Yale’s McLeod Wins Player of the Year, But Harvard Dominates Again

The Ivy League football season has come to a close. 2007 saw the renewal of the oldest rivalry in college sports, culminating in the championship game between undefeated Harvard and Yale. Weeks after the decisive game that crowned the Crimson, Harvard clearly boasts the most well-rounded team in the Ivies, but it is still the Bulldogs that lay claim to the league’s best player.

That honor belongs to Yale’s star running back, Mike McLeod. In last week’s all-Ivy team selections, there was no doubt among the eight head coaches who unanimously selected McLeod as the 2007 Ivy League Player of the Year. Despite playing half of the season with a broken toe, the junior led the league with 1,619 rushing yards and scored 23 touchdowns on the season, setting Yale career, season, and game records for rushing yards. Joining McLeod on first-team were four fellow Elis—tight end Langston Johnson, offensive lineman Jeff Monaco, defensive lineman Brandt Hollander, and linebacker Bobby Abare.

Not to be outdone, 11 Crimson players were selected to the Ivy first-team, the second-most selections by a single team behind Penn, which had 12 in 2003. Among the Harvard players was senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti, who finished the season with 14 touchdown throws and just four interceptions. Harvard also became the most-represented defense in league history after six Crimson defenders were named to first-team, including the other unanimous selections, Brad Bagdis and Steven Williams.

Columbia pushed through its youth movement, garnering Rookie of the Year honors for the second season in a row. Freshman linebacker Alex Gross succeeded last year’s recipient, wide receiver Austin Knowlin, after leading the Light Blue with 80 stops on the year. Knowlin did not go unnoticed and was the lone Lion named to Ivy first-team after falling just 12 yards short of the Columbia single-season record in receiving yards. Kicker Jon Rocholl was named to second-team defense, while senior quarterback and co-captain Craig Hormann and defensive lineman Phillip Mitchell received honorable mentions.

Brown’s stellar wide receiver Buddy Farnham was given first-team honors after a leading the league in receptions per game with 8.11. Senior kicker Steve Morgan ended his collegiate career with a first-team selection after setting career Ivy records in both field goals and kicking points.

Four Quakers made the list, including seniors Joe Sandberg, Brian Brazinski, and Naheem Harris. Despite an injury that caused him to sit out more than half of the quarters, Sandberg rushed for nearly 800 yards on the season. Sophomore Chris Wynn was the only sophomore named to Ivy first-team defense.

Dartmouth managed one selection in linebacker Justin Cottrell. The senior led the league with 108 tackles. Cornell was the only unrepresented school on first-team, but did have two juniors chosen to second-team: offensive lineman Steve Valenta and defensive back Tim Bax.