We’re only three games into the Ivy League season, but so far, Yale‘s Tyler Varga has been the MVP. Domination of the Ivy League is kind of old hat for the senior running back. He earned first team All-Ivy honors as a sophomore two years ago and honorable mention as a junior last season, despite only playing six games. With the way he’s played so far this season, it looks like he’s trying to make sure honorable mention was a one-time thing.
Varga spearheads a Yale rushing-attack that leads the Ivy League in yards per game (301.3) by a healthy 87 yards per game over second place Harvard. His 140 ypg on the ground put him in first place among Ivy running backs, 31.7 yards per game ahead of second place, Harvard’s Andrew Casten, who has carried the ball for 108.3 ypg this season.
With seven touchdowns so far, Varaga’s 14 points per game tie him with Casten and Princeton‘s Quinn Epperly at the top of the Ivy League. The three Ivy-Leaguers trail only Marshaun Coprich of Illinois State in the FCS on the points per game leaderboard.
He had his lowest rushing output of the season last weekend: 83 yards and a touchdown in a 51-13 win at Cornell. But that was on just 10 carries. He was probably just tired from the weekend prior when he earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors after he carried the ball 28 times for 185 yards and 5 touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ upset-win over FBS Army. Five touchdowns! Good for a Yale record.
If he holds his current pace, Varga will finish the season with 1,400 yards and 23 touchdowns. Now, we’re only through 30% of the season so the sample size is still pretty small, but the Ivy League single-season rushing record is 1,375 yards. The single season touchdown mark is 24. I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.
Records are probably the last thing on Varga’s mind, especially just three games into the season. He’s probably much more concerned with Dartmouth this weekend, as he should be. Leave the speculation to us Tyler, we’ll leave the Ivy League domination to you.
