Brown football shocks preseason favorite Harvard in Ancient Eight season opener

The second week of the Ivy League football season featured the first two conference games of the year, in which Brown stunned Harvard, and Yale knocked off Cornell. Princeton and Dartmouth also fared well in their nonconference action. Yale, Brown, and Dartmouth now boast undefeated records after two weeks of play.

Brown 29, Harvard 14
In the biggest upset of the weekend, the Bears (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) picked up a commanding win over the Crimson (1-1, 0-1 Ivy), who were picked to win the Ancient Eight in the preseason media poll. In the first Ivy League game for both schools this season, Brown may have been inspired by the near sellout crowd of 17,360 that was there to take in the first night game in Brown Stadium’s 85-year history. Under the temporary lights, the Bears scored 23 points before the Crimson even managed to get on the scoreboard. In the win, Brown’s freshman place-kicker Alexander Norocea tied the school record with five field goals.

Yale 21, Cornell 7
The league opener for both the Bulldogs (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) and Big Red (0-2, 0-1 Ivy) was tied at halftime, but behind a 124-yard rushing performance by junior tailback Alex Thomas, Yale was able to pull away in the second half for a victory. A dominant Yale defense held Cornell to just 22 rushing yards on 22 carries in front of a homecoming crowd of 16,026 in Ithaca. Cornell is the only Ivy team to drop its first two games of the season.

Dartmouth 21, Sacred Heart 19
Filling in for a sick Nick Schwieger—the Dartmouth junior halfback who rushed for 216 yards in last week’s season opener—freshman Dominick Pierre performed admirably by rushing for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Big Green’s home opener. Sacred Heart (1-1) missed a 38-yard field goal with 50 seconds left, ensuring Dartmouth (2-0, 0-0 Ivy) its first 2-0 start since 1997.

Princeton 36, Lafayette 33 (double-overtime)
A year after a diagnosis of aplastic anemia ended his 2009 season, senior halfback Jordan Culbreath scored an inspiring touchdown in double-overtime to win an emotional and exciting game for the Tigers (1-1, 0-0 Ivy). The game was sent in to extra time after Princeton’s junior place-kicker Patrick Jacob kicked a game-tying, 24-yard field goal with 45 seconds remaining in regulation. The Leopards (0-3) and the Tigers exchanged field goals in the first overtime, forcing a second overtime period. Princeton junior quarterback Tommy Wornham, who completed 23 of 43 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns along with a rushing touchdown, was named the Ivy League offensive player of the week.

Villanova 22, Penn 10
Despite sporting a 10-9 lead over the No.1 team in the Football Championship Subdivision with five minutes remaining, the Quakers (1-1, 0-0 Ivy) were unable to hold on for the victory at Villanova Stadium. A 10-play drive ended in a Villanova (3-1) touchdown with 4:29 left on the clock, and an interception return for a touchdown would put the game away for the Wildcats. Penn has not beaten Villanova in 99 years, which includes losing the last 10 meetings between the two schools.