties Per Game (4th, 3.33)
Columbia	Fumbles Lost (1st, 0) Tackles for Loss Allowed (1st, 2.67) Team Passing Efficiency Defense (4th, 100.83) Sacks Allowed (6th, 0.67) Passing Yards Allowed (10th, 157.0)
Cornell	Passing Yards Allowed (8th, 153.3) Fumbles Lost (9th, 1)
Dartmouth	3rd Down Conversion Pct (1st, 0.595) Sacks Allowed (3rd, 0.33)
Harvard	Fewest Penalties Per Game (1st, 2.67) Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (1st, 23.33) Red Zone Defense (1st, 0.500) Sacks Allowed (1st, 0.00) Time of Possession (1st, 35:10) Winning Percentage (1st, 1.000) 3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense (2nd, 0.237) Blocked Punts (2nd, 2) Scoring Offense (2nd, 53.0) Completion Percentage (2nd, 0.714) Team Passing Efficiency (2nd, 96.82) Turnover Margin (2nd, 2.33) Team Passing Efficiency (3rd, 199.73) Total Defense (3rd, 231.0) Kickoff Return Defense (4th, 12.8) Passes Intercepted (4th, 7) Passing Offense (4th, 304.7) Passing Yards per Completion (4th, 15.23) Scoring Defense (4th, 12.7) Tackles for Loss Allowed (4th, 3.00) Passes Had Intercepted (5th, 1) Total Offense (7th, 493.3) Turnovers Lost (7th, 3) Blocked Kicks (7th, 3)
Penn	4th Down Conversion Pct (1st, 1.000) Punt Return Defense (1st, -5.50) Punt Returns (29.4)
Princeton	3rd Down Conversion Pct (9th, 0.488) Fewest Penalties Per Game (4th, 3.33) Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (9th, 35.33) Passes Had Intercepted (5th, 1) Turnovers Lost (7th, 3))
Yale	Blocked Punts (8th, 2)

 

IVIES IN THE TOP 10 (INDIVIDUAL)
Tommy Dunn, Brown LB	Sacks (8th, 1.00)
Ike Odimegwu, Brown DL	Sacks (2nd, 1.33)
John Perdue, Brown LB	Passes Defended (5th, 1.67)
Hugo Merry, Columbia K	Field Goal Percentage (1st, 1.000)
Jack Smiechowski, Columbia LB	Interceptions Per Game (1st, 1)
Justin Townsend, Columbia DL	Sacks (2nd, 1.33) Tackles For Loss (5th, 1.83)
D.J. Crowther, Dartmouth RB	Scoring (2nd, 12.0)
Harrison Keith, Dartmouth DB	Interceptions Per Game (4th, 0.67)
Grayson Saunier, Dartmouth QB	Completions Per Game (5th, 22.67) Total Offense (5th, 300.3) Passing Yards Per Game (9th, 264.3)
Damien Henderson, Harvard DB	Interceptions Per Game (4th, 0.67)
Jaden Craig, Harvard QB	Completion Percentage (2nd, 0.746) Passing Efficiency (2nd, 207.9) Points Responsible For Per Game (7th, 18.0) Yards Per Pass Attempt (2nd, 10.89)
Liam O'Brien, Penn QB	Points Responsible For Per Game (7th, 18.0)
Bisi Owens, Penn WR	Receptions Per Game (6th, 6.67)
Jared Richardson, Penn WR	Receptions Per Game (6th, 6.67) Receiving Yards Per Game (8th, 93.7)
Julien Stokes, Penn RS/RB	All Purpose (1st, 195.00) Punt Return TDs (1st, 1) Punt Returns (1st, 29.4) Combined Kick Returns (3rd, 416) Kickoff Returns (8th, 29.9)
Chase Christopher, Princeton LB	Solo Tackles (3rd, 7.5) Total Tackles (4th, 12)
Brady Clark, Princeton P	Punting (3rd, 47.7)
Kai Colón, Princeton QB	Passing Yards Per Completion (9th, 14.81)
Marco Scarano, Princeton LB	Passes Defended (5th, 1.67)
Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye, Yale LB	Solo Tackles (3rd, 7.33) Total Tackles (3rd, 13.3)
Abu Kamara, Yale DB	Passed Defended (2nd, 1) Interceptions Per Game (4th, 0.67)
Josh Pitsenberger, Yale RB	Scoring (2nd, 12.0) Rushing Yards Per Game (9th, 110.7)