By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 31, 2007
HANOVER -- The names of high school seniors who have committed to Dartmouth and other Ivy League schools are starting to show up in hometown newspapers, on local television and radio reports and Internet recruiting sites.
An occasional name even shows up on a certain blog you may visit every once in a while.
But while print and electronic media, high school coaches, mothers, fathers, sister, brothers, aunts, uncles, friends, teammates and the student-athletes themselves are all free to talk ad nauseum about recruits who are taking the early admission route, their prospective college coaches are essentially under a well-advised gag order when it comes to talking about them.
To read the story visit Green Alert premium.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Bring On PSU. No, Not THAT PSU
There's a nicely done column in the Daily Dartmouth about the college's lack of a natural rival and the writer pretty much nailed it. As much as Dartmouth folks like to portray Harvard as their natural rival, and for as much as Harvard really does seem to enjoy trying to eat the Big Green's lunch, the Crimson's big rival is, has always been, and will always be Yale.
Realizing the obvious -- that a logical candidate for a genuine rivalry doesn't exist -- the Daily Dartmouth writer puts tongue firmly in cheek and creates one: New Hampshire's Keene State.
My only quibble is that he picked the wrong Division III school. He should have gone with Plymouth State because unlike Keene State, Plymouth State actually has a football team.
And because:
An aside: Since leaving eastern football behind to join the Big Ten, Penn State has the same problem as Dartmouth. The season-ending, rivalry game is against Michigan State. Boy, that one really gets my juices going. To quote Wayne, or perhaps it was Garth: "Not." For a Penn Stater there will never be anything like that regular-season ending game against Pitt at Thanksgiving. I've still got a button with a slogan from that game that said it all, written in gold on blue in Pitt's familiar script. (Sorry, I can't report what the button said in a family blog other than to tell you the first word rhymed with Pitt but had an extra t on it and the second word was "on.")
The College Sporting News has the latest Gridiron Power Index up. There are 122 schools in the hybrid ranking. Dartmouth is 68th. The ranking for the Big Green and its opponents:
Another reminder that Saturday's game against Cornell will be available on the YES Network, channel 622 on DirecTV. YES is part of the DirecTV Sports Pack.
Realizing the obvious -- that a logical candidate for a genuine rivalry doesn't exist -- the Daily Dartmouth writer puts tongue firmly in cheek and creates one: New Hampshire's Keene State.
My only quibble is that he picked the wrong Division III school. He should have gone with Plymouth State because unlike Keene State, Plymouth State actually has a football team.
And because:
- Plymouth State pushed Dartmouth off the front page of the sports section in 1985 when it had a running back by the name of Joe Dudek who finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy balloting. (True story.)
- Plymouth State had the audacity to missappropriate the color green for its school color.
- While Plymouth State was going 75-11 between 1981-88 it had the audacity to nickname its defense the Green Wall!
- The Plymouth State Panthers actually have better nickname than the Big Green. (I'm not crazy about the Keene State's Owl.)
An aside: Since leaving eastern football behind to join the Big Ten, Penn State has the same problem as Dartmouth. The season-ending, rivalry game is against Michigan State. Boy, that one really gets my juices going. To quote Wayne, or perhaps it was Garth: "Not." For a Penn Stater there will never be anything like that regular-season ending game against Pitt at Thanksgiving. I've still got a button with a slogan from that game that said it all, written in gold on blue in Pitt's familiar script. (Sorry, I can't report what the button said in a family blog other than to tell you the first word rhymed with Pitt but had an extra t on it and the second word was "on.")
***
The Ivy League site reports the death of the oldest surviving NFL player, Sam Dana, who was a Columbia teammate of Lou Gehrig before going on to play one year of pro football. He was 104. ...The College Sporting News has the latest Gridiron Power Index up. There are 122 schools in the hybrid ranking. Dartmouth is 68th. The ranking for the Big Green and its opponents:
8 New HampshireContinuing with the ratings game, here's how the venerable Jeff Sagarin sees Dartmouth and the Ivies among all Division I teams:
12 Yale
T-20 Holy Cross
28 Harvard
38 Colgate
54 Cornell
64 Brown
68 Dartmouth
80 Princeton
82 Penn
110 Columbia
87 YaleWater polo? The Green Alert blog is going to link to a water polo story? Yup, because it isn't often when a Dartmouth player has a twin brother playing a varsity sport at another school. That Dartmouth player is freshman Spencer Hood. His twin, Gordon, scored two goals for the No. 19 Brown water polo team in a 10-7 victory over Mercyhurst. He gets a mention in a story in the Brown Daily Herald.
89 New Hampshire
112 Holy Cross
139 Harvard
154 Colgate
171 Cornell
184 Brown
192 Dartmouth
197 Princeton
201 Pennsylvania
228 Columbia
Another reminder that Saturday's game against Cornell will be available on the YES Network, channel 622 on DirecTV. YES is part of the DirecTV Sports Pack.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuesday's Practice Report
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 30, 2007
HANOVER -- The Dartmouth football team is enjoying a fresh start this week -- in more ways than one.
Although formal dedication of their spanking new facility is still 2 1/2 weeks away, the Big Green players have at long last made the move from the dark and cramped locker room of Davis Varsity House over to the bright and airy dressing room in Floren Varsity House.
“It's impressive,” coach Buddy Teevens said after Tuesday’s practice. “The kids are really pumped. It's a beautiful facility. The locker room is great. It's spacious. It's clean. It's cool or warm if we need it to be."
To read about Dartmouth building for the future -- in another way -- visit Green Alert Premium.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 30, 2007
HANOVER -- The Dartmouth football team is enjoying a fresh start this week -- in more ways than one.
Although formal dedication of their spanking new facility is still 2 1/2 weeks away, the Big Green players have at long last made the move from the dark and cramped locker room of Davis Varsity House over to the bright and airy dressing room in Floren Varsity House.
“It's impressive,” coach Buddy Teevens said after Tuesday’s practice. “The kids are really pumped. It's a beautiful facility. The locker room is great. It's spacious. It's clean. It's cool or warm if we need it to be."
To read about Dartmouth building for the future -- in another way -- visit Green Alert Premium.
YES
A reminder that Saturday's Dartmouth-Cornell game (Ivy League preview) will be televised nationally starting at noon on the YES Network.
Cornell's game notes can be found here.
Cornell's game notes can be found here.
He Earned Dartmouth's Vote
Harvard defensive back Doug Hewlett is getting a lot of mileage out of his three-interception, seven-tackle, one-pass breakup game against Dartmouth Saturday. He was named the Ivy League defensive player of the week, the College Sporting News national defensive player of the week and The Sports Network national defensive player of the week. The Harvard Crimson writes about Hewlett here.
A certain writer who now has a web site about the team Harvard defeated Saturday also made him the Division I selection for the Boston Globe Gold Helmet Award presented by the New England Football Writers. The usual competition came from New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos, who completed 24-of-30 passes for 419 yards and five touchdowns while also running for one in a win over Rhode Island.
That certain writer picked Fitchburg State's Marlon Thomas for the Division II-III award after the freshman carried 44 times for 256 yards and four touchdowns and caught three passes for 37 yards in a 49-40 win over Westfield State, just his team's second win of the year.
For a good look back at the role placekicking had in Princeton's win over upcoming Dartmouth opponent Cornell, check out this Daily Pennsylvanian story. Turns out that the opposing coaches both tried to ice the kickers with different results. Dramatically different results.
The Ivy League appears to be down to a two-team race and you know who those teams are. The 124th edition of The Game figures to be a good one. Check out the story in the Columbia Spectator.
A little more information on Dartmouth-bound placekicker/punter Foley Schmidt of Minnesota. He was an all-state kicker last year and made honorable-mention as a punter when he led all Minnesota high schoolers in punts inside the 20. He was chosen preseason all-state kicker this fall. As a quarterback/kicker this fall he has helped STA to a 9-1 record heading into Friday's section final. He's accounted for about 1,600 yards of offense running and throwing the ball.
Schmidt was nominated for the Herb Brooks Hockey Award after helping St. Thomas Academy to third in the state on the ice last winter. He was a high school teammate of current Dartmouth freshman Tim McManus.
A certain writer who now has a web site about the team Harvard defeated Saturday also made him the Division I selection for the Boston Globe Gold Helmet Award presented by the New England Football Writers. The usual competition came from New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos, who completed 24-of-30 passes for 419 yards and five touchdowns while also running for one in a win over Rhode Island.
That certain writer picked Fitchburg State's Marlon Thomas for the Division II-III award after the freshman carried 44 times for 256 yards and four touchdowns and caught three passes for 37 yards in a 49-40 win over Westfield State, just his team's second win of the year.
For a good look back at the role placekicking had in Princeton's win over upcoming Dartmouth opponent Cornell, check out this Daily Pennsylvanian story. Turns out that the opposing coaches both tried to ice the kickers with different results. Dramatically different results.
The Ivy League appears to be down to a two-team race and you know who those teams are. The 124th edition of The Game figures to be a good one. Check out the story in the Columbia Spectator.
A little more information on Dartmouth-bound placekicker/punter Foley Schmidt of Minnesota. He was an all-state kicker last year and made honorable-mention as a punter when he led all Minnesota high schoolers in punts inside the 20. He was chosen preseason all-state kicker this fall. As a quarterback/kicker this fall he has helped STA to a 9-1 record heading into Friday's section final. He's accounted for about 1,600 yards of offense running and throwing the ball.
Schmidt was nominated for the Herb Brooks Hockey Award after helping St. Thomas Academy to third in the state on the ice last winter. He was a high school teammate of current Dartmouth freshman Tim McManus.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Optimist-Pessimist After Harvard
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 29, 2007
HANOVER -- Could it be? For the first time in a long time the smirk is on the face of The Optimist this week. He can’t wait to tee it up with The Pessimist.
