Harvard Selected 2010 Ivy Football Preseason Favorite

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Harvard was selected the favorite to win the 2010 Ivy title for the fourth time in five years in the annual Ivy League Football Preseason Media Poll, announced today on the Ivy League Football Media Day Teleconference.

Harvard (7-3, 6-1 Ivy in 2009) received 10 of the 17 first-place votes from the media panel, tallying 129 points, for the second-straight year. Harvard enters the 2010 season having registered at least seven wins in each of the last nine years, making the Crimson the first team in Ivy League football history to post such a string of successful seasons. In 2007, Harvard became the first Ivy team to post a string of seven such seasons together. The current stretch is the Crimson’s best nine-year run since a 28-year streak of seven-plus win seasons came to an end in 1911. Harvard will be relying on senior defensive back Collin Zych, a preseason All-America selection, defensively and senior quarterback Collier Winters with a 1-2 punch in the ground game with senior Gino Gordon and sophomore Treavor Scales offensively to reclaim the League's top spot.

Defending Ivy champion Penn (8-2, 7-0) was selected second in the preseason poll for the third time in four years with six first-place votes and 124 points. Last season, Penn captured its 11th outright and 14th overall title, becoming the 19th team in Ivy League history to go undefeated en route to the Ivy crown. The title was the seventh for head coach Al Bagnoli, the most for any active Ivy coach. Known for their defense, the Quakers look to have a breakout year on the offensive side of the ball, anchored by three returning starters -- preseason All-America pick senior Joe D’Orazio, senior Luis Ruffolo and junior Greg Van Rotten -- on the line.

With 95 points, Brown (6-4, 4-3) placed third for the fifth time in the past six preseason polls. The Bears will once again feature one of the League’s most explosive offenses, led by senior signal-caller Kyle Newhall-Caballero, and solid defensive unit, paced by sophomore defensive back A.J. Cruz, who will be looking to build upon his impressive rookie campaign.

Receiving the remaining first-place vote, Yale (4-6, 2-5) rounded out the top half of the poll in fourth with 83 points, followed by Columbia (4-6, 3-4) in fifth with 61 points, Princeton (4-6, 3-4) in sixth with 55 points, Dartmouth (2-8, 2-5) in seventh with 39 points and Cornell (2-8, 1-6) in eighth with 27 points.

2010 IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
First-Place Votes in Parentheses