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Subject: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: An Observer [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 13:16:54 10/05/25 Sun Penn State fought Oregon almost to a draw in Happy Valley a week ago on a "White Out" Saturday night. No doubt discouraged after a double OT loss, the Nittany Lions flew west to Brentwood where UCLA became only the fifth college football team ever 0-4 or worse to beat a Top Ten opponent. That's "ever," with the last occasion in 1985, forty seasons ago. According to analytics firm SP+, coming into the Penn State game, UCLA was a 61% probability to complete a perfect season at 0-12. What are the greatest -- or worst, depending upon your perspective -- upsets in Ivy history? This would require a team that started highly ranked (PSU #2 in AP pre-season poll), off to a promising start (not necessarily undefeated) and ended up competing for or winning an Ivy title *BUT* had a midseason loss to an Ivy that finished in the basement or close to it? [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> Subject: Re: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: Lurker [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 17:15:30 10/05/25 Sun 2019 - Dartmouth Cornell is up there for recent ones. Last season Brown over Harvard was early but a wild upset nonetheless the less.

[> [> Subject: Re: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: Joe Friday [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 20:18:22 10/05/25 Sun I think Columbia going to Hanover in 2021 and shutting out (19-0) the Big Green in a home Friday night game is in the same category as the Cornell game you reference. Cornell finished 3-4 in the IL in 2019, and Columbia finished 4-3 in 2021. D won the IL (shared with Princeton that year but won the head to head) at 6-1, and no one saw Columbia shutting out the Green at home.

[> Subject: Re: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: Go Green [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 17:24:00 10/05/25 Sun Can't remember the year, but I'm pretty sure that sometime in this century, Ivy champ Yale's only league loss was to last-place Columbia.

[> [> Subject: Re: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: bulldog10jw [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 20:24:42 10/05/25 Sun I would remember that.

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: bulldog10jw [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 22:22:18 10/05/25 Sun Yale was 1-9 in 1983. They lost to everyone except Princeton. I don't think the Columbia win was an upset for the ages.

[> [> Subject: your virtual obsession with the capitulating lions borders on the strange and ridiculous. Author: valmas (stoic) [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 22:08:31 10/05/25 Sun The specific instance of last-place columbia beating undefeated yale to ruin their perfect season occurred in 1983. In the fifth game of the 1983 season, a columbia team that was in the midst of a historic losing streak (though they hadn't yet set the full ncaa record) defeated yale with a score of 21-18. This victory was a major upset. another notable upset,though yale was not undefeated, was in 2015, when columbia defeated yale 17-7. this was a significant win for columbia as it broke their 18-game ivy league losing streak and 22-game road losing streak. at the time of the game, yale had a 4-3 record.

[> [> [> Subject: Undefeated? Yale won 1 game in 1983 Author: voy vey [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 22:29:42 10/05/25 Sun

[> [> [> [> Subject: yes, vv, yale won 1 football game in '83, but did lose to the lions, 21-18. Author: valmas (stoic) [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 23:12:34 10/05/25 Sun in '81, yale finished 8-2; but lost to the lions in new haven by that identical, 21-18 score. and that '81 loss kept yale from winning at least a share of the ivy league football championship; though yale was still one more defeat away from being able to claim an unbeaten season.

[> [> [> [> [> Subject: Re: yes, vv, yale won 1 football game in '83, but did lose to the lions, 21-18. Author: bulldog10jw [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 23:45:27 10/05/25 Sun Yale lost only to Princeton in 1981. See below. Are you trolling?

[> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: bulldog, not trolling; just responding- i conflated the 21-18 score with the wrong year. Author: valmas (stoic) [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 00:58:07 10/06/25 Mon my apologies. '81 was yale's almost unbeaten season; spoiled only by a loss to princeton.

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: Re: bulldog, not trolling; just responding- i conflated the 21-18 score with the wrong year. Author: bulldog10jw [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 11:33:09 10/06/25 Mon I said "trolling" more tongue in cheek. My apologies to you.