Fresh off a seven-point game with Ivy League unbeaten Harvard The Optimist flashes his best how-do-you-like-me-now look and says not a word.
The Pessimist says two: Who won?
To read the full story, visit Green Alert Premium.
With three weeks left in the season here are links to all 100-plus Green Alert stories posted since the Ivy League Media Day:
Oct. 29--Optimist-Pessimist After Harvard
Oct. 28--Harvard Follow
Oct. 27--Dartmouth-Harvard Notes
Oct 27--Harvard 28, Dartmouth 21
Oct. 26--Harvard Jayvee Game
Oct. 26--Harvard Preview
Oct. 26--Fearful Forecast Week Seven
Oct. 25--On Developing a Game-Plan
Oct. 24--A Special Visitor Shares Some Thoughts
Oct. 23--Dartmouth's Secret Weapon
Oct. 22-Optimist-Pessimist After Columbia
Oct. 21--Columbia Follow
Oct. 20--Explaining The Quarterback Switch
Oct. 20--Dartmouth 37, Columbia 28
Oct. 19--Columbia Preview
Oct. 19--Fearful Forecast Week Six
Oct. 18 Practice--Relax, Attack, Enjoy
Oct. 17 Practice--Best Of The First Half
Oct. 16 Practice--He Who Practices Best Will Play
Oct. 15--Optimist-Pessmist After Holy Cross
Oct. 14--Holy Cross Follow
Oct. 13--Holy Cross Notes
Oct. 13--Holy Cross 41, Dartmouth 15
Oct. 12--Holy Cross Preview
Oct. 12: Fearful Forecast Week Five
Oct. 11 Practice--Rain On Saturday Would Be OK By Teevens
Oct. 10 Practice--Something Teevens Never Saw Before And Hopes Not To See Again
Oct. 9 Practice--Taking Stock After Yale
Oct. 8--Optimist and Pessimist After Yale
Oct. 7--Milford 29, Dartmouth Jayvees 6
Oct 7--Yale Follow
Oct. 6--Yale Sidebar
Oct. 6--Yale Game
Oct. 5--Yale Preview
Oct. 5--59 Consecutive Dartmouth-Yale Games
Oct. 5--Fearful Forecast: Week Four
Oct. 4--Dartmouth's Depth Will Be Tested
Oct. 3--Coming Away Impressed
Oct. 2--Teaching Tuesday With A Twist
Oct. 1--Optimist-Pessimist After Penn
Sept. 30--Penn Follow
Sept. 29--Defense Stepped Up When It Mattered Against Penn
Sept. 29--Dartmouth 21, Penn 13
Sept. 28--Penn Preview
Sept. 28 Fearful Forecast: Week Three
Sept. 27 Practice--Defense Sees Something It likes
Sept. 26 Practice--Pressure Is On ... Pressure
Sept. 25 Practice--Just Another Day On Memorial Field?
Sept. 24 Optimist And Pessimist Discuss UNH And Penn
Sept. 23 UNH Follow
Sept. 22 UNH 52, Dartmouth 31
Sept. 22 Dartmouth-UNH Notes
Sept. 21 UNH Preview
Sept. 21 Fearful Forecast: Week Two
Sept. 20 Practice--Thinking About The UNH Game
Sept. 19 Practice--Enthusiasm Wednesday Lives Up To Billing
Sept. 18 Practice--Looking Back at Colgate And Ahead to UNH
Sept. 17 Optimist And Pessimist Debate Colgate And More
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--An 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 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
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 29, 2007
HANOVER -- Could it be? For the first time in a long time the smirk is on the face of The Optimist this week. He can’t wait to tee it up with The Pessimist.
Fresh off a seven-point game with Ivy League unbeaten Harvard The Optimist flashes his best how-do-you-like-me-now look and says not a word.
The Pessimist says two: Who won?
To read the full story, visit Green Alert Premium.
With three weeks left in the season here are links to all 100-plus Green Alert stories posted since the Ivy League Media Day:
Oct. 29--Optimist-Pessimist After Harvard
Oct. 28--Harvard Follow
Oct. 27--Dartmouth-Harvard Notes
Oct 27--Harvard 28, Dartmouth 21
Oct. 26--Harvard Jayvee Game
Oct. 26--Harvard Preview
Oct. 26--Fearful Forecast Week Seven
Oct. 25--On Developing a Game-Plan
Oct. 24--A Special Visitor Shares Some Thoughts
Oct. 23--Dartmouth's Secret Weapon
Oct. 22-Optimist-Pessimist After Columbia
Oct. 21--Columbia Follow
Oct. 20--Explaining The Quarterback Switch
Oct. 20--Dartmouth 37, Columbia 28
Oct. 19--Columbia Preview
Oct. 19--Fearful Forecast Week Six
Oct. 18 Practice--Relax, Attack, Enjoy
Oct. 17 Practice--Best Of The First Half
Oct. 16 Practice--He Who Practices Best Will Play
Oct. 15--Optimist-Pessmist After Holy Cross
Oct. 14--Holy Cross Follow
Oct. 13--Holy Cross Notes
Oct. 13--Holy Cross 41, Dartmouth 15
Oct. 12--Holy Cross Preview
Oct. 12: Fearful Forecast Week Five
Oct. 11 Practice--Rain On Saturday Would Be OK By Teevens
Oct. 10 Practice--Something Teevens Never Saw Before And Hopes Not To See Again
Oct. 9 Practice--Taking Stock After Yale
Oct. 8--Optimist and Pessimist After Yale
Oct. 7--Milford 29, Dartmouth Jayvees 6
Oct 7--Yale Follow
Oct. 6--Yale Sidebar
Oct. 6--Yale Game
Oct. 5--Yale Preview
Oct. 5--59 Consecutive Dartmouth-Yale Games
Oct. 5--Fearful Forecast: Week Four
Oct. 4--Dartmouth's Depth Will Be Tested
Oct. 3--Coming Away Impressed
Oct. 2--Teaching Tuesday With A Twist
Oct. 1--Optimist-Pessimist After Penn
Sept. 30--Penn Follow
Sept. 29--Defense Stepped Up When It Mattered Against Penn
Sept. 29--Dartmouth 21, Penn 13
Sept. 28--Penn Preview
Sept. 28 Fearful Forecast: Week Three
Sept. 27 Practice--Defense Sees Something It likes
Sept. 26 Practice--Pressure Is On ... Pressure
Sept. 25 Practice--Just Another Day On Memorial Field?
Sept. 24 Optimist And Pessimist Discuss UNH And Penn
Sept. 23 UNH Follow
Sept. 22 UNH 52, Dartmouth 31
Sept. 22 Dartmouth-UNH Notes
Sept. 21 UNH Preview
Sept. 21 Fearful Forecast: Week Two
Sept. 20 Practice--Thinking About The UNH Game
Sept. 19 Practice--Enthusiasm Wednesday Lives Up To Billing
Sept. 18 Practice--Looking Back at Colgate And Ahead to UNH
Sept. 17 Optimist And Pessimist Debate Colgate And More
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--An 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 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
Dartmouth Gets A Kick Out Of This
Rivals.com is reporting that well-regarded placekicker Foley Schmidt of Minnesota's St. Thomas Academy is going Ivy ... and that Ivy is Dartmouth. (The 5-foot-8, 180-pound Schmidt is a former teammate of exciting Big Green freshman Tim McManus, whom he succeeded as quarterback at STA.)
From the Minnesota preps Rivals site:
From the Minnesota preps Rivals site:
The 2006 season was a historic one for the St. Thomas Academy program. A big part of their success was the excellent play of their special teams. Often overlooked, a good high school kicking and punting game can mean victory. Cadet senior kicker/punter prospect Foley Schmidt was a difference maker last season. He is again this season.
Kicking guru Chris Sailer lists Schmidt as the No. 43 kicking recruit in this year's senior class. Sailer writes:
Schmidt's 2007-08 season statistics (though not completely up-to-date) can be found here on Maxpreps. His 2006-07 stats can be found here. Schmidt is reported to be 114-of-119 on extra points in three years as a varsity kicker and 15-of-20 on field goals. On kickoffs he has recorded 82 touchbacks including a run of 11 in a row last year during the playoffs.
Though his first eight games Schmidt had completed 64 percent of his passes for 899 yards and rushed for another 298 as a quarterback. He had 10 rushing touchdowns and three through the air. STA is now 9-1.
A talented athlete, Schmidt also has played ice hockey and has drawn Division I recruiting interest in soccer.
Tied for the Ivy League lead with Yale, Harvard has a streak on the line similar to the one that Penn has had broken this year. The Crimson writes:
And finally, if you missed the 15-lateral, 46-second touchdown play with seven players touching the ball that helped Trinity University pull out a 28-24 win over Millsaps, you can read about it and watch the video here. This one has to be seen to be believed and even then you won't believe it.
He is strong and has a fast leg. Gets great height on his ball and is very consistent.Sailer listed Notre Dame, Stanford, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Virginia and Ivy League as "high interest" schools for the kicker.
Schmidt's 2007-08 season statistics (though not completely up-to-date) can be found here on Maxpreps. His 2006-07 stats can be found here. Schmidt is reported to be 114-of-119 on extra points in three years as a varsity kicker and 15-of-20 on field goals. On kickoffs he has recorded 82 touchbacks including a run of 11 in a row last year during the playoffs.
Though his first eight games Schmidt had completed 64 percent of his passes for 899 yards and rushed for another 298 as a quarterback. He had 10 rushing touchdowns and three through the air. STA is now 9-1.
A talented athlete, Schmidt also has played ice hockey and has drawn Division I recruiting interest in soccer.
