'Styles Make Fights'

The FCS Power Rankings compiled and written by Emory Hunt have Harvard at No. 21 and Dartmouth at No. 24. Here's what Hunt writes of this week's games for the two Ivy League leaders (LINK):

No. 24 Dartmouth
I am looking forward to seeing Dartmouth's defense against the explosive offense of Cornell. Styles make fights, and the Big Green will surely have one on their hands vs. the Big Red. 

No. 21 Harvard
Harvard's two-quarterback system with Jaden Craig and Charles DePrima is proving to be the perfect mix for them this season as they sit atop the Ivy League.

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This week's fashion statement:

 ⚪️⚪️⚫️#TheWoods #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/idemZjpeBU

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) November 13, 2024

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Cornell may be just 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the Ivy League but it does have arguably the most dynamic player in the Ivy League in quarterback Jameson Wang.

In this week's Ivy League stats, Wang is:

1st- Passing yards per game (270.9)
1st - Total yards per game (316.1)
1st - Touchdown passes (22)
1st - Completions (204)
2nd - Completion percentage (66.0)
3rd - Efficiency (144.5)
9th - Rushing yards per game (45.3) 

(Editor's note: Because Dartmouth's Jackson Proctor has appeared in only five games his 67.9 percent completion percentage is not factored into the statistics.)

The Big Red QB ranks in the top-five in six career categories in Cornell history: 

1st - Completion percentage (63.2)
2nd - Efficiency rating (130.48)
3rd - Completions (623)
3rd - Passing yards (6,593)
4th - Pass attempts (986)
4th - Rushing TDs (26)

With two games remaining he's also in the top-10 in school history in these stats:

1st - TDs responsible for (28)
2nd - Completion percentage (66.0)
3rd - Touchdown passes (22)
3rd - Efficiency rating (144.54)
9th - Total offense (2,529)
10th - Completions (204)

Wang isn't just a prolific passer. He's also an entrepreneur whose LinkedIn profile includes this: "My NIL deals and brand ambassador partnerships include Unilever/Degree, Wilson Football, Liquid I.V., Five Star Dynasty sports trading cards, Lokai jewelry, Firefly Recovery device, the New York State Office of Addiction Services & Supports (NYS OASAS) for fentanyl awareness/drug addiction services, and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) for affordable healthcare."

Watch Wang's commercial HERE.

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Those competitive games against Northeast Conference schools like Central Connecticut could be a little more challenging in the future. Several reports say the conference is increasing its scholarship allotment from 45 (with 18 "grants in aid" to 63 schollies. 

Sources: NEC doing away with football scholarship cap ➡https://t.co/5I8Zp81uxe pic.twitter.com/YhqrTXgob4

— CollegeAD (@collegead) November 13, 2024

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Speaking of scholarships, the big boys could be increasing their quota to 105 in the near future. Currently FBS teams can have 85 players on scholarship and up to 120 on the roster, counting walk-ons. A move to 105 scholarship players would eliminate walk-ons, something Auburn coach Hugh Freeze does not favor, something he made clear on yesterday's SEC teleconference. Quoted on FootballScoop he said (LINK):

"I think it would absolutely be an atrocity for there not to be (a walk-on program in college football). Some of the greatest stories that we've heard of and that I've actually been a part of is just seeing the successes of walk-ons. Whether it's them going from a walk-on to a scholarship or just the success that they have after football."

Whether 20 more scholarships times 134 schools would siphon players away from the Ivy League or the elimination of the walk-on would make more players available to the Ivies is up for debate.

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EXTRA POINT
The temperature here on our Vermont hillside dropped to an even 20 degrees last night. I knew it was getting cold yesterday when I came across these frozen, two-inch "pillars" on my daily hike up the mountain:

That's called "needle ice." Learn more about it HERE.

A Look Back, A Look Ahead

Wrapping up last week's game at Princeton, the weekly Town Topics looks at the contest from the home team's perspective in a story headlined PU Football Produces Spirited Effort Against Dartmouth But Loses 26-17 in Moving to 2-6, Falling into Ivy Cellar. From the story (LINK):

"Our guys are fighting,” said (Princeton coach Bob) Surace. “We have 15 guys in the two-deep that are out and we are just struggling with that. One of them you lose Thursday at 4:45. I couldn’t be more proud of them. We are just a little short and the ball is not bouncing great for us.”

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An aggressive Dartmouth pass rush didn't help either. This is from Dartmouth's social media:

 Making our presence felt🔥#TheWoods #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/AHHDk9UrKj

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) November 12, 2024

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Getting that kind of pressure on the quarterback would come in handy this week when Dartmouth faces a Cornell team that racked up 98 points over its last two games. (Of course, it gave up 102. ;-)

Here are highlights from both teams in the Big Red's 67-49 loss to Penn last week. 

(Be sure to watch the Cornell punt fake 25 seconds in. It went for 74 yards and a touchdown.)

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Mrs. BGA and I have been mulling the idea of a drive out to Happy Valley to catch Penn State's final regularly scheduled home game against Maryland on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. To that end, I started Googling ticket prices on the secondary market and as is so often the case with the web, that sent me down a rabbit hole that eventually brought me to this Oct. 7 post on the Harvard website (LINK):

Harvard Athletics announced today that the 140th playing of The Game on Saturday, November 23, has sold out.

 

Harvard fans looking to attend The Game can still purchase tickets through SeatGeek, the preferred secondary market platform of Harvard Athletics.

Curious about what that meant for ticket prices for The Game, I found this from "preferred secondary market platform of Harvard Athletics:"

Green Alert Take: While I'd really like to catch a Harvard-Yale game sometime, that's a little rich for my taste! (In case it's hard to read, that says if you want four tickets, they'll be $306 apiece.)

And that, of course, sent me deeper into the rabbit hold where I found this:

In case that's hard to read, if you want four tickets for Dartmouth-Brown, you could score them for $7 apiece. (As was the case with the Harvard-Yale tickets, I didn't click through, so your mileage may vary.)

For the record, my search from Cornell-Columbia tickets starting at $24 and Penn-Princeton tickets starting at $25.

As for those Penn State-Maryland tickets, we haven't bought them but did find them as cheap as $15 way, way up in the nosebleed section. They also have parking passes for $39 but I'd park a couple of miles away and walk before I'd do that.

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EXTRA POINT
Tis the season for Hallmark Christmas movies. Say what you will about the candy shoppe, the corporate boyfriend from New York, the soft-spoken handyman with good hair, the red pickup truck, the annual Yule pageant and the gazebo, it beats watching more talking heads rehash the election.

Special Indeed

Dartmouth continues its domination of the Ivy League special teams player of the week award with senior punter Davis Golick earning that recognition for his performance in the win at Princeton:

From a Dartmouth release (LINK):

Golick was a difference maker in the Big Green's win over the Princeton Tigers, Friday, stealing the show in the fourth quarter by kicking a career long 62-yard punt. The 62-yarder led to a Princeton fumble recovered by the Big Green and was the longest by a Dartmouth punter since Brian Scullin's against Cornell in 2008.

With the score 24-17 in favor of the Big Green, Golic boomed another long punt, knocking this one for 59 yards, landing at the Princeton 2-yard line, leading to a safety to make the score 26-17, the final score.

Named to the honor role for their play in the win over Princeton were defensive lineman Ejike Adele, nickle Lou Lamar and quarterback Grayson Saunier. 

There have been eight Ivy League special teams awards this fall and Dartmouth has claimed five of them:

Week One vs. Fordham, DB Jordan Washington
Week Two vs. Merrimack, K Owen Zalc
Week Three vs. Penn, K Owen Zalc
Week Seven vs. Harvard, K Owen Zalc
Week Eight vs. Princeton, P Davis Golick

Dartmouth also has twice won Ivy League offensive player of the week:

Week Four vs. Yale, QB Grayson Saunier
Week Six vs. Columbia, RB Q Jones 

The Big Green is still in search of its first Ivy League defensive player of the week.

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Kudos to Cornell sports information (or whatever they call it out there) for not only producing thorough and informative game notes, but having them out early enough to help the media do its job:

Access the Cornell-Dartmouth game notes HERE.

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With last week's win over Princeton, the Dartmouth football team has popped back into the AFCA Coaches Poll at No. 24 and is in the Others Receiving Votes section of the Stats Perform poll.

	FCS Coaches	W-L	Pts	Prev
1	North Dakota State (24)	9-1	648	1
2	Montana State (2)	10-0	622	2
3	South Dakota State	8-2	598	3
4	UC Davis	9-1	570	4
5	South Dakota	7-2	527	5
6	UIW	8-2	500	8
7	Richmond	8-2	479	9
8	Villanova	8-2	433	11
9	Mercer	9-1	416	13
10	Idaho	7-3	393	12
11	Montana	7-3	348	7
12	Tarleton State	8-2	342	14
13	Southeast Missouri State	8-2	334	6
14	Missouri State	8-2	310	15
15	ACU	7-3	283	16
16	Illinois State	7-3	270	17
17	Stony Brook	8-2	251	18
18	Rhode Island	8-2	239	10
19	UT Martin	7-3	186	22
20	Jackson State	8-2	181	20
21	Duquesne	7-2	146	24
22	HARVARD	7-1	88	25
23	South Carolina State	7-2	66	NR
24	DARTMOUTH	7-1	35	NR
25T	Butler	8-2	31	NR
25T	Chattanooga	6-4	31	NR
	Others Receiving Votes: Central Arkansas, 29; Drake, 18; William & Mary, 18; Tennessee St., 16; North Carolina Central, 13; North Dakota, 12; Northern Arizona, 7; East Tennessee St., 6; Southeastern Louisiana, 3; Eastern Kentucky, 1.

	Stats Perform	W-L	Pts	Prev
1	North Dakota State (42)	9-1	1386	1
2	Montana State (14)	10-0	1354	2
3	South Dakota State	8-2	1286	3
4	UC Davis	9-1	1229	4
5	South Dakota	7-2	1183	5
6	UIW	8-2	1059	8
7	Mercer	9-1	1027	10
8	Idaho	7-3	1014	9
9	Villanova	8-2	864	12
10	Montana	7-3	840	7
11	Richmond	8-2	818	13
12	Southeast Missouri	8-2	747	6
13	Tarleton State	8-2	735	14
14	Abilene Chrstian	7-3	684	15
15	Rhode Island	8-2	678	11
16	Stony Brook	8-2	554	16
17	Illinois State	7-3	500	18
18	UT Martin	7-3	480	19
19	Chattanooga	6-4	298	23
20	HARVARD	7-1	259	24
21	ETSU	6-4	189	NR
22	Duquesne	7-2	185	25
23	Jackson State	8-2	145	NR
24	Central Arkansas	6-4	116	16
25	Northern Arizona	6-4	86	NR
	Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): South Carolina State (7-2, 3-0 MEAC), 82; Eastern Kentucky (6-4, 4-2 UAC), 59; North Dakota (5-5, 2-4 MVFC), 57; William & Mary (6-4, 4-3 CAA), 55; Drake (7-1, 6-0 Pioneer), 49; Tennessee State (7-3, 4-2 Big South-OVC), 47; North Carolina Central (6-3, 2-1 MEAC), 44; DARTMOUTH (7-1, 4-1 Ivy), 41; Southeastern Louisiana (6-5, 5-1 Southland), 20; New Hampshire (6-4, 4-2 CAA), 10;  Southern Utah (5-5, 4-2 UAC), 7; Western Carolina (5-5, 4-2 SoCon), 5

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Time to take a look ahead. 

Sagarin has Dartmouth as a six-point favorite at Cornell and Harvard as a five-point favorite at Penn.

Massey sees Dartmouth winning 31-24 with 71 percent confidence and Harvard winning by the same score with 67 percent confidence.

The amateur oddsmakers whose spreads have held up nicely against the wise guys this fall have Dartmouth favored by 10 at Cornell and Harvard a six-point favorite at Penn.

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EXTRA POINT
Just about any time I pull up a YouTube video these days I first get a commercial showing some young guy in agony looking at his phone while the narrator informs me it's OK to take a break from sports betting in Vermont.

I get it. Clearly the the algorithm works because as the last entry above shows, I do search for Ivy League football odds on a weekly basis.

Here's what the algorithm doesn't know. I don't need a break from online sports betting because I've never in my life placed a bet. Not one. For that matter, I've never bought a lottery ticket and never will. Money is too hard to come by to throw it away.