PRINCETON, N.J. – An Ivy League title is on the line this Saturday, as Harvard needs just one more win to clinch at least a share of the championship for the third straight year.
 
The Crimson can secure an outright title – and the league’s first-ever automatic bid to the FCS playoffs – with a victory over Penn coupled with a Yale loss to Princeton. Harvard enters the weekend 5-0 in league play, while Yale sits at 4-1.
 
Harvard has won four straight meetings with Penn, though the last two have come down to the wire. Last season, kicker Dylan Fingerish hit a 21-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Crimson to a 31-28 win. The year before, Harvard prevailed 25-23 in triple overtime on a trick play, with wide receiver Cooper Barkate finding quarterback Jaden Craig in the end zone for the game-winner.
 
Cornell, Dartmouth and Penn -- all at 3-2 in Ivy play -- still have outside chances at sharing the league crown. Each would need to win this weekend and hope for losses by both Harvard and Yale to stay in contention. The past two seasons have ended with three teams sharing the title at 5-2. 
  
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15

TIME	GAME	COVERAGE
12 p.m.	Penn at No. 7 Harvard	ESPN+ | Stats
12 p.m.	rv Yale at Princeton	ESPN+ | Stats
12 p.m.	Brown at Columbia	ESPN+ | Stats
1 p.m.	Cornell at rv Dartmouth	ESPN+ | Stats

QUICK HITS

• One of five remaining unbeaten teams in the FCS, the Crimson earned the No. 9 ranking in the FCS Football Committee’s Top 10 announced an Nov. 5.
• Harvard continued to climb in the national polls, moving up two spots to No. 7 in the Stats Perform media poll and two spots to No. 11 in the AFCA coaches poll. Dartmouth and Yale are 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	Fumbles Lost (2nd, 1) Kickoff Return Defense (4th, 14.86) Passing Offense (8th, 284.3) Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (10th, 38.63)
Columbia	Fumbles Lost (8th, 2)
Dartmouth	3rd Down Conversion Pct (3rd, 0.525) Fewest Penalties Per Game (4th, 4) Sacks Allowed (6th, 0.88) Completion Percentage (10th, 0.677)
Harvard	Fewest Penalties Per Game (1st, 3.13) Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (1st, 29.75) Red Zone Defense (1st, 0.55) Scoring Defense (1st, 11.6) Tackles for Loss Allowed (1st, 3) Winning Percentage (1st, 1) Team Passing Efficiency Defense (2nd, 100.96) Total Defense (3rd, 264.9) Rushing Defense (5th, 91.1) Scoring Offense (5th, 40.1) Defensive TDs (6th, 3) Sacks Allowed (6th, 0.88) Passing Yards per Completion (7th, 14.62) Blocked Punts (8th, 2) Passes Intercepted (8th, 12) Total Offense (8th, 457.9) Turnover Margin (10th, 0.88)
Penn	Punt Return Defense (1st, -5.5) 3rd Down Conversion Pct (4th, 0.51) Punt Returns (6th, 16.45)
Yale	Sacks Allowed (3rd, 0.5) Tackles for Loss Allowed (4th, 3.25) Kickoff Return Defense (7th, 15.52) Team Sacks (7th, 3.25) Scoring Defense (9th, 16.8) Team Passing Efficiency Defense (9th, 111.91)

 

IVIES IN THE TOP 10 (INDIVIDUAL)
Elias Archie, Brown DB	Passes Defended (5th, 1.38)
Miles Brophy, Brown DB	Solo Tackles (4th, 6)
James Murphy, Brown QB	Completions Per Game (2nd, 24.13) Passing Yards Per Game (2nd, 279.5)
John Perdue, Brown LB	Solo Tackles (8th, 5.63)
Braylon Howard, Cornell DB	Passes Defended (5th, 1.38)
Ben Sahakian, Cornell LB	Forced Fumbles (2nd, 0.5)
Johnny Williamson, Cornell DB	Fumbles Recovered (7th, 2)
Harrison Keith, Dartmouth DB	Interceptions Per Game (2nd, 0.5)
No'Koi Maddox, Dartmouth DB	Punt Return TDs (6th, 1)
Sean Williams Dartmouth DB	Interceptions Per Game (2nd, 0.5)
Brady Blackburn, Harvard WR	Yards per Reception (7th, 21.58)
Jaden Craig, Harvard QB	Passing Yards Per Game (7th, 258.3) Passing Yards per Completion (8th, 14.35) Yards per Pass Attempt (8th, 9.31) Passing Efficiency (10th, 165.3)
John Lista, Penn LB	Solo Tackles (6th, 5.86)
Liam O'Brien, Penn QB	Total Offense (5th, 284.9)
Bisi Owens, Penn WR	Receptions Per Game (7th, 6.13)
Jared Richardson, Penn WR	Receiving Yards Per Game (1st, 107.4) Receptions Per Game (1st, 7.25) Receiving TDs (4th, 9) Receiving Yards (7th, 859)
Julien Stokes, Penn RS/RB	Punt Return TDs (6th, 1)
Brady Clark, Princeton P	Punting (7th, 45.7)
Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye, Yale LB	Total Tackles (9th, 10.5)
Nico Brown, Yale WR	Receiving Yards Per Game (2nd, 98.1) Receptions Per Game (3rd, 6.71) Receiving TDs (4th, 9)
Abu Kamara, Yale DB	Fumbles Recovered (7th, 2)
Ezekiel Larry, Yale DL	Sacks (6th, 1)
Noah Piper, Yale K	Field Goals Per Game (2nd, 1.67)
Josh Pitsenberger, Yale RB	All Purpose (8th, 133.13) Rushing Yards (9th, 989) Rushing Yards Per Game (5th, 123.6)
Joshua Tarver, Yale RS	Kickoff Returns (9th, 28.9)