***
The Dartmouth-Harvard game is covered in today's Daily Dartmouth. ... In a story headlined, Ground Game Punishes Weak Big Green Defense, Harvard Crimson refers to Dartmouth as:... a team that has struggled since current—and former—head coach Buddy Teevens departed for Stanford after a stint in Hanover from 1987 to 1991. The Big Green hasn’t won an Ivy championship since his initial departure, and hasn’t sniffed the top of the league since Teevens’ return in 2005.Actually, Teevens left for Tulane after the 1991 season and the Big Green won two Ivy titles after his departure. It went undefeated in 1996 and ran off a 22-game unbeaten streak between 1995 and 1997, one of the longest in what was then called I-AA. ...
Tied for the Ivy League lead with Yale, Harvard has a streak on the line similar to the one that Penn has had broken this year. The Crimson writes:
Every graduating class has earned at least one title since (head coach Tim) Murphy came to Cambridge in 1993, and if that trend is to continue, it’s either now or next year for the Crimson.Dartmouth plays host to Cornell this Saturday. To read about the Big Red's narrow loss at Princeton Friday, night read the Cornell Sun story.
And finally, if you missed the 15-lateral, 46-second touchdown play with seven players touching the ball that helped Trinity University pull out a 28-24 win over Millsaps, you can read about it and watch the video here. This one has to be seen to be believed and even then you won't believe it.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Harvard Follow
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 28, 2007
HANOVER -- The Harvard defense came into Saturday’s game against Dartmouth having allowed its five most recent opponents an average of 72.0 yards per game rushing.
Dartmouth came within one yard of doubling that figure Saturday in Cambridge, running for 143 yards against the nation’s fifth-ranked run defense.
Visit Green Alert Premium to read the full story.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 28, 2007
HANOVER -- The Harvard defense came into Saturday’s game against Dartmouth having allowed its five most recent opponents an average of 72.0 yards per game rushing.
Dartmouth came within one yard of doubling that figure Saturday in Cambridge, running for 143 yards against the nation’s fifth-ranked run defense.
Visit Green Alert Premium to read the full story.
Sunday Roundup
The headline for the bylined Boston Globe story about Saturday's loss at Harvard: "Big Green were ripe for picking." ... There's another full story in the Boston Herald. ... The Dartmouth sports information account is here. ...
Harvard tailback Cheng Ho has one of the most unusual and most inspiring stories in college football. The Augusta Chronicle writes about the Crimson runner who came to the U.S., when he was 12 and unable to speak "a lick" of English. He ran for 114 yards on 15 carries yesterday.
The Ivy League (and Dartmouth opponent) roundup with a few thoughts:
Brown 31, Pennsylvania 17
Green Alert prediction: Brown 24, Penn 21
The surprise wasn't so much that Brown was able to score points but that Penn didn't score more. Penn's epic game against Yale, like Ali-Frazier, might have taken something out of both sides. (See next game)
Yale 28, Columbia 7
Green Alert prediction: Yale 35, Columbia 10
You know you've got it going when you win by three touchdowns and people wonder what's wrong. Ditto for Mike McLeod who ran for only 133 yards.
Holy Cross 45, Bucknell 21
Green Alert prediction: Holy Cross 45, Bucknell 14
Argh! So close to the first perfect score of the year. The Crusaders have one of the best offenses this side of UNH.
Colgate 36, Lafayette 27
Green Alert prediction: Lafayette 21, Colgate 14
The thoughts here were that the Leopards have one of the top defenses around and Colgate struggles a little offensively. Wrong and wrong.
New Hampshire 49, Rhode Island 36
Green Alert prediction: UNH 38, Rhode Island 21
Ricky Santos passed for 419 yards and five touchdowns and ran for another. Ho hum.
And once again, from Friday night ...
Princeton 34, Cornell 31
Green Alert prediction: Cornell 28, Princeton 21
About as close as expected and would have gone to overtime with a field goal at the gun.
On the week: 4-2
On the season: 32-14
Ivy League leaders, courtesy of the Ivy office:
RUSHING
145 — Jordan Culbreath, Princeton (11 carries)
133 — Mike McLeod, Yale (35)
114 — Cheng Ho, Harvard (15)
88 — Randy Barbour, Cornell (26)
81 — Chris Strickland, Brown (25)
PASSING
339 — Bryan Walker, Penn (36-for-60)
291 — Nathan Ford, Cornell (36-for-48)
238 — Michael Dougherty, Brown (24-for-39)
193 — Chris Pizzotti, Harvard (16-for-24)
153 — Craig Hormann, Columbia (17-for-30)
RECEIVING
141 — Braden Lepisto, Penn (10 catches)
115 — Bryan Walters, Cornell (10)
89 — Paul Raymond, Brown (9)
70 — Zac Canty, Cornell (8)
70 — Matt Luft, Harvard (4)
Casey Cramer '04 of the Tennessee Titans gets a little attention from SilverandBlack.com heading into his game against the Raiders. From the preview: "FB Casey Cramer could be a factor against Oakland if he plays ahead of Quinton Ganther. FB Ahmard Hall (arm) is out. Ganther was up last week as insurance behind both Hall, who was coming off a concussion, and rookie running back Chris Henry. But since Henry did reasonably well filling in for Chris Brown, the Titans could go with Cramer against the Raiders."
Anthony Gargiulo '05 had two tackles yesterday for the Calgary Stampeders in a 33-32 home loss to Montreal.
Harvard tailback Cheng Ho has one of the most unusual and most inspiring stories in college football. The Augusta Chronicle writes about the Crimson runner who came to the U.S., when he was 12 and unable to speak "a lick" of English. He ran for 114 yards on 15 carries yesterday.
The Ivy League (and Dartmouth opponent) roundup with a few thoughts:
Brown 31, Pennsylvania 17
Green Alert prediction: Brown 24, Penn 21
The surprise wasn't so much that Brown was able to score points but that Penn didn't score more. Penn's epic game against Yale, like Ali-Frazier, might have taken something out of both sides. (See next game)
Yale 28, Columbia 7
Green Alert prediction: Yale 35, Columbia 10
You know you've got it going when you win by three touchdowns and people wonder what's wrong. Ditto for Mike McLeod who ran for only 133 yards.
Holy Cross 45, Bucknell 21
Green Alert prediction: Holy Cross 45, Bucknell 14
Argh! So close to the first perfect score of the year. The Crusaders have one of the best offenses this side of UNH.
Colgate 36, Lafayette 27
Green Alert prediction: Lafayette 21, Colgate 14
The thoughts here were that the Leopards have one of the top defenses around and Colgate struggles a little offensively. Wrong and wrong.
New Hampshire 49, Rhode Island 36
Green Alert prediction: UNH 38, Rhode Island 21
Ricky Santos passed for 419 yards and five touchdowns and ran for another. Ho hum.
And once again, from Friday night ...
Princeton 34, Cornell 31
Green Alert prediction: Cornell 28, Princeton 21
About as close as expected and would have gone to overtime with a field goal at the gun.
On the week: 4-2
On the season: 32-14
Ivy League leaders, courtesy of the Ivy office:
RUSHING
145 — Jordan Culbreath, Princeton (11 carries)
133 — Mike McLeod, Yale (35)
114 — Cheng Ho, Harvard (15)
88 — Randy Barbour, Cornell (26)
81 — Chris Strickland, Brown (25)
PASSING
339 — Bryan Walker, Penn (36-for-60)
291 — Nathan Ford, Cornell (36-for-48)
238 — Michael Dougherty, Brown (24-for-39)
193 — Chris Pizzotti, Harvard (16-for-24)
153 — Craig Hormann, Columbia (17-for-30)
RECEIVING
141 — Braden Lepisto, Penn (10 catches)
115 — Bryan Walters, Cornell (10)
89 — Paul Raymond, Brown (9)
70 — Zac Canty, Cornell (8)
70 — Matt Luft, Harvard (4)
Casey Cramer '04 of the Tennessee Titans gets a little attention from SilverandBlack.com heading into his game against the Raiders. From the preview: "FB Casey Cramer could be a factor against Oakland if he plays ahead of Quinton Ganther. FB Ahmard Hall (arm) is out. Ganther was up last week as insurance behind both Hall, who was coming off a concussion, and rookie running back Chris Henry. But since Henry did reasonably well filling in for Chris Brown, the Titans could go with Cramer against the Raiders."
Anthony Gargiulo '05 had two tackles yesterday for the Calgary Stampeders in a 33-32 home loss to Montreal.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Dartmouth-Harvard Notes
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 27, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- It probably wasn’t the question Buddy Teevens wanted to hear but he had to know it was coming.
With sophomore Alex Jenny (8-of-19 for 135 yards and two touchdowns) suffering three interceptions and senior Tom Bennewitz (5-for-7 for 36 yards) breathing life into the Dartmouth attack before tossing a desperation pick of his own, what is the status of the quarterback position?
Will Jenny, who played so well last week against Columbia, get his second start Saturday against Cornell? Or did Bennewitz do enough to win back the starting role?
Click here to read the story
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 27, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- It probably wasn’t the question Buddy Teevens wanted to hear but he had to know it was coming.
With sophomore Alex Jenny (8-of-19 for 135 yards and two touchdowns) suffering three interceptions and senior Tom Bennewitz (5-for-7 for 36 yards) breathing life into the Dartmouth attack before tossing a desperation pick of his own, what is the status of the quarterback position?
Will Jenny, who played so well last week against Columbia, get his second start Saturday against Cornell? Or did Bennewitz do enough to win back the starting role?
Click here to read the story
Harvard 28, Dartmouth 21
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 27, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Moral victory?
If that's what you are selling, Justin Cottrell isn't buying.
Although a 28-21 loss to Harvard (5-2 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) that wasn’t sealed until an interception inside of the last two minutes probably earned Dartmouth (2-5, 2-2) points with its fans and others around the Ivy League, it didn’t sit well with the Big Green’s standout linebacker.
