Dartmouth to Face Nation's Top I-AA Players

No fewer than five players Dartmouth will have to contend with this year are on the first "Payton Watch," and "Buchanan Watch," for the best I-AA offensive and best defensive players in the nation. On the 16-player Payton list are Harvard tailback Clifton Dawson, the UNH duo of quarterback Ricky Santos and wide receiver David Ball, and Colgate tailback Jordan Scott. On the defensive side, Brown linebacker Zak DeOssie is one of 16 players mentioned. The full list can be found here. The Ivy League's take on having its players listed can be found here.

As Dartmouth thinks about changing its schedule, would a game against a I-A school make any sense? Brown had a great experience in a game at Penn State in 1983 (the Bears lost, 38-21); Princeton a somewhat less satisfying experience hosting Northwestern in 1986 (a 37-0 loss). I staffed Dartmouth games at Army (a heartbreaking 13-12 loss in 1983) and Navy (a 45-0 loss in 1986) and despite the lopsided score at Annapolis, the experience was terrific both times.

What got me thinking about I-A vs. I-AA games was a story in the New York Times headlined In College Football, Big Paydays for Humiliation. I kind of like the idea of playing one of those games every four years so each member of the team can get a taste of what it's like in the big time. The $750,000 payday wouldn't hurt, either. It would be interesting to hear what the current players think; maybe I'll survey them and get some thoughts.

Of course, it will never happen. A recent story about Boston College explained why Ivy schools aren't going to show up on any I-A schedules in the future: Wins over New Hampshire and Maine "count" toward making a I-A school bowl eligible because of the number of scholarships those schools offer. A win over Dartmouth or Harvard would not.

Casey Cramer is on the bubble against with the Carolina Panthers according to this story. The piece ends with this commentary: "The coaching staff is high on Cramer, but it's tough to justify keeping three fullbacks."

Harvard sports information posted this story about the start of practice. An update on the installation of FieldTurf and lights at Harvard Stadium is included in the notes at the bottom. Apparently the FieldTurf is at about the same stage as Dartmouth's; the lights will be installed in October.

Check in tonight on Green Alert for a story out of the second day or practice.