Here are our preseason rankings excluding the favored Elis:
Princeton– QB Stenstrom is the best pure passer in the league and while the Tigers suffered losses at RB and WR, they have a long history of reloading at those positions. Princeton graduated two All-Ivy offensive linemen but return with LT Jalen Travis (6’7”, 300 lbs.) who is drawing interest from NFL scouts. Surace has enough talent on defense with 1st team All-Ivy LB Liam Johnson returning among several others to make Princeton the top contender.
Dartmouth– Injuries hampered the Big Green in 2022 but they return a bruising 1st Team All-Ivy QB and will be playing with more emotion than any squad this year in the wake of Teevens’ spinal injury. Reliable WR Paxton Scott is back along with four of five starting offensive linemen. The defense returns three solid fifth year players and the league leader in tackles in LB Macklin Ayers. Dartmouth was plays away from knocking off Ivy foes such as Yale last year and will get back on track if they stay healthy.
Harvard– DT Thor Griffith could be the best defender in the league and if Murphy can develop a talented QB, the sky is the limits for the Crimson. 1st Team All-Ivy TE Tyler Neville returns along with two offensive linemen that garnered All-Ivy awards in Jacob Rizy and Austin Gentle. Junior WR Ledger Hatch is a lanky target with high expectations this season. Senior DE Nate Leskovec is a two-time All-Ivy honoree that will forge a stiff defensive front with Griffith. This is a squad that should be ranked atop the league on paper, but Murphy and staff have been unprepared and outcoached too many times to ignore in recent years. Will Harvard’s Athletic Director move on if Murphy can’t win a title this season?
Penn– No team dominated the trenches against the Bulldogs last year like the Quakers. QB Aidan Sayin is back along with Penn’s leader in touchdown receptions from a year ago, WR Josh Casilli. Priore might be getting on a roll again after several disappointing years prior to 2022. It doesn’t seem that long ago that Priore’s squad led by Justin Watson pounded Yale in a haunting Friday night game at the bowl. The top five teams (Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Harvard and Penn) all seem to be very close in potential and one lucky bounce of the ball could decide the season.
Columbia– Bagnoli has stepped aside for an administrative role at Columbia due to health concerns. While Penn had a very accomplished assistant waiting in the wings in Priore, the Lions are not as fortunate relying on Mark Fabish to lead them into a tough Ivy schedule. They do have some pieces in place to make it interesting such as DE Justin Townsend who had 6 sacks in 2022 and QB Caden Bell who started the final 5 contests, but it will take a monumental effort for the Lions to beat a squad like the Tigers.
Brown– The Bears had several close Ivy losses and even beat the Quakers before the season unraveled versus the Bulldogs. Another full recruiting cycle and off-season should do wonders for the Bears, but the league will still outpace them in talent. QB Jake Willcox is back after seven starts in 2022 and WR Wes Rockett is easily a top 5 WR across the league. A much improved defense could move Brown closer to the middle of the league standings.
Cornell— Shifty QB Jameson Wang is back but so is Head Coach David Archer. The Big Red finished 5-5 last season, the best record for them since 2005. Returning the starting QB in Wang, their best defender from 2022 in LB Jake Stebbins, 6 offensive linemen with starting experience and a very talented CB in Paul Lewis III should boost them higher on this list, yet outside of contests versus Columbia and Brown, it’s hard to envision the Big Red competing in a very difficult division this year.