“We weren’t, by any means, just trying to hang with them,” Cottrell said. “We came into this game with every intention of beating them. I thought we had every opportunity to. It just didn’t go that way.”
Read the full story on Green Alert Premium.
(And check back about 10 p.m. eastern for the Dartmouth-Harvard sidebar.)
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 27, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Moral victory?
If that's what you are selling, Justin Cottrell isn't buying.
Although a 28-21 loss to Harvard (5-2 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) that wasn’t sealed until an interception inside of the last two minutes probably earned Dartmouth (2-5, 2-2) points with its fans and others around the Ivy League, it didn’t sit well with the Big Green’s standout linebacker.
“We weren’t, by any means, just trying to hang with them,” Cottrell said. “We came into this game with every intention of beating them. I thought we had every opportunity to. It just didn’t go that way.”
Read the full story on Green Alert Premium.
(And check back about 10 p.m. eastern for the Dartmouth-Harvard sidebar.)
On To Harvard
It's back down to Cambridge (make that Boston, sorry Allston) today for Dartmouth-Harvard. The weather forecast is calling for "rain" to turn to "light rain" at 1 p.m. Chance of precipitation at kickoff: 70 percent. Temperature: 65. Hey, at least it won't be cold.
The Boston Herald leads off its New England previews with a look at Harvard-Dartmouth. Crimson coach Tim Murphy (10-3 lifetime against Dartmouth), had this to say:
Former Harvard quarterback Vin Ferrara has developed a new football helmet that uses a type of air bubble instead of foam as a shock absorber. It hasn't been put into play yet but has tested well and is receiving good reviews. The New York Times has a story. ... The helmet sensor technology Dartmouth is using is the subject of this story.
The Boston Herald leads off its New England previews with a look at Harvard-Dartmouth. Crimson coach Tim Murphy (10-3 lifetime against Dartmouth), had this to say:
It’s another big rivalry game for us. We’re very fortunate to have won nine of the last 10, but it’s getting tougher and tougher.Ivy action actually kicked off last night with Princeton holding off Cornell, 34-31, before an ESPNU audience. Jordan Culbreath, who had run nine times for 62 yards before last night, exploded for 145 yards on 11 carries for the Tigers. Cornell lined up for a 48-yard field goal with five seconds remaining and appeared to have made the kick but Princeton coach Roger Hughes, taking a page from Mike Shanahan's book, had called timeout just before kick. Then he called another timeout. When the kick that counted finally went up an announcer got to say those two words Bobby Bowden came to hate: "wide right."
Former Harvard quarterback Vin Ferrara has developed a new football helmet that uses a type of air bubble instead of foam as a shock absorber. It hasn't been put into play yet but has tested well and is receiving good reviews. The New York Times has a story. ... The helmet sensor technology Dartmouth is using is the subject of this story.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Dartmouth Jayvees Fall To Harvard
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 26, 2007
CAMBRIDGE -- The junior varsity football game at Harvard Friday afternoon started badly and ended worse for Dartmouth, although a handful or so of outstanding individual performances took the sting -- some of it, at least -- out of a 54-13 loss.
Harvard got a 29-yard touchdown pass on its first play from scrimmage, reached the end zone on all five possessions while building a 31-7 lead at the half, and capped the day’s scoring by recovering an errant snap and running it into the end zone with exactly one minute remaining to put the finishing touches on an overwhelming victory.
Check out Green Alert Premium to read the complete recap.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 26, 2007
CAMBRIDGE -- The junior varsity football game at Harvard Friday afternoon started badly and ended worse for Dartmouth, although a handful or so of outstanding individual performances took the sting -- some of it, at least -- out of a 54-13 loss.
Harvard got a 29-yard touchdown pass on its first play from scrimmage, reached the end zone on all five possessions while building a 31-7 lead at the half, and capped the day’s scoring by recovering an errant snap and running it into the end zone with exactly one minute remaining to put the finishing touches on an overwhelming victory.
Check out Green Alert Premium to read the complete recap.
Harvard Preview
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 26, 2007
CAMBRIDGE -- Mass. -- Judging by the poll off to the right, most Dartmouth fans are taking a wait-and-see attitude about where the team stands right now.
These are Ivy League fans. They aren’t stupid.
Last week’s win over Columbia was much-needed and well-received, but in the interest of honesty, the Lions can challenge you with a pretty good passing game but struggle elewhere.
Harvard, meanwhile, can challenge you just about everywhere you look.
For the full preview, visit Green Alert premium.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 26, 2007
CAMBRIDGE -- Mass. -- Judging by the poll off to the right, most Dartmouth fans are taking a wait-and-see attitude about where the team stands right now.
These are Ivy League fans. They aren’t stupid.
Last week’s win over Columbia was much-needed and well-received, but in the interest of honesty, the Lions can challenge you with a pretty good passing game but struggle elewhere.
Harvard, meanwhile, can challenge you just about everywhere you look.
For the full preview, visit Green Alert premium.
Fearful Forecast: Week Seven
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 26, 2007
CAMBRIDGE -- As it turned out I was all worried about last week's picks for no reason. I got them all correct except for Cornell's win over Brown and it took a tremendous comeback for the Big Red to win that one.
Lest all that worrying go to waste, I'll apply it to this weeks' games because there are three of them that are hunches at best.
Click here to read the picks
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 26, 2007
CAMBRIDGE -- As it turned out I was all worried about last week's picks for no reason. I got them all correct except for Cornell's win over Brown and it took a tremendous comeback for the Big Red to win that one.
Lest all that worrying go to waste, I'll apply it to this weeks' games because there are three of them that are hunches at best.
Click here to read the picks
App State, Kentucky, Stanford ... And Dartmouth?
From the Harvard Crimson:
The Daily Pennsylvanian has an overview of league games without predictions here.
Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher was asked at his weekly press conference whether he would use two tight ends with his starting fullback out. His answer:
For the past week, each time members of the Harvard football team (4-2, 3-0 Ivy) set foot in the locker room, a glaring set of scores stared back at them:Elsewhere, the Harvard Crimson's always entertaining weekly roundup predicts a final score of Harvard 34, Dartmouth 17. The column includes these thoughts:
APPALACHIAN STATE 34, MICHIGAN 32
KENTUCKY 43, LSU 37
STANFORD 24, USC 23
DARTMOUTH 30, HARVARD 16
In a year riddled with upsets in college football, Harvard does not want to be the next added to the list.
The final score posted in the locker room comes not from this year but from 2003, when Harvard faced off against Dartmouth (2-4, 2-1 Ivy) in a similar situation—leading the Ivy League, approaching important games and facing an underdog opponent.
Last week’s 37-point showing versus Columbia notwithstanding, the Big Green offense, without a top-10 rusher or a top-10 receiver, and with mediocre quarterbacks Tom Bennewitz and Alexander Jenny splitting time under center, is simply overmatched.And ...
Poor Dartmouth, which enters the Harvard game with a winning league record for only the second time in 10 years, will soon return to the more familiar climes of .500 and below.Today's Daily Dartmouth considers how the Big Green might finish out the season. From The D:
It appears like the highest attainable outcome for 2007 Big Green football is a third-place Ivy finish that would give the team claim to the title “best of the rest” — a realistic goal that, if achieved, would classify as a breakthrough that could jump start a return to prominence for the long-lagging program.(We don't hear much from the Dartmouth Review anymore. In case you were wondering what the paper had to say leading up to the Homecoming game, you can find a story here.)
Regrettably, the team’s pursuit of said breakthrough begins against a squad on the superior side of the aforementioned dichotomy, Harvard, this Saturday. That’s not to say our boys don’t have a shot — but it’s safe to assume, judging from its season to date, that victory is still a longshot for Dartmouth.
The Daily Pennsylvanian has an overview of league games without predictions here.
Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher was asked at his weekly press conference whether he would use two tight ends with his starting fullback out. His answer:
“We’ve got confidence – Casey (Cramer) has done it before and Bo (Scaife) has done it before. So it’s a part of our offense. But just because Ahmard’s not there, it’s not going to push us out of that personnel group. ”And finally, check Green Alert Premium tonight for stats and a capsule look at today's Dartmouth-Harvard junior varsity game in Cambridge. Green Alert will also have the regular weekly Fearful Forecast predictions of games featuring Dartmouth opponents as well as a preview of Dartmouth-Harvard.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Thursday's Practice Story Posted
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 25, 2007
HANOVER -- Curt Oberg led the Dartmouth football team in rushing in 1975 and again in 1977. He graduated in 1978 as the Big Green’s third all-time leading rusher and is still seventh in school annals for career run yardage.
When Oberg came back to his alma mater as a volunteer coach before the 2005 season, he came in confident he knew the game of college football, and he did. What he didn’t know, he discovered soon enough, was the game of college coaching.
“It’s much more complicated than I ever thought,” Oberg said after Thursday’s practice on Memorial Field. “There’s so much to it I never knew about.”
Including, he said, the tremendous amount of time and effort that goes into creating and finalizing a game-plan.
If that process was an eye-opener to someone with a background like Oberg had, it might be instructive for the rest of us to learn a little more about how just how a game-plan is developed.
To read more, visit Green Alert Premium.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 25, 2007
HANOVER -- Curt Oberg led the Dartmouth football team in rushing in 1975 and again in 1977. He graduated in 1978 as the Big Green’s third all-time leading rusher and is still seventh in school annals for career run yardage.
When Oberg came back to his alma mater as a volunteer coach before the 2005 season, he came in confident he knew the game of college football, and he did. What he didn’t know, he discovered soon enough, was the game of college coaching.
“It’s much more complicated than I ever thought,” Oberg said after Thursday’s practice on Memorial Field. “There’s so much to it I never knew about.”
Including, he said, the tremendous amount of time and effort that goes into creating and finalizing a game-plan.
If that process was an eye-opener to someone with a background like Oberg had, it might be instructive for the rest of us to learn a little more about how just how a game-plan is developed.