[> [> [> Subject: Re: your virtual obsession with the capitulating lions borders on the strange and ridiculous. Author: Old Blue [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 11:12:22 10/07/25 Tue Gentlemen; Not to correct Mr.Valmas but I our 1981 squad was 9-1;shared the ancient eight championship with the Indians and crushed the Lions 48-17.Also beat the Midshipmen.

[> [> Subject: I got the league champ wrong Author: Go Green [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 06:52:58 10/06/25 Mon In 2002, last-place Columbia did indeed knock off a league champion. But it was Fordham in the PL, not Yale in the Ivy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Columbia_Lions_football_team

[> [> [> Subject: nobody serves up more encouraging propaganda about the capitulating lions than gg! Author: valmas (stoic) [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 09:38:46 10/06/25 Mon you could have added, lest you be accused of trolling, too, that yale didn't win the league championship that year. the 2002 ivy league football champions went 7-0 in league play and were coached by a future and most notable columbia head football coach of sicilian origin.

[> Subject: Re: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: M3 [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 20:20:07 10/05/25 Sun https://goprincetontigers.com/news/1999/11/15/737740

[> [> Subject: Re: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: bulldog10jw [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 20:45:41 10/05/25 Sun Carm Cozza's greatest blunder IMO. Yale had a 4th and 2 at about the Princeton 20 with a couple of minutes left ahead 31-28. Our defense had not stopped Princeton at all in the second half and no one thought they would stop Princeton if they got the ball back (which turned out to be true). A first down would have ended the game. Rich Diana had already rushed for over 200 yards. Seemed like a no brainer. Instead Yale tried a FG which would have only put them up by six which would obviously not be enough. It was no good. Now maybe Princeton would have stopped Diana on 4th down, but I would rather have gone down with our best.

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: Old Blue [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 20:52:06 10/05/25 Sun Gentlemen; I totally agree Coach Cozza blunder trying to kick a 42 yard field goal into a cross wind when Mr.Diana had 222 yards running. Old Nassau did convert 3 or 4/4 and 10+ during that final touchdown drive. Actually was one of the best college games in a long time. Except for the final result.

[> [> [> [> Subject: Re: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: An Observer [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 10:33:22 10/06/25 Mon I agree with Bulldog and OB that going for it on fourth-and-short in that game situation is the right call. Best case, you end the game. Worst case, the opposing offense needs to go a long distance. Carm's decision touches upon two other recent board topics. Any Ivy League field goal attempt of >30 yards in 1981 was still a bit of an adventure. There was less need to fear a long Princeton field goal attempt (say, >45) than there would be today, off the FieldTurf of either the Bowl or Princeton Stadium. Secondly, to be fair to Carm (and this is not a defense, just a mitigation), back in 1981, going for it on fourth down was simply still considered bold and dangerous. Today of course, analytics have convinced coaches all the way up to conservatives like Bill Belichick to go for it. That instinct served BB well with Jordan Hudson. To summarize, there's no question that Carm should have gone for it in the cool waning sun that November day in Palmer Stadium, but it was a different day and time.

[> Subject: Re: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: Ivy Guru [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 20:23:55 10/05/25 Sun Cornell’s upset of Dartmouth in Hanover in 2019 on a bitterly cold day. Those Dartmouth teams in 2018 and 2019 were dominant but Cornell outplayed them on that day.

[> Subject: Re: Greatest Upsets Ever Author: Moonbear [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 08:54:54 10/06/25 Mon It won't go down in the annals of history as one of the "biggest" upsets ever, but, for the sake of recency bias, how about the Brown Bears' takedown of a top-10 URI team on Friday? Bruno had not beaten a top-10 opponent since 1981, nor beaten URI for the Governor's Cup since 2017. We were also coming off a ruthless smackdown at the hands of the Crimson and appeared rudderless. Tremendous effort by the Bears to impose their will upon Rhody early, and then hang on as the Rams rallied late. Here's hoping that, in retrospect, this result won't be viewed as an upset at all because Brown proves to be a true Ivy contender (events in Cambridge notwithstanding).