Wednesday, September 17, 2025

A New Name As Things Heat Up

Not at all surprisingly, things are getting busy around BGA land. We start today with news of a new commitment. Thanks to a loyal reader and friend for this tip.

Intending to join the Big Green next year is Roman Sosnovyy, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound lineman from Lyons Township High School and La Grange, Ill. Also a weight man on the track team, the Lyons captain chose Dartmouth over offers from avy, Toledo, Kent State, Cornell and Colgate.

BGA now has come across at least 17 high school seniors who have announced for Dartmouth, some as far back as spring.

What's going on with such early commitments? A reader asked about that for the Questions For Coach column on BGA Overtime. Here's the question and coach Sammy McCorkle's response:

Q: Dartmouth appears to be getting a larger number of commitments from recruits before their senior season in high school. I assume you and your staff encourage this. Does NIL and the increased churning due to the transfer portal play a role in this development? And how do NIL and the portal impact the overall recruiting process in the Ivy League?

A: I wouldn't say NIL has made a difference in that, but definitely the transfer portal has. It has really nerved up high school recruits. The fact is, high school recruiting has been cut in half because a lot of colleges, especially your power fours, are not taking nearly as many high school kids anymore. It's not about development at a lot of schools. Instead, they're taking transfers. So I think a lot of high school kids know they need to be ready to go early somewhere, because those offers aren't going to be there at the end. Everybody's going sooner, and the Ivy League is no different than the rest of the country. We've done a really good job here of getting in front of that.

Find that question and answer in the BGA Overtime posting HERE. 

Editor's Note: BGA Overtime will have its preseason look at the Dartmouth team, a preview of Saturday's opener against New Hampshire, and picks for games featuring Big Green opponents later this week. Added to the site in the past few days have been previews of Ivy League teams, a look at Dartmouth's nonconference opponents, the Questions for Coach column, and a detailed review of the final scrimmage of the camp. If you appreciate the work that goes into the Overtime site – which removed the paywall last year to help spread the word about Dartmouth football – or just enjoy visiting this page each day, please consider helping me keep the work coming by clicking on Griff the Wonder Dog over there on the right. Huge thanks to those who have already helped out. If PayPal isn't your cup of tea, the BGA Overtime page has an address where you can send something along the old-fashioned way if you would like. Thank you, and now back to your regular programming . . . 

#

Craig Haley, a former Ivy League beat writer who knows the conference better than any national writer, has his Ivy preview up on The Analyst site. Here's how he sees the league finishing:

Harvard 

Dartmouth 

Yale 

Columbia 

Penn 

Princeton 

Cornell 

Brown 

In his Dartmouth capsule, Haley writes:

 Dartmouth (8-2, 5-2) – Make it two years, two Ivy titles for coach Sammy McCorkle. The Big Green (along with Yale) are one of six programs to have a pair of first-team selections on the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Team: OL Delby Lemieux and TE Chris Corbo. Quarterback Grayson Saunier impressed in a midseason stretch, accounting for five TDs in a rally past Yale, and he also will target WR Daniel Haughton. The defense loses four All-Ivy first-teamers, but cornerback Sean Williams (129 tackles, seven interceptions) will be a fourth-year starter. Owen Zalc has delivered clutch kicks while making 30 of 38 field goal attempts.

#

In another piece headlined FCS Football Week 4 Preview & Predictions: Villanova Seeks to Slow Monmouth, Robertson; Ivy League Joins the Fun, Haley has this to say (LINK): 

The late-starting Ivy League kicks off its 10-game schedule with intrigue, from having an automatic FCS playoff bid for the first time to a 2026 NFL Draft quarterback prospect leading the preseason favorite (Harvard’s Jaden Craig) to having two straight three-way shares of the title determined on the final day of the regular season. Their teams are at home for perhaps the biggest openers: Dartmouth against No. 25 New Hampshire in the Granite (State) Bowl, Princeton against Pioneer Football League preseason favorite San Diego, and Yale versus a snake-bitten Holy Cross team (0-3) that’s has won a share of six consecutive Patriot League titles.

#

Speaking of the FCS playoffs, the Ivy League has added a Football AQ Tiebreaker link to its football webpage. Here's the process for the two more likely scenarios (LINK):

Two-Team Tie

  1. In the case of a two-team tie, the following procedure will be used:
    1. The AQ will be determined based on head-to-head competition. 

Three-Team Tie

  1. In the case of a three-team tie, the following procedure will be used:
    1. The AQ will be determined based on cumulative record against all other teams tied at that spot.
      1. If all three teams have the same cumulative record, move to 2b
    2. The AQ will be determined based on the average ranking of metrics (KPI, ESPN SOR, ESPN FPI, Massey).
      1. If two teams have the same average rankings of metrics, revert to step 1 (two team tie procedure)
      2. If all three teams have the same average rankings of metrics, move to 2c.
    3. The AQ will be determined by a draw conducted by the Executive Director with the AQ awarded to the first team drawn.

Green Alert Take: Granted, it's important to consider every possibility, but it does bring a smile that the Ivy League has even worked up tiebreakers in case six or seven teams tie for the title.

#

For what it's worth, the Ivy League football record book has been updated for 2025. Find it HERE.

#

The latest from Dartmouth athletic communications:


As usual, BGA is providing a lightly edited transcript for those of us who prefer the written word:
Coach Kevin Bracken
I think the guys are taking this and they're treating it like a pro. That's a lot of things that we talk about in the room – being able to stack days but treat everything like a pro. Not just practice, not just pre-practice, not just in the meeting room, but how intentional are you off the field?

Safety Sean Williams
Day by day we're taking steps to be the best that we can be, raising the standard. I think we're really taking it process driven. We make sure we're focusing on the process day in and day out.

Bracken
I think it all starts with Sean Williams, our captain. It's great to have such a great football player who's an even better human being. Aa guy that exemplifies the core values of this program. So all goes through him. The next guy is Tyson Grimm. He’s a throwback kind of player. He loves being in the trenches. He loves being physical on the perimeter. So he's definitely tenacious out there. Jamal Cooper is a guy that's really the soul of our room. He brings a ton of wisdom and fuels the fire that way. We are excited about Coop.

We have some underclassmen that stepped up in a really big way. Harrison Keith is extremely bright. He's very cerebral in how he plays. Cameron Best-Alston and No’Koi Maddox are two great athletes that are getting better each and every day they take the field. And then finally, Sam Washington and Lou Lamar exemplify what effort means from a defensive perspective.

I’m really excited about those core guys when it comes to Saturdays. And then we have some younger guys that are getting better each and every day in Colter (Vela) and Ethan (Couvertiere ). Overall, very pleased with where the group is headed.

Williams
Supreme confidence, brotherhood, and just attention to detail in everything we do. We make sure we want to be technical assassins and make sure we have everything straight.

Bracken
You know, the corner safeties and nickels, myself and (corners coach Mike) Johnson, they really set that identity, and it starts with the brotherhood. This is an extremely tight-knit group. They play very well together. They're very close on and off the field, and it's really one mind back there. 
The next thing that we talk about is having supreme confidence. First and foremost in ourselves when we take the field, but then in each other. Building that trust is super important. And then the final thing is dominate. We want to dominate every rep. And every rep is a new rep, you know? So, every time we take that snap, it's a new rep and it's a new opportunity to dominate.
#

EXTRA POINT

I got home from my hike at about 6:15 last evening and was astonished by the number of contrails crisscrossing the sky over our Vermont hillside home. We are definitely under a flight path that sees a lot of air traffic but this was ridiculous. It was so unusual I took a bunch of photos and, of course, none quite tell the story. It was so unusual, actually, that I went inside and did a news search on my laptop to see if there was something happening that would have sent that many planes overhead in such a short amount of time.


Here's my mildly successful effort at capturing some of what I saw over the BGA World Headquarters. And yes the contrails were crisscrossing each other.



Posted by at

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

This And That

BGA Overtime took a look at Dartmouth's out-of-league competition last night. Find that story HERE.

#

Today's entry from Dartmouth athletic communications is a look at the tight ends with coach Kevin Daft, who moved over from quarterback coach this year, and with All-America tight end Chris Corbo. As per usual, a gently edited transcript prepared by BGA follows the video for those who prefer reading to watching. ;-)

 

Tight Ends Coach Kevin Daft

I love what I see so far. We have a veteran group, a couple guys that have played in a lot of games. They come out with a great attitude. They're great leaders on and off the field. They're great role models, and I love the way they work and practice, the way they approach the game and approach every single day. It's been a great group so far.


Tight End Chris Corbo

From my group, I've seen a lot of growth. We lost a couple guys from last year, and younger guys are having to step up.  Tay (Taysire Williams), Kristian (Strong), and Kyle (Meier) have come a long way, and they're really putting in the extra time to make sure they know what they're doing. It's definitely translating to the field.


To start with the team, I'm hoping to you build off of last year. We were 8-2 and could have been even better. We have a lot of guys on our team who have a lot of talent and can be big contributors this year, so we're just looking to take the next step. Obviously, there are much bigger stakes this year, being allowed to compete in the playoffs, so we want to be the first team to get in there. 


And then personally, I want to just build off of last year. I was fortunate enough to have a career year. There's still a lot to be done. I want to take it to the next level, but as I said, more importantly as a team we want to get in the playoffs and make a run.


Kevin Daft

I mean, we have Chris Corbo. Obviously, he's got a lot of accolades from last year, had a very productive year, and we're excited about him and his progress. He continues to get better. Sean Ward is someone who's played in a lot of games, a lot of big games. He's a very physical player, very reliable, and a great person to be around. 

And we have some of the up-and-coming guys. We have Taysire Williams and Kyle Meier, and they continue to progress. With all the work that they've put in since the start of spring and now, it's really exciting to see. They're gaining a lot of confidence and a lot of experience just owning the techniques and refining it. Polishing up some of the route running and some of the techniques we're talking about. They have taken to that. I like to see that start to show up.

I love the energy the guys bring. They have great attitude and are good people to be around. So I'm just excited about this group and excited to see them play in games.


Chris Corbo

What I would say to fans to expect from our room is it’s a group that is going to compete their butts off, whether it's in the pass game or the run game We're going to do everything we can to get the job done. We have a lot of hungry guys, myself, Sean Ward, Tay, and a bunch of young guys below. We're hungry. We're always looking to get better each and every day. I would just expect a group that's hardworking, and you'll see it on the field the way that we play, making that extra block, playing through the whistle, and making the big plays.

#

A Bloomberg headline: Ivy League Tightens Rules by Policing Athlete Deals over $2,000. From the story (LINK):

Ivy League athletic departments are ramping up efforts to prove they played no part in compensating their athletes, drawing a sharp distinction from powerhouse college programs paying millions to players. 
Athletic departments are signing attestations of independence for any name, image and likeness deals for players making $2,000 or more, according to Mike Harrity, who directs athletics and recreation at Dartmouth College and described the process for the eight schools.

And . . .

"We attest as athletic directors that we are not in any way, directly or indirectly, asking a donor or alum to give money to somebody as a recruit inducement, or if they want to go into the transfer portal as a retention inducement," said Harrity on Bloomberg Radio at Bloomberg Power Players New York.

And . . .

"Dartmouth has a long history of supporting unions, including student workers," Harrity said. "We view the athletics endeavor first and foremost at its core is educational in nature."

#

Football Scoop headline: A single college football matchup took place at two different stadiums this weekend.

It's true. After several lengthy lightning delays, impending darkness was threatening the Wabash-Case Western Reserve Division III football game and Wabash's Little Giant Stadium has no lights. The solution? From the story (LINK):

What if they moved the game to nearby Crawfordsville HS (IN)? Located under two miles away, and just a five minute drive south.

Looking at the radar and weather patterns, both schools decided that while unconventional, that would be the right move. So the players, coaches and fans loaded up on team busses to take the game to a new location.

For the record, after the bus ride Wabash won the game, 38-28.

#

EXTRA POINT

Mrs. BGA walked into the BGA World Headquarters yesterday and commented on how there are six old laptops on a shelf. I pointed to another shelf across the room. She had missed one.


Then I pointed to still another shelf and reminded her that there are also two old portable typewriters here in the home office.


A lot of writers keep old typewriters on display as decorations. The two I have are just collecting dust in their cases, but I can't bring myself to part with them. For what it's worth, I just can't imagine anyone leaving an old laptop open on a shelf as a decoration.


As for the laptops, one belonged to That Certain Dartmouth '14. One belonged to my mother. I don't have the password for either.


Three have my old writing and research sprinkled around their hard drives in such a random way that finding and moving all of that valuable background information onto my current hard drive would means hours and hours of work. A couple others won't boot up anymore and all probably have just enough personal information and passwords in them that I'd be nervous sending them off to recycling.


So they just sit there like the typewriters except on the rare occasions when I plug one in, hope I can get it going and then search for that perfect nugget I just have to find and rarely do.

Posted by at

Monday, September 15, 2025

Welcome To Game Week

Ivy League previews went up on BGA Overtime last night. On tap tonight: a look at the Big Green's out-of-league opponents.

#

Looks like good weather is in store for Saturday's opening game against New Hampshire. From the National Weather Service office in Burlington:

"Seven straight days have passed without measurable rainfall. This streak without rainfall is likely to extend for another week . . .  "

Green Alert Take: Not good for my lawn or well. Great for sitting in the stands at Memorial Field.

#

Dartmouth athletic communications continues its positional overview video series with a look at the kicking/punting game and special teams. As per usual, a gently edited BGA transcription of remarks by coach special teams coach Braxton Chapman and kicker Owen Zalc follows the video.

Coach Braxton Chapman

(They are doing) a great job, just working hard. Everything we do is going to be what our players do best, so we're going to make sure we're putting them in the right position to be successful from a technique and fundamental standpoint. Guys have really been locked onto the details, making sure that we build this thing the way that we want to build it. Special teams here – we spent a lot of time on. It's something that from our young guys to older guys everybody wants to be a part of. When you have that type of culture in your special teams and it's important, and the players are bought into our culture, it makes it really easy for me getting the buy-in from the whole team.


Kicker Owen Zalc

There is a sense of urgency, just the desire to be on special teams. I mean we've kind of shaped up to be a program where the benefits of being on special teams are really shown. People fight to be on special teams.


Chapman

Getting to work with Owen, I've seen his mindset and his mentality every single day, and the way that he goes about preparing himself. He’s truly a pro. He has a process. He comes out and he's super competitive. Matisse (Weaver) and Julian (Coviello) also in that room have done a good job of also pushing him. The benefit of the three kickers is they all want to be great, and they all push each other to be great. I think that allows them to have the success that they've had in the past, and will allow them to continue to have success.


Punter Luke Armistead has been doing a great job going into the second year in our program. He’s been working hard. Even last year, when he had to sit behind Davis Golic for a year. He’s done a phenomenal job perfecting his craft.


Zalc

The (goals are) same as last year. Win the ivy championship and move on. Win a playoff game, go as far as we can. I think from a personal standpoint it's similar to last season. I'll just do everything I can. Trust Woods (Ray), my holder, trust the line, trust Andy (Belles) the long snapper. Matisse and Julian are incredible kickers and Luke is an incredible punter.


And then Andy as well. I think we got super duper lucky. I mean, he's an incredible long snapper. He could have gone wherever he wanted, but we're super fortunate that he chose here.  

And like I said we're really deep. We're really experienced. It's really nice having two other juniors kicking with me. I can learn from them. They can learn from me. It's like a mutually beneficial relationship, and I think we all kind of help each other get better.


With Luke being a year (behind) us it's really nice to have some fresh perspective. He’s a great punter. I think I'm still learning stuff from him. We all just kind of help each other out. We watch each other's film, give each other tips, and it's a great relationship we all have.


Coach Chapman has done a great job of making sure everybody's got that sense of urgency. We stay flying around. We keep making special teams a priority and I really think it's gonna shape up well this season.

#

The Wise Guys will post odds on Ivy League openers later this week. In the meantime, here's what the computer-driven Sagarin Rating has to say (keeping in mind that Sagarin can be notoriously off base until midway through the season):

• Dartmouth is favored by 1 point at home against New Hampshire 

• Columbia is a 5.5--point underdog at Lafayette

• Brown is favored by 1 point at home against Georgetown

• Yale is a 2-point favorite at home against Holy Cross

• Princeton is favored at home by 7.5 points over San Diego

• Penn is a 5.5-point favorite at Stonehill

• Harvard  is a 17-point favorite at Stetson

• Cornell is a 6.5-point underdog at Albany

#

Can you name this grad transfer?


If you guessed Michael Flores '23, you get a gold star. Flores, today a 6-foot-3, 315-pound grad student, arrived in Dartmouth in 2019, but did not play because of injury. He then missed the 2020 season when it was canceled because of COVID-19. He finally got on the field in 2021 and '22 at Dartmouth, before taking a redshirt season at Old Dominion in 2023. He started all 12 games at ODU last fall, and then grad transferred to Louisville, where he has played in each of the first two games, getting 27 snaps in the opening win against Eastern Kentucky.

Flores' older brother John Paul '22, played at Dartmouth and after graduation played at Virginia, Louisville and finally Liberty, where he used his final season of eligibility last fall.

#

EXTRA POINT

I had occasion yesterday to remember back when I worked at Dartmouth sports information between newspaper jobs. One of my responsibilities was to take team photos. Getting the Big Green women's cross country team to line up one year was like herding cats. Seeing my frustration, one member of the team stepped up and firmly ordered the runners to stop wasting my time. They promptly fell into line.


The runner who was so helpful to me? Moira Teevens '87, whose older brother you may have heard of. 

Posted by at

Sunday, September 14, 2025

Elsewhere

The Questions for Coach are all set but there's still time to send one this way before I head out to practice. Just go to the top of yesterday's post and click on the link. Thanks!

The BGA Overtime preview of Ivy League teams went up on the site last night. Questions for Coach will be posted tomorrow, with a look at Dartmouth's nonconference opponents the next day. Be sure to stop by later in the week for a New Hampshire preview, predictions of next weekend's games and coverage of Dartmouth-New Hampshire. There could even be a surprise in store, so stay tuned.

#

At long last it is finally game week for Ivy League teams. While we wait six more days for Ivy League action to start, here's how Dartmouth opponents performed in their Week 3 games yesterday:

Ball State 34, New Hampshire  29

Two missed field goals spelled the difference for the Wildcats, whose final chance to upset the FBS team ended on a fourth down incompletion at the Ball State 40 with seven seconds remaining. New Hampshire quarterback Matt Vezza threw for 259 yards and ran for 78, after the Wildcats (2-1) got a 30-yard return of a blocked punt for a touchdown to open the scoring. Ball State (1-2) ran for 308 yards in front of 10,512 on a rainy afternoon in Muncie.


Central Connecticut 31, Saint Francis 7

The Blue Devils (2-1) held the visitors to 51 yards on the ground, picked off two passes and recovered three fumbles to break open a close game and win going away. The game was tied, 7-7, at the half only to see Central Connecticut outscore Saint Francis (0-3) after the break, 24-0. A happy crowd of 2,211 saw the Red Flash held to minus-nine yards of total offense over the final two quarters. Brady Olson had 193 yards and two touchdowns through the air for Central Connecticut.


Stony Brook 41, Fordham 14

Trailing at the half, 13-0, Fordham got a field goal and a touchdown pass 23 seconds apart midway through the third quarter before Stony Brook reeled off the next 28 points. A 93-yard touchdown pass triggered the onslaught and a 52-yard interception return capped it as Fordham fell to 0-3.  Stony Brook improved to 1-2 before 5,769 on Long Island.

#

EXTRA POINT

I had a bowl of "wheat & rice flakes with real strawberries" for breakfast this morning and not for the first time found myself amazed. The last time we bought a name-brand version of this same cereal there were almost no strawberries to be found. We've gone back to buying the store brand because there were strawberry pieces in just about every spoonful – and some of them were pretty big. I'd actually pay more for the store brand than the name brand. But, as I'm sure you guessed, it's significantly cheaper. Go figure.

Posted by at

Saturday, September 13, 2025

Final Chance

A little housekeeping to start your morning.

• Today is your final chance to send along a question for Dartmouth football coach Sammy McCorkle. Click HERE and I'll ask it for you. The story with his responses will go up either Sunday night or Monday morning.

• Look for my capsule review of Ivy League teams tonight or early tomorrow on BGA Overtime. On tap during the week: a look at the nonconference opponents followed by a Dartmouth season preview and a preview of game one against New Hampshire.

• It’s the weekend and you have time. If you would like to stream the documentary, 8: Ivy League Football & America, drop me an email and I’ll send you the URL and password to stream the film free of charge.

#

Here is today’s slate for Dartmouth’s nonconference opponents:
1-1 Central Connecticut vs. 0-2 St. Francis, Noon
2-0 New Hampshire at 0-2 Ball State, 2 p.m.
0-2 Fordham at 0-2 Stony Brook, 3:30 p.m.

Green Alert Take: Several outlets have New Hampshire on upset alert with a chance to defeat FBS Ball State. While UNH had a run of FBS victories some year’s back and Ball State is off to a difficult start, it’s worth noting that the Cardinal losses came at Auburn and Purdue. That said, they were outscored in those two games, 73-3. The teams also met in 2009, with UNH earning a 23-16 win. New Hampshire is reportedly taking home $325,000 for playing today’s game, a lot for Ball State to pay if UNH pulls the upset.

#

As long as the topic is money, HERO Sports has a posting with the football operating budgets for public FCS schools. (Private schools such as the Ivies are not required to make that information available.)

Topping the list was South Dakota State with a budget of $9,620,366. New Hampshire came in 16th of the 62 schools listed at $5,963,553. Central Connecticut was 60th at $2,629,738. Bringing up the bottom was Morehead State, at $1,585,146.

In case you are wondering, the overall FBS leader is the University of Alabama at a hard-to-believe $113,835,360. Yikes!

Find the FCS budget story HERE, and a list of FBS budgets HERE.

Green Alert Take I: When I was at the newspaper I wrote a story regarding Dartmouth and Ivy League athletic budgets reported to the federal government, I believe for Title IX purposes. (It was a long time ago, so maybe I’m wrong about that.) Anyway, cross-checking the numbers with Dartmouth, a dean gave me a great quote I remember to this day about discrepancies in the way budgets are reported made the numbers virtually useless. He said:

 “It’s not apples and oranges. It’s apples and hubcaps.”

Literally, a money quote. ;-) 

#

Can’t say I’ve always been a fan of these “man on the street” videos colleges have started posting, but this one with the Dartmouth football team is kind of fun:

Green Alert Take: I’m reminded of the questionnaires Dartmouth sends to incoming athletes. Former SID Kathy Slattery was rewriting the questionnaire one year and she asked me, as a writer, what could she add that might intrigue reporters enough to stir up more press coverage? I suggested a final question of each athlete that went something like this: What is something about you that would surprise people? Each year I’d write a story listing a bunch of those responses, and more than a few times I’d find an angle worth exploring when I wrote profiles of the various players.

#

Not surprisingly, as a highly paid CFL veteran, former Dartmouth standout Flo Orimolade is a Canadian Football League Players Association representative:

#

EXTRA POINT

Gotta run. There's a “Charging Ahead” celebration in town today with EV demos, e-bikes, e-tools and more on display. As the owner of two EVs, an electric tractor and a portable power station, this solar advocate is eager to learn other possible ways we can have the solar tracker  we installed in the field at our Vermont hillside home work for us. 

Posted by at

Friday, September 12, 2025

Welcome To The Woods

A couple of updates.

First, you still have another day to send along that question you have for Dartmouth football coach Sammy McCorkle. Click HERE and I'll be your proxy and ask it for you. Look for a story featuring his answers your questions Sunday night on BGA Overtime. (And look for BGA OT stories reviewing Ivy League teams as well as Dartmouth’s other opponents this weekend.)

#

Second, if you would like to stream the documentary, 8: Ivy League Football & America, I can share a link and the password you’ll need to access it – for free! Just drop me an email at the Questions for Coach link above, or in the contact box over to the right, and I’ll send the information along. Trust me, you’ll enjoy the film.

#


Mrs. BGA and I were in town yesterday to do a little banking and I had to laugh when I saw a sign welcoming freshmen to “The Woods.” That nickname for Dartmouth has become almost synonymous not just with the athletic program but with the college itself, and it has none other than former football coach Buddy Teevens to thank.

"The Woods" didn’t come out of thin air. In the early days of his second tenure in Hanover, Teevens was doing whatever he could to breathe life into a moribund program. One of his early gimmicks was as symbolic as it was practical: he recruited a friend with a pickup truck to haul a small granite boulder to the south corner of the visiting grandstands at Memorial Field. His message to the team was simple—if you keep pounding on that rock, day after day, year after year, it will eventually break.

That same mix of toughness and imagination spilled over into his search for a proper nickname for Memorial Field, something akin to “The Swamp,” “Death Valley,” or “The Big House.” With the Big Green still struggling, Teevens began floating ideas, and while he had two possibilities, his strong favorite was “The Quarry,” which played off his granite boulder analogy. He even bounced the two potential nicknames off people he trusted—this writer among them.

To his credit, Teevens took the hint when person after person told him his second option worked better.

And that, my friends, is the true story of how “The Woods” took hold at the college Buddy Teevens loved, and at the top of the home stands in the stadium that now bears his name.


#

The latest video look at a position from Dartmouth athletic communications has defensive coordinator Don Dobes and senior Nico Schwikal talking about the linebackers. As per usual, my gently edited transcript of the video is posted below it: 

Defensive coordinator Don Dobes:

It's an experienced group from an age standpoint. It's an inexperienced group from an experienced playing standpoint. Great work ethic. Kind of the baton has been passed on to them by the great linebacking groups we've had over the last 15 years that I've been here. They're totally bought in. They're talented. They’ve been waiting their turn. I'm like everybody else, excited to see what they do. I think it's going to be a pretty ferocious group. They take the coaching. Being the leaders of this defense is very important to them. Their work ethic is second to none.


Linebacker Nico Schwikal:

I think we really come together as a group. The ‘27s and ‘28s really did a great job stepping up, getting ready over the offseason, learning the playbook. You know it's really important to have depth in the linebacker core, so we can play to our different strengths and weaknesses and different packages we're playing.


Dobes:

Teddy G (Gianaris) has played a little bit, so he's got some snaps underneath him. He's a character personality wise, and I think his ability to keep the room light and laughing, but at the same time serious, is a big help for us. Zyion (Freer-Brown) played in our special groups, whether it was special teams or some of our special substitution groups. He can be as good as a lot of the great ones because he combines toughness, physicality, and the ability to run. Nico is the all-time overachiever. He came from Germany. He came to America because he loved football. He learned it by watching YouTube videos.


Schwikal:

A linebacker group, man, this year has been special. You can really feel it. I think the young guys came in, brought good energy. I think we really grew together as a group. We're having fun in the meetings with Coach Dobes, joking around, but really paying attention to details. I think we're all locked in and ready to roll every day. I think we hold each other accountable, and I think that shows on the field as well.


Dobes:

I'm really happy with the juniors, (Steve) Simpkins and Cam Lee. I think Steve and Cam will very much have big roles this season. And then the two sophomores have been doing a great job. Johnny Riley and Sean Chester, I believe, have very, very bright futures.

#

EXTRA POINT

From the local news aggregator, Daybreak:

Southern part of Grafton County now in “extreme drought.” Lucky us: It’s the only part of the country east of Texas to hit that status. After this, there’s only “Exceptional Drought” to go. The communities in Drought.gov’s red zone basically run from eastern Plainfield and Lebanon (though not W. Leb) up to Warren and Wentworth and over to Campton. Meanwhile, severe drought has spread in Vermont to take in all of Orange and Windsor counties (plus the rest of central VT and much of the Northeast Kingdom). 

The bad news: We’re in the aforementioned Orange Country and I’m starting to get a little nervous about our well. 

The good news: Another day of full sun is shining down on our solar tracker and building up our credits with the electric company.


Posted by at

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Watch This!

Regular visitors to this electronic precinct already know about the 2008 documentary  8: lvy League Football & America. If you are new here, or need a reminder, here’s a trailer for the film:

8: lvy League Football & America was/is an interesting and enjoyable film, but why revisit it now?

Because, as director Erik Greenberg Anjou explained to Columbia football blogger/podcaster Jake Novak, after originally being released in standard definition the film will shortly be re-released in high definition. And because, as you’ll learn if you listen to Jake’s podcast, there’s a way you can see it now. For free.

To listen to the interview with Erik Greenberg Anjou and find out how you can access the movie, CLICK HERE.

And while you are at it, links to all of Jake’s informative Columbia football podcasts can be found on his Roar Lions blog HERE.

#

Will the Ivy League be competitive in the FCS playoffs, and is there a chance the Ancient Eight could actually get an at-large bid? Talking with subdivision guru Craig Haley on the FCS Edge podcast, commentator Zach McKinnell says:

I'm one of the ones that think the Ivy League can be competitive. It would not surprise me if we're sitting here on this show, Craig, talking about Harvard in the quarterfinals getting ready to play a top FCS school somewhere. It won't surprise me. Same with Dartmouth, same with Princeton, Yale, whoever it may be.

Check out the podcast, which includes more thoughts on the Ivies finally getting the green light to go to the postseason:

#

After moving Florida up in her Top-25 ballot following the Gators’ stunning loss to South Florida, a college football writer is catching some heat. Check out her logic – or lack thereof – in a story headlined There Are Growing Calls For AP Voter To Lose Her Top 25 Ballot. (LINK)

#

EXTRA POINT

True confession time. Have you ever had one of those moments when you discover something everyone else apparently knew all along – but you somehow made it this far in life without knowing?


I had one of those moments a couple of days ago.


Mrs. BGA and I were driving somewhere and I said something about how seeing chrysanthemums in front of a house is a sure sign that fall is coming. So far, so good.


They I asked what the other flowers were that people bought in the fall, and struggled mightily to describe them. Uh oh.


Eventually, Mrs. BGA caught on and she said to me, “Do you mean mums?”


Yup, I said.


I was driving, so I couldn’t see her face, so I don’t know if she gave me a disbelieving look, but I’m pretty sure she did. What I do know is she sounded a little exasperated while informing me that mums are chrysanthemums.


Now I know. ;-)

Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)