Monday, Monday

If you haven't yet seen a junior varsity football game at Dartmouth, it's usually quite a show and Sunday's 33-26 loss to Middlebury was no exception as the Big Green battled back from a 26-0 halftime deficit. Do check out the story (and stats) on the regular Green Alert site and think about coming out for the next game. The remaining schedule:

Sun, Oct 07 MILFORD ACADEMY Hanover, 2 p.m.
Fri, Oct 26 Harvard at Cambridge, Mass. 2 p.m.
Sun, Nov 11 BRIDGTON ACADEMY Hanover, Noon

Ricky Santos, Ricky Santos, Ricky Santos. Between now and Saturday's game at New Hampshire you can bet you'll be reading about and hearing the name of the nonpareil UNH quarterback over and over and over again. But a Seacoastonline story in the aftermath of the 'Cats' win over Marshall is a reminder that New Hampshire isn't a one-man team, and doesn't play a one-dimensional game. The drive that clinched their third win over an FBS team during Santos' career featured nary a pass. From the story:

The Wildcats (1-1) stayed on the ground 13 straight plays during the march that upped their lead to 48-35 and drained nearly six minutes off the clock, to 1:01 left. Chris Ward totaled 99 yards on 19 carries, including 50 of them on that final drive, with nearly all of those yards between the tackles.

Speaking of that game, no I didn't pick UNH to win it, dagnabit. I did, however, predict UNH would score a bunch of points against Marshall -- got the final score perfect, just the wrong winner -- and why not? Northwestern and Rutgers had no answer for the unique New Hampshire offense and with Santos still running the show, there was no reason to think Marshall would be the one to find the defensive Rosetta stone. The press out of West Virginia seems shocked the UNH put up 45 points. It shouldn't have been.

There are game stories from the weekend in all the school newspapers (except The Dartmouth, of course, because it doesn't resume publication until a week from Wednesday) but nothing worth chasing down. Except, perhaps, for this story in the Daily Pennsylvanian. It explains Penn coach Al Bagnoli's decision to take an intentional safety that allowed Lafayette to win their game, 8-7, with a field goal.

The Union Leader has a column that discusses the all-time football player piece I pulled together for the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. I almost hesitate to mention it because there were some sore feelings from a few people about not being included, but the column reproduces the graphic that accompanied the piece and that's kind of fun.

Former Dartmouth distance runner Jarrod Shoemaker, 25, has made the U.S. Olympic team for the 2008 games as a triathlete.

Turning from Dartmouth, you wouldn't think much could be written about Penn State football coach Joe Paterno that you haven't already read somewhere, but this Buffalo News story is worth reading. Among other things, it notes that Paterno still lives in the same ranch-style home he's lived in all these years, and that his phone number is in the book. I remember seeing Joe around town when I was out there and it was kind of neat to see he could get his pancakes at a certain breakfast place without being bothered.

Back on the subject of last week's picks, it's time for me to take my medicine and it's not too bad ...

Final: Brown 28, Duquesne 17
My Pick: Brown 16, Duquesne 14
Second Guess: I'll take it. Brown showed more firepower than I expected.

Final: Fordham 27, Columbia 10
My Pick: Fordham 24, Columbia 21
Second Guess: Not bad again. But even with Craig Hormann back at QB, the Lions didn't score as much as I expected.

Final: Cornell 38, Bucknell 14
My Pick: Cornell 21, Bucknell 10
Second Guess: I didn't expect the Big Red air game to be that good, that fast.

Final: Holy Cross 31, Harvard 28
My Pick: Holy Cross 24, Harvard 17
Second Guess: I went back and forth on this one. So did the game.

Final: Lafayette 8, Penn 7
My Pick: Penn 17, Lafayette 10
Second Guess: I didn't think many points would go up on the board and got that right. Just got the wrong winner.

Final: Yale 28, Georgetown 14
My Pick: Yale 42, Georgetown 7
Second Guess: A better showing by Georgetown or a worse showing by Yale than I expected. I'm not sure which.

Final: Lehigh 32, Princeton 21
My Pick: Princeton 28, Lehigh 21
Second Guess: Five first-half turnovers can be hard to overcome despite what Colgate did.

Final: UNH 48, Marshall 35
My Pick: Marshall 48, UNH 35
Second Guess: Sure wish I'd picked the same score but a different winner.

Last Week: 5-3
Season To Date: 5-3

And finally, it's not too late to sign up for Green Alert Premium. Read about last week's thriller against Colgate, check out the always popular Optimist and Pessimist later today and get the scoop on practice for this week's game at New Hampshire. To take out a subscription, click here. If you have already signed up, thanks for helping out and spread the word. If last Saturday's game is any indication of what's to come, there's going to be a lot worth reading about in the weeks ahead!

Full-length stories on Green Alert Premium since Media Day, Aug. 6:

Sept. 16 Jayvees Nearly Pull It Out
Sept. 16 Colgate Follow: Echoes Of The Past
Sept. 15 Colgate 31, Dartmouth 28 (ot)
Sept. 14 Colgate Preview
Sept. 14 Week One Picks
Sept. 13 Practice--And Insider's Look at The Dartmouth Special Teams
Sept. 12 Practice--An Insider's Look At The Dartmouth Defense
Sept. 11 Practice--An Insider's Look At The Dartmouth Offense
Sept. 10 Practice--Something Was Different, But What?
Sept. 9 Feature--Tight Ends Coach Lance Clelland
Sept. 8 Practice--They Thought Of Everything. Almost.
Sept. 7 p.m. Practice--A Look Ahead To The Mock Game
Sept. 7 a.m. Practice--Feedback After The Feed Bag
Sept. 6 Scrimmage--The Verdict Is In. Sort Of.
Sept. 5 p.m. Practice--Jobs Will Be On the Line
Sept. 5 a.m. Practice--It's All About EARs
Sept. 4 Practice--Making Sure They Will Be Ready For The Opener
Sept. 3 p.m. Practice--A Very Special Run
Sept. 3 a.m. Practice--Reviews From Scrimmage Are Favorable
Sept. 2 -- Optimist-Pessimist Round One
Sept. 1 Scrimmage--Recap
Sept. 1 Scrimmage--Stats
Sept. 1 a.m. Practice--Quick Whistles Come With Scrimmage Territory
Aug. 31 Practice--Are You (Almost) Ready For Some Football?
Aug. 30 p.m. Practice--Sour Weather But Practice Ends On A Sweet Note
Aug. 30 a.m. Practice--Stick Around Long Enough And You'll See Everything
Aug. 29 Practice--Score One For Coach Teevens
Aug. 28 p.m. Practice--First Day Of Doubles Is A Wrap
Aug. 28 a.m. Practice--Getting Their Kicks
Aug. 27 Practice--First Live Scrimmaging Of The Preseason
Aug. 26 Practice--All Dressed Up And Champing At The Bit
Aug. 25 Practice--A Sweltering Afternoon
Aug. 24 Practice--One On One
Aug. 23 Practice--Defense Has Edge
Aug. 22 Practice--A Lot To Like
Aug. 22--2007 Princeton Preview
Aug. 21--2007 Brown Preview
Aug. 20--2007 Cornell Preview
Aug. 19--2007 Harvard Preview
Aug. 18--2007 Columbia Preview
Aug. 17--2007 Holy Cross Preview
Aug. 16--2007 Yale Preview
Aug. 15--2007 Penn Preview
Aug. 14--2007 UNH Preview
Aug. 13--2007 Colgate Preview
Aug. 8--Questions And (Some) Answers For 2007
Aug. 7--A Coaches Poll?
Aug. 6--Media Day And The 2007 Poll