To read more, visit Green Alert Premium.
Gearing Up For Harvard
Find the Dartmouth sports information office preview of Saturday's game at Harvard here. Coach Buddy Teevens in that release:
Steve Christian, a 6-foot, 175 defensive back from Sacramento, had been wearing a T-shirt that said, "Stanford Bound." Now he's expanded his horizons according to this story. In addition to Harvard and Yale (and Stanford, of course) a certain school in New Hampshire is now on his radar.
Harvard's game notes for Saturday can be found here. ... Crimson quarterback Chris Pizzotti won the weekly New England Football Writer’s/Boston Globe Division I Gold Helmet Award for his play against Princeton last week. (I'll be the selector for that award this week.) ... Harvard has started posting blogs from a few athletes including junior defensive tackle Carl Ehrlich. Find his blog here. ...
In anticipation of his delayed induction into the college football hall of fame in December, the folks down at Brown have turned out a story on the playing career of a former quarterback there named Joe Paterno. (Whatever happened to that guy?) The story reprises the famous quote:
"They are tough to run against and their secondary may be the best in the league. They are very good on both sides of the football and it’s a great challenge for us and a great opportunity as well."Want to purchase a photo of a Dartmouth player or coach? The college is offering pictures from 5x7 on up. The available football photos can be found here.
Steve Christian, a 6-foot, 175 defensive back from Sacramento, had been wearing a T-shirt that said, "Stanford Bound." Now he's expanded his horizons according to this story. In addition to Harvard and Yale (and Stanford, of course) a certain school in New Hampshire is now on his radar.
Harvard's game notes for Saturday can be found here. ... Crimson quarterback Chris Pizzotti won the weekly New England Football Writer’s/Boston Globe Division I Gold Helmet Award for his play against Princeton last week. (I'll be the selector for that award this week.) ... Harvard has started posting blogs from a few athletes including junior defensive tackle Carl Ehrlich. Find his blog here. ...
In anticipation of his delayed induction into the college football hall of fame in December, the folks down at Brown have turned out a story on the playing career of a former quarterback there named Joe Paterno. (Whatever happened to that guy?) The story reprises the famous quote:
“Paterno, the Brown quarterback — he can’t run, and he can’t pass. All he can do is think and win.”
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Wednesday Practice Report Posted
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 24, 2007
HANOVER -- The celebration of past Ivy League championships was all the motivation former coach Jack Crouthamel needed to travel up to Dartmouth from his Cape Cod retirement home for each of the past two games on Memorial Field.
It turned out Crouthamel hasn’t been the only one of Buddy Teevens’ former coaches to look in on how the Big Green is doing this fall.
To read more, visit Green Alert Premium.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 24, 2007
HANOVER -- The celebration of past Ivy League championships was all the motivation former coach Jack Crouthamel needed to travel up to Dartmouth from his Cape Cod retirement home for each of the past two games on Memorial Field.
It turned out Crouthamel hasn’t been the only one of Buddy Teevens’ former coaches to look in on how the Big Green is doing this fall.
To read more, visit Green Alert Premium.
Of Polls And Rankings
On the College Sporting News site The Gridiron Power Index is described as, "the hybrid ranking for FCS and top index indicator of at-large playoff selection." Wonder what last week's win did for Dartmouth in the index, which uses 11 different rankings and polls to create one master ranking?
The Big Green went from No. 79 to No. 71.
Rankings of Ivy teams (along with Dartmouth's 2007 opponents):
7-New Hampshire
10-Yale
19-Holy Cross
29-Harvard
47-Cornell
48-Colgate
70-Penn
71-Dartmouth
75-Brown
88-Princeton
110-Columbia
(Note: 122 teams are ranked with Northern Iowa No. 1 and LaSalle No. 122.)
Here's the neighborhood Dartmouth resides in this week:
66T-Northwestern St
66T-SE Louisiana
68-Lafayette
69-Weber St
70-Penn
71-Dartmouth
72-Tennessee St
73T-Idaho St
73T-Sacramento St
75-Brown
76 -Alabama St
Former Dartmouth sports information director Jack DeGange's informative football program story on College Football Hall of Famer Reggie Williams '76 can be found here.
A columnist from The Dartmouth laments the tailgating situation around Memorial Field. He makes some good points. Of course, Penn Stater that I am I got a laugh out of this: "For a 12:30 p.m. football game, you reasonably need to start tailgating around 11 a.m. (or at least the people grilling do) ..." In Happy Valley the only folks who start tailgating around 11 a.m., are the ones who start on Friday. Or Thursday.
The good news for the Dartmouth football team at Harvard Saturday is it won't be facing the quarterback who won the starting job coming out of the Crimson's preseason camp. The bad news is the guy who replaced him when he got hurt is pretty good. As the Crimson wrote about Chris Pizzotti, "The senior threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-10 victory, a performance that vaulted him into the Crimson record books."
A Yale Daily writer was intrigued by the estimated 30,000 pieces of toast (and bagels) tossed from the Franklin Field stands during Penn's Homecoming game against the Yalies Saturday.
Speaking of Yale, the Bulldogs beat the Quakers down in Philly, but they got battered and spent in the process according to this story.
The Columbia Spectator has a story about the fund raising push for the school's athletic department. The story says, "Two weeks ago, the department unveiled its groundbreaking initiative toward providing a solution for the University’s storied athletic futility." (You have to know they loved that "storied athletic futility part," in the athletic offices ;-) ... An editorial in the Spectator ruminates about the initiative.
With the Tennessee Titans fullback out for a month or so with a broken forearm, this story suggests Casey Cramer '04 is being considered as one of his fill-ins.
And finally, having a big league team nearby can have nice dividends. The Penn baseball stadium will be the first north of the Mason-Dixon Line to have Patriot Bermudagrass, a variation of bermudagrass that grows only in the south, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian. The Philadelphia Phillies are considering going to the Patriot variety and are helping install it at Penn to see how it works for baseball. The story says northern college and pro football teams (including the Philadelphia Eagles) already play on the stuff.
The Big Green went from No. 79 to No. 71.
Rankings of Ivy teams (along with Dartmouth's 2007 opponents):
7-New Hampshire
10-Yale
19-Holy Cross
29-Harvard
47-Cornell
48-Colgate
70-Penn
71-Dartmouth
75-Brown
88-Princeton
110-Columbia
(Note: 122 teams are ranked with Northern Iowa No. 1 and LaSalle No. 122.)
Here's the neighborhood Dartmouth resides in this week:
66T-Northwestern St
66T-SE Louisiana
68-Lafayette
69-Weber St
70-Penn
71-Dartmouth
72-Tennessee St
73T-Idaho St
73T-Sacramento St
75-Brown
76 -Alabama St
Former Dartmouth sports information director Jack DeGange's informative football program story on College Football Hall of Famer Reggie Williams '76 can be found here.
A columnist from The Dartmouth laments the tailgating situation around Memorial Field. He makes some good points. Of course, Penn Stater that I am I got a laugh out of this: "For a 12:30 p.m. football game, you reasonably need to start tailgating around 11 a.m. (or at least the people grilling do) ..." In Happy Valley the only folks who start tailgating around 11 a.m., are the ones who start on Friday. Or Thursday.
The good news for the Dartmouth football team at Harvard Saturday is it won't be facing the quarterback who won the starting job coming out of the Crimson's preseason camp. The bad news is the guy who replaced him when he got hurt is pretty good. As the Crimson wrote about Chris Pizzotti, "The senior threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-10 victory, a performance that vaulted him into the Crimson record books."
A Yale Daily writer was intrigued by the estimated 30,000 pieces of toast (and bagels) tossed from the Franklin Field stands during Penn's Homecoming game against the Yalies Saturday.
Speaking of Yale, the Bulldogs beat the Quakers down in Philly, but they got battered and spent in the process according to this story.
The Columbia Spectator has a story about the fund raising push for the school's athletic department. The story says, "Two weeks ago, the department unveiled its groundbreaking initiative toward providing a solution for the University’s storied athletic futility." (You have to know they loved that "storied athletic futility part," in the athletic offices ;-) ... An editorial in the Spectator ruminates about the initiative.
With the Tennessee Titans fullback out for a month or so with a broken forearm, this story suggests Casey Cramer '04 is being considered as one of his fill-ins.
And finally, having a big league team nearby can have nice dividends. The Penn baseball stadium will be the first north of the Mason-Dixon Line to have Patriot Bermudagrass, a variation of bermudagrass that grows only in the south, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian. The Philadelphia Phillies are considering going to the Patriot variety and are helping install it at Penn to see how it works for baseball. The story says northern college and pro football teams (including the Philadelphia Eagles) already play on the stuff.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tuesday's Practice Story Posted
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 23, 2007
HANOVER -- In the warm afterglow of Saturday’s 37-28 win over Columbia, Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens had no trouble reeling off a list of players who stepped up to help the Big Green improve to 2-1 in the Ivy League.
Although the laundry list of players Teevens mentioned was almost as long as a list of those he didn’t, it was only as he reviewed the game film that he realized he left one of the most important performers out. The one largely responsible for one of the turning points of the game: the fourth quarter safety.
That player was ...
Visit Green Alert Premium to find out.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 23, 2007
HANOVER -- In the warm afterglow of Saturday’s 37-28 win over Columbia, Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens had no trouble reeling off a list of players who stepped up to help the Big Green improve to 2-1 in the Ivy League.
Although the laundry list of players Teevens mentioned was almost as long as a list of those he didn’t, it was only as he reviewed the game film that he realized he left one of the most important performers out. The one largely responsible for one of the turning points of the game: the fourth quarter safety.
That player was ...
Visit Green Alert Premium to find out.
Safety School
A couple of profiles of Dartmouth safeties you might have missed: Allen Lessels wrote this very nice program story on senior Ian Wilson. I freelanced this shorter Big Green Sports News piece on senior John Pircon. ...Today's Daily Dartmouth has an interesting story about Josh Drake, Dartmouth Superfan. The story suggests, "Drake is an island in a largely apathetic sea of spectators." If that's a little less so these days he's one reason why. ...
The Ivy League has posted its weekly game previews. Dartmouth-Harvard is here. Once again, the preview touches quickly on the childhood friendship of Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens and Harvard coach Tim Murphy. ...
The Daily Pennsylvanian has a roundup of sorts from the Ivy football weekend. Of the Dartmouth game is says, "One pass into the game, Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens had seen enough." In fact, it wasn't anything Tom Bennewitz did wrong in the first series but what Alex Jenny did right in the second that played into the decision to keep Jenny on the field according to Teevens. The quarterbacks had been slated to split the first two series all week.
A 5-11, 205 New Hampshire high school running back is on Dartmouth's radar according to this story. He's also getting interest from Bowdoin but the story says nothing about UNH. ... Speaking of the state university, quarterback Ricky Santos (remember him?) is the College Sporting News Offensive Player of the Week nationally. The CSN story reports that Santos was, "devastatingly effective against the No. 10 team in the nation, connecting on 19 of 23 passes for 282 yards in two and a half quarters of work and connecting on a 47 yard bomb to put up the final points on the afternoon. Santos is currently ranked third nationally in the FCS in completion percentage at 73.63%." Nothing new there. ...
A writer for the Columbia Spectator is handing out his X-factor awards. I particularly like how he chooses the winners. He writes: "The criterion to receive one of these illustrious distinctions is that the recipient must play Ivy League football and catch my attention."
And finally, did you see that Elon knocked off No. 7 Wofford last Saturday? I'll bet a few people down in Bethlehem, Pa., took notice. See, Elon is coached by Pete Lembo, the onetime Dartmouth assistant who had a 44-14 record at Lehigh from 2001-05. While Lembo's Phoenix (5-2) was rising to No. 16 in the Sports Network poll his old school was dropping to 0-2 in the Patriot League and 3-4 overall with a 59-10 loss to Holy Cross.
Out of curiosity, I went back to see how the Elon and Lehigh records compared with and without Lembo:
2001: Elon 2-9; Lehigh (11-1 in Lembo's first year)
2002: Elon 4-7; Lehigh 8-4 (Lembo)
2003: Elon 2-10; Lehigh 8-3 (Lembo)
2004: Elon 3-8; Lehigh 9-3 (Lembo)
2005: Elon 3-8; Lehigh 8-3 (Lembo)
2006: Elon 5-6 (Lembo); Lehigh 5-6
2006: Elon 5-2 (Lembo); Lehigh 3-4
A final note: I spoke with Lembo a while back and he expressed an interest in perhaps playing Dartmouth at some point.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Optimist-Pessimist After Columbia
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 22, 2007
HANOVER -- The Optimist was smiling from ear to ear on his way out of Memorial Field after Saturday’s 37-28 win over Columbia.
The Pessimist was flashing a little enamel too, and make no mistake about it, that had the other guy worried.
Click here to read the full story
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 22, 2007
HANOVER -- The Optimist was smiling from ear to ear on his way out of Memorial Field after Saturday’s 37-28 win over Columbia.
The Pessimist was flashing a little enamel too, and make no mistake about it, that had the other guy worried.
Click here to read the full story
Cottrell, Jenny Honored
Senior linebacker Justin Cottrell and sophomore quarterback Alex Jenny have been named to the Ivy League honor roll for their play in Saturday's 37-28 victory over Columbia. From the Ivy League release:
The Ivy League rookie of the week was Columbia freshman receiver Nico Gutierrez, who had five catches -- including a couple of highlight reel grabs -- for 132 yards. With soph Austin Knowlin and Gutierrez the Lions have the foundation for what can be a terrific receiving corps over the next few years.
Senior linebacker Justin Cottrell (Somers Point, N.J.) was the foundation of the defense in a 37-28 victory over Columbia. The captain had eight total tackles, including five solo, as well as a sack. And his fourth-quarter interception enabled the Big Green to hold onto a 28-21 lead.and ...
Dartmouth sophomore quarterback Alex Jenny (Wayland, Mass.) effectively moved the Big Green to a season-high five touchdown game, completing 14-of-23 passes for 189 yards without an interception. Jenny entered the game on the Big Green's second offensive series and enjoyed the most sustained action of his career.A well-deserved honor for both.
The Ivy League rookie of the week was Columbia freshman receiver Nico Gutierrez, who had five catches -- including a couple of highlight reel grabs -- for 132 yards. With soph Austin Knowlin and Gutierrez the Lions have the foundation for what can be a terrific receiving corps over the next few years.
Monday Morning Wrapup
Monday morning brings game stories on Saturday's Homecoming victory over Columbia in the Daily Dartmouth and in the Columbia Spectator. ... Jake Novak over at the Roar Lions Roar blog analyzes the game from the Columbia perspective and refers to is as a "missed opportunity."
The Daily D has a story about Homecoming weekend that makes mention of the change in school policy regardings students rushing the field. Reviews appear to be mixed on the college actually inviting freshmen down to the turf at halftime. Several students made an unplanned rush of the field but at least one didn't get the "rush" he hoped for. He told The D: “I was kind of looking forward a little police chase, but nobody chased us. Some kid tripped on the way getting out, and nobody did anything.”
The Duluth News Tribune has a very nice story about Dartmouth offensive lineman Tim Wheeler with some great quotes from linemate Jared Dowdakin. The story points out that with five letters in alpine skiing, Wheeler fits right in with an unusually athletic front line. He tells the paper:
OK, here's a scenario the DP might consider if Penn (1-2 Ivy) can win out:
There is a wrench in the works, of course. ;-)
If the rest of the scenario holds true and Dartmouth follows an upset over Harvard by beating Cornell, Brown and Princeton (with two of the three at home), Harvard and Yale would both be 5-2. And Dartmouth would be Ivy League champion at 6-1. Should Dartmouth beat Harvard but stumble in one of the final three games -- while the rest of the scenario was taking place -- there could be a four-way tie for the title at 5-2.
It all starts up again for Dartmouth this week at Harvard where defensive back Steven Williams picked off two more passes last week to raise his season total to six. He needs one more to tie a 59-year-old school record of 14 picks in a career and two more to tie the school's single-season record. Williams, by the way, is part of what The Crimson calls, "the best secondary Harvard fans have seen in years, which boasts three of the top four defenders in the Ivy League in pass breakups—and that doesn’t even include preseason All-American Andrew Berry."
It won't be easy for the Big Green, but the Harvard Crimson story includes a little prime bulletin-board material that can't hurt:
The Daily D has a story about Homecoming weekend that makes mention of the change in school policy regardings students rushing the field. Reviews appear to be mixed on the college actually inviting freshmen down to the turf at halftime. Several students made an unplanned rush of the field but at least one didn't get the "rush" he hoped for. He told The D: “I was kind of looking forward a little police chase, but nobody chased us. Some kid tripped on the way getting out, and nobody did anything.”
The Duluth News Tribune has a very nice story about Dartmouth offensive lineman Tim Wheeler with some great quotes from linemate Jared Dowdakin. The story points out that with five letters in alpine skiing, Wheeler fits right in with an unusually athletic front line. He tells the paper:
"Our starting center (Dowdakin) is 290 pounds and he made it to the Illinois state swim meet, and we had another lineman who was like a California state tennis champion."It's never over until it's over except, apparently, in Philadelphia. The Penn football team put up a terrific fight in a three-overtime game against unbeaten Yale Saturday but still came away with its second Ivy League loss. Mathematically, the Quakers are still alive, but the Daily Pennsylvanian has tossed in the towel, writing: "The Class of 1993 was the last team not to win an Ivy title in its four years. Now, the Class of 2008 has done it." ...
OK, here's a scenario the DP might consider if Penn (1-2 Ivy) can win out:
- Dartmouth stuns Harvard this week to drop the Crimson to 3-1.
- We'll concede Yale a win over Columbia to get to 4-0.
- Yale survives Brown's big passing game (not a sure thing) the next week to get to 5-0.
- Harvard gets by Columbia the same day to improve to 4-1.
- In Week 9, a Penn win in Cambridge drops the Crimson to 4-2.
- Princeton, meanwhile, salvages a disappointing season with a home win over Yale that drops the Bulldogs to 5-1.
- In Week 10, Harvard wins at the Bowl to give both teams a 5-2 record, the same as Penn.
There is a wrench in the works, of course. ;-)
If the rest of the scenario holds true and Dartmouth follows an upset over Harvard by beating Cornell, Brown and Princeton (with two of the three at home), Harvard and Yale would both be 5-2. And Dartmouth would be Ivy League champion at 6-1. Should Dartmouth beat Harvard but stumble in one of the final three games -- while the rest of the scenario was taking place -- there could be a four-way tie for the title at 5-2.
It all starts up again for Dartmouth this week at Harvard where defensive back Steven Williams picked off two more passes last week to raise his season total to six. He needs one more to tie a 59-year-old school record of 14 picks in a career and two more to tie the school's single-season record. Williams, by the way, is part of what The Crimson calls, "the best secondary Harvard fans have seen in years, which boasts three of the top four defenders in the Ivy League in pass breakups—and that doesn’t even include preseason All-American Andrew Berry."
It won't be easy for the Big Green, but the Harvard Crimson story includes a little prime bulletin-board material that can't hurt:
With perennial doormat Dartmouth in town next weekend, be sure to keep an eye on number two, arms open, waiting to make history.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Win Over Columbia Was A Rush
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 21, 2007
HANOVER -- Dartmouth’s 271 yards rushing against Columbia Saturday was made even more remarkable by the fact that season-rushing leader Milan Williams never left the sidelines.
Williams, who had 179 yards in the opener against Colgate, was held out as a safety precaution.
“He was cleared to play,” Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens said. “He just got banged up a little on Tuesday at practice, which obviously I’d prefer not to have happened. It was, ‘If we need you, we’re going to go with you.’
“(Holding Williams out) was the prudent thing to do and the other guys were performing well. We feel comfortable with all those guys. They all have the ability to move the football for us.”
Junior tailback Nate Servis ran for a career-high 130 yards, sophomore tailback Rob Mitchelson had 105 and short-yardage specialist Hudson Smythe bulldozed his way to three touchdowns as the Big Green registered its highest single-game rushing total in more than a decade.
To read the full story, visit Green Alert Premium.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 21, 2007
HANOVER -- Dartmouth’s 271 yards rushing against Columbia Saturday was made even more remarkable by the fact that season-rushing leader Milan Williams never left the sidelines.
Williams, who had 179 yards in the opener against Colgate, was held out as a safety precaution.
“He was cleared to play,” Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens said. “He just got banged up a little on Tuesday at practice, which obviously I’d prefer not to have happened. It was, ‘If we need you, we’re going to go with you.’
“(Holding Williams out) was the prudent thing to do and the other guys were performing well. We feel comfortable with all those guys. They all have the ability to move the football for us.”
Junior tailback Nate Servis ran for a career-high 130 yards, sophomore tailback Rob Mitchelson had 105 and short-yardage specialist Hudson Smythe bulldozed his way to three touchdowns as the Big Green registered its highest single-game rushing total in more than a decade.
To read the full story, visit Green Alert Premium.
Ivy Roundup Week Six
Those of you in town for Homecoming awoke this morning to find it an absolutely gorgeous day with crystal clear blue skies. Dartmouth fans in distant precincts where there's rain or fog today awoke this morning to find it an absolutely gorgeous day anyway. That's the way it is when you win on Homecoming.
For the Dartmouth sports information take on the Big Green's 37-28 win over Columbia, click here. For a take on the from the Columbia angle, click here.
Here are capsule reports on how Dartmouth's 2007 opponents fared and a comment about each game:
Yale 26, Pennsylvania 20, OT
Green Alert prediction: Yale 28, Penn 14
The Bulldogs' joy ride to the Ivy League championship hit a speed bump. The Elis survived, but they might be glad the Ivy League doesn't used instant replay. To find out why, check out the Sports Network story.
Harvard 27, Princeton 10
Green Alert prediction: Harvard 35, Princeton 21
The Crimson is better than expected. Princeton? It isn't.
Cornell 38, Brown 31, OT
Green Alert prediction: Brown 42, Cornell 24
Brown has plenty of firepower, but like Columbia, is struggling on defense. The Bears had a 31-14 lead in the third quarter.
New Hampshire 40, Hofstra 3
Green Alert prediction: UNH 38, Hofstra 28
Ricky Santos was 19-of-23 passes for 262 yards and four touchdowns against previously unbeaten Hofstra. Yawn.
Holy Cross 59, Lehigh 10
Green Alert prediction: Holy Cross 24, Lehigh 21
Dominic Randolph threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns. The Crusaders are for real.
Colgate 27, Towson 17
Green Alert prediction: Colgate 14, Towson 7
The Raiders aren't great this year, but they are good enough.
Ivy League leaders for the week, courtesy of the Ivy office:
RUSHING
159 — Randy Barbour, Cornell (32 carries)
147 — Mike McLeod, Yale (35)
130 — Nate Servis, Dartmouth (18)
113 — Cheng Ho, Harvard (24)
110 — Joe Sandberg, Penn (34)
105 — Rob Mitchelson, Dartmouth (19)
PASSING
365 — Chris Pizzotti, Harvard (23-of-35)
359 — Michael Dougherty, Brown (32-of-55)
329 — Craig Hormann, Columbia (19-of-28)
292 — Nathan Ford, Cornell (34-of-54)
189 — Alex Jenny, Dartmouth (14-of-23)
RECEIVING
132 — Buddy Farnham, Brown (11 catches)
132 — Nico Gutierrez, Columbia (5)
95 — Paul Raymond, Brown (7)
84 — Zac Canty, Cornell (10)
84 — Jason Miller, Harvard (3)
Check Green Alert tonight for a Columbia follow and come back tomorrow for another visit from The Optimist and The Pessimist.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Explaining The Quarterback Switch
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 20, 2007
HANOVER -- In his postgame remarks Saturday, Columbia coach Norries Wilson said he didn’t know why the Big Green switched from senior quarterback Tom Bennewitz to sophomore Alex Jenny after the first series Saturday, only that Jenny did a good job when called on.
A few minutes later Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens clarified his thinking in switching from Bennewitz, the starter for the first five games, to Jenny, who was seeing his first action with a game on the line.
For the full story, visit Green Alert Premium.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 20, 2007
HANOVER -- In his postgame remarks Saturday, Columbia coach Norries Wilson said he didn’t know why the Big Green switched from senior quarterback Tom Bennewitz to sophomore Alex Jenny after the first series Saturday, only that Jenny did a good job when called on.
A few minutes later Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens clarified his thinking in switching from Bennewitz, the starter for the first five games, to Jenny, who was seeing his first action with a game on the line.
For the full story, visit Green Alert Premium.
Dartmouth 37, Columbia 28
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 20, 2007
HANOVER -- OK class, let’s review a random checklist for Dartmouth’s game against Columbia on Homecoming Saturday.
The notes column will be coming later tonight.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 20, 2007
HANOVER -- OK class, let’s review a random checklist for Dartmouth’s game against Columbia on Homecoming Saturday.
- Get smart, effective play at quarterback? Check
- Win the turnover battle? Check.
- Perform well on special teams? Check.
- Pressure the quarterback? Check.
- Bend but don’t break in the secondary? Check.
- Dominate time of possession? Check.
- Make the big play when it has to be made? Check.
- Run the ball effectively? Check. Check. And checkmate.
The notes column will be coming later tonight.
Homecoming!
No matter where in the world you werelast night, you could have caught the action from the bonfire through the wonders of the Internet. As this picture taken off the web shows, the fire went on as scheduled ;-) despite a light rain that picked up in intensity as the night went on.Dartmouth is one of four teams putting 1-1 Ivy League records on the line today. Princeton is another of the four and as Craig Haley points out in the Trenton Times, if you have one loss you are playing in an elimination game today. He writes:
The last time the Ivy League was won with more than one loss was 25 years ago, when Dartmouth, Harvard and Penn each went 5-2 in 1982.In addition to Dartmouth and Princeton, Penn and Brown each have one loss. The standings:
Yale, 2-0, 5-0
Harvard, 2-0, 3-2
Pennsylvania, 1-1, 2-3
Princeton, 1-1, 2-3
Brown, 1-1, 2-3
Dartmouth, 1-1, 1-4
Cornell, 0-2, 3-2
Columbia, 0-2, 1-4
Today's Games:
Yale at Penn, noon
Columbia at Dartmouth, 12:30
Princeton at Harvard, 12:30
Brown at Cornell, 1 p.m.
Dartmouth's pro football players had successful weeks. Although his team lost to the Winnepeg Blue Bombers last night, 27-13, Calgary Stampeders defensive end Anthony Gargiulo had a successful return to the starting lineup. Anthony was second on the Stamps with four tackles and also had his fourth sack of the season.
Down in Tennessee, Titans coach Jeff Fisher was asked about fullback/tight end Casey Cramer playing for the first time this fall after battling knee and hamstring issues. Fisher said:
“We were fortunate to have Casey available when we lost (fullback) Ahmard (Hall). He was efficient. He was productive on special teams. He knew what to do and allowed us to sustain some packages offensively.”This release notes that former Dartmouth quarterback Jay Fiedler joined Kenny Rice and Kenny "Sky" Walker on the Kenny & Kenny Sports Show Plus -- a one-hour radio show -- in his role as co-owner of the East Kentucky Miners Continental Basketball Association team. If you'd like to listen, check these stations for web streaming. The show will be broadcast both today and tomorrow on these stations.
Off to Memorial Field shortly. The weather is perfect up here on the mountain with blue skies and 56 degrees. It's probably a little foggy down in the valley but it should be a terrific day to watch football.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Friday Afternoon Homecoming Scenes
The lettering went up Friday on Floren Varsity House, just in time for Homecoming.
Last minute paving and grass planting also took place Friday.
A display case honoring new College Football Hall of Fame inductee Reggie Williams sits in Alumni Gym.Big Green players loosen up with jumping jacks and a chant before Friday's pre-Homecoming walkthrough.
Columbia Preview Posted
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 19, 2007
HANOVER -- Columbia comes to town Saturday with a quarterback fresh off a 400-plus yard passing game, the nation’s 19th-ranked air attack and the receiver ranked second in the nation in yards per game.
Ho hum.
It’s just another day at the office for a Dartmouth defense that is eager to show it is far better than the numbers would suggest as the second half of the season commences.
For as impressive as Columbia quarterback Craig Hormann was last week (30-of-51 for 417 yards and two touchdowns through the air) and for as productive as sophomore receiver Austin Knowlin has been all season (124.4 yards per game, 7.8 catches), it’s hardly new ground for the Big Green.
Read the full story on Green Alert Premium
Also, check out the premium site for this week's picks.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 19, 2007
HANOVER -- Columbia comes to town Saturday with a quarterback fresh off a 400-plus yard passing game, the nation’s 19th-ranked air attack and the receiver ranked second in the nation in yards per game.
Ho hum.
It’s just another day at the office for a Dartmouth defense that is eager to show it is far better than the numbers would suggest as the second half of the season commences.
For as impressive as Columbia quarterback Craig Hormann was last week (30-of-51 for 417 yards and two touchdowns through the air) and for as productive as sophomore receiver Austin Knowlin has been all season (124.4 yards per game, 7.8 catches), it’s hardly new ground for the Big Green.
Read the full story on Green Alert Premium
Also, check out the premium site for this week's picks.
Scenes From a Practice
When the season hits the midway point shadows grow long as this picture shot during an unseasonably warm practice on Memorial Field earlier this week shows. (click to enlarge) 
The automated awnings on Floren Varsity House come in handy when the sun gets low over the east stands.
The automated awnings on Floren Varsity House come in handy when the sun gets low over the east stands.
Dartmouth-Columbia Press
The nice thing about playing Penn and Columbia is there's always extensive pregame and game coverage in the school newspapers. Today's Columbia Spectator features three stories on Saturday's Homecoming game in Hanover.
In a story headlined, Lions Set to Kickoff at Green, Columbia head coach Norries Wilson says of Dartmouth, “They’re no slouch team.” That's followed by this editorial comment:
Editor's Note: As of 8:45 a.m., The Dartmouth site wasn't working. It's safe to assume there will be some kind of football story in this week.
The Harvard Crimson takes a look at this weekend's games and calls the Columbia-Dartmouth game, "The dregs of the conference." That despite the fact that at 1-1 in the Ivy League, Dartmouth is tied for third in the league standings. The Crimson's prediction: Dartmouth 31, Columbia 17.
The Daily Pennsylvanian also backhands both teams in its look at Saturday's games. From the DP: "Leave it to Columbia to give Dartmouth another ego boost."
The Princetonian notes that Harvard and Princeton are playing for the 100th time Saturday and that got me wondering if Dartmouth were nearing a century celebration with any opponent. The answer: no. One was passed a decade ago, and several others are a decade or so away.
Dartmouth's games against 2007 opponents heading into this season:
Harvard-110
Yale-90
Cornell-90
Princeton-86
Brown-84
Columbia-77
Penn-74
Holy Cross-70
UNH-34
Colgate-21
Any Given Saturday is THE place for discussion of FCS (formerly I-AA) football. For a modest fee, donors from a particular school step up and help sponsor a well-moderated and informative message board for a month. For the first time since I've been visiting, an Ivy school has seized the opportunity. As the headline says, OCTOBER IS YALE MONTH AT AGS!!! A lot of fans (and potential recruits/recruit families) across the country visit the site and whoever stepped up for Yale is getting nice exposure for his/her buck.
Green Alert Take: November is sold out but would be kinda cool if someone from Dartmouth stepped forward so that DECEMBER IS DARTMOUTH MONTH AT AGS!!! (Check out the link; someone from Yale has been posting all kinds of information that -- hopefully -- is convincing people who look down on the Ivies that they play real football in the Ancient Eight.) ... If I'm reading the info correctly, the cost is just $215. You can find out how to do it here.
That certain Hanover High sophomore emailed me a link to this story about the Harvard fullback hoping for a career in opera yesterday from school. The AP had a short story; this is the full Boston Globe bylined piece. From the story:
In a story headlined, Lions Set to Kickoff at Green, Columbia head coach Norries Wilson says of Dartmouth, “They’re no slouch team.” That's followed by this editorial comment:
Dartmouth doesn’t pose any unique challenge to Columbia, however, which means the Lions—1-4 at the midpoint of their season—might be able to focus more on getting their game plan back on track as opposed to taking down any element of Dartmouth’s.A story under the headline, Lions Need Pride Against Green, includes these thoughts about the two 1-4 teams:
Maybe it’s the same old Columbia after all.and ...
Dartmouth isn’t exactly a contender itself; its last two losses have been by 40 and 36 points, respectively. This means the Big Green will make mistakes, and if there’s one thing Columbia can do when it believes in itself, it is punishing the opposition’s miscues.The third story is headlined, Bennewitz Leads Shaky Offense, and notes that despite the graduation of quarterback Mike Fritz and leading receiver Ryan Fuselier, "... the Big Green has managed to field an offense that, while certainly nowhere near the best in the Ivy League, has given the team a modicum of stability throughout the season."
Editor's Note: As of 8:45 a.m., The Dartmouth site wasn't working. It's safe to assume there will be some kind of football story in this week.
The Harvard Crimson takes a look at this weekend's games and calls the Columbia-Dartmouth game, "The dregs of the conference." That despite the fact that at 1-1 in the Ivy League, Dartmouth is tied for third in the league standings. The Crimson's prediction: Dartmouth 31, Columbia 17.
The Daily Pennsylvanian also backhands both teams in its look at Saturday's games. From the DP: "Leave it to Columbia to give Dartmouth another ego boost."
The Princetonian notes that Harvard and Princeton are playing for the 100th time Saturday and that got me wondering if Dartmouth were nearing a century celebration with any opponent. The answer: no. One was passed a decade ago, and several others are a decade or so away.
Dartmouth's games against 2007 opponents heading into this season:
Harvard-110
Yale-90
Cornell-90
Princeton-86
Brown-84
Columbia-77
Penn-74
Holy Cross-70
UNH-34
Colgate-21
Any Given Saturday is THE place for discussion of FCS (formerly I-AA) football. For a modest fee, donors from a particular school step up and help sponsor a well-moderated and informative message board for a month. For the first time since I've been visiting, an Ivy school has seized the opportunity. As the headline says, OCTOBER IS YALE MONTH AT AGS!!! A lot of fans (and potential recruits/recruit families) across the country visit the site and whoever stepped up for Yale is getting nice exposure for his/her buck.
Green Alert Take: November is sold out but would be kinda cool if someone from Dartmouth stepped forward so that DECEMBER IS DARTMOUTH MONTH AT AGS!!! (Check out the link; someone from Yale has been posting all kinds of information that -- hopefully -- is convincing people who look down on the Ivies that they play real football in the Ancient Eight.) ... If I'm reading the info correctly, the cost is just $215. You can find out how to do it here.
That certain Hanover High sophomore emailed me a link to this story about the Harvard fullback hoping for a career in opera yesterday from school. The AP had a short story; this is the full Boston Globe bylined piece. From the story:
So, people ask Harvard's fullback/tenor, is there any connection between football and opera? "Incredibly so," nods Noah Van Niel, who handles defensive linemen and Donizetti with equal aplomb. "It's rehearsing a set of skills and then going out and performing. There's pressure and there's an audience and there's nerves: Can I do this?"Allen Lessels' story in the Manchester Union Leader has a capsule of Dartmouth-Columbia. An interesting angle in the story is about UNH trying to schedule a game with Boston College. It appears the Wildcats are becoming anything but America's guest. Lessels writes:
The fact that UNH has beaten Rutgers, Northwestern and Marshall in its last three FBS games -- and collected a check well into six figures each time -- hasn't helped.
"It's been a problem," Scarano said. "There's any number of Eastern schools that we're all well versed in that don't return phone calls to us."
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Thursday's Practice Report Posted
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 18, 2007
HANOVER -- Foreign study programs are about experiencing a variety of aspects of a different culture. Things such dance or language.
Or, as Dartmouth President James Wright saw for himself at football practice Thursday, dance and language.
To read the full story, visit Green Alert Premium.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 18, 2007
HANOVER -- Foreign study programs are about experiencing a variety of aspects of a different culture. Things such dance or language.
Or, as Dartmouth President James Wright saw for himself at football practice Thursday, dance and language.
To read the full story, visit Green Alert Premium.
Scouting Dartmouth
Jake over at Roar Lions Roar Columbia football blog has a Scouting Dartmouth feature up. His final line pretty much sums up the way he sees Saturday's Homecoming game: "Expect a 'Shootout in the Prairie.' "
A Daily Dartmouth columnist exhorts his fellow students to root the Big Green on against Columbia. He writes:
This was mentioned on the premium site last night but deserves a nod today. Jake Goldberg '07, the Dartmouth football manager the past four years, has earned the prestigious Dean of the College Award for Service at Dartmouth. The announcement of his award includes this: "Jacob has served as a Teaching Assistant multiple times for introductory chemistry courses and became renowned by students and faculty alike; he put in countless hours in the laboratory, on weekends, and even with students in his residence hall to provide support and encouragement through these stressful courses."
My only question, having seen everything the "distinguished double major in chemistry and history," did with the football program is, how did he find the time? Jake, by the way, is working in the chemistry department this fall but stopping by the athletic complex and helping out when he can.
I confirmed yesterday that photographer Charlie Pack was indeed shooting the Dartmouth football team last week at Holy Cross. Once again, to get an idea of what Charlie does, check out last year's proof sheet of Dartmouth pictures.
This is pretty cool stuff: a vintage Dartmouth football calendar. Asgard Press produces reproduction calendars for a wide variety of schools including Cornell, Harvard and Yale. See the full list of schools available here.
You won't find any mention of it in this release, but when the Patriot League Council of Presidents held their annual retreat last week, awarding scholarships for football was expected to be a hot topic of discussion.
The Lambert Trophy used to be representative of "Eastern Supremacy" in college football. Dartmouth won the award twice, including 1970 when it gained the hardware over Penn State. With the I-A/I-AA breakup, the Lambert Trophy spawned the Lambert Cup and the award became watered down. But the Lambert is still being given out. The current ECAC® Lambert Championship Subdivision Football Poll presented by FieldTurf Tarkett (doesn't quite ring like Lambert Trophy, does it?) has three Dartmouth opponents in the Top 10:
The Cornell Sun has an interesting story about what happens to a hot-shot high school player who arrives on campus to find someone else firmly entrenched in the job he thought would be his.
The Princetonian has a story about the reasons for Princeton's athletic success. The story includes this fact that I should have known but didn't: Princeton is the only school to have won Ivy League championships in every men's and women's sport. From the story:
A Daily Dartmouth columnist exhorts his fellow students to root the Big Green on against Columbia. He writes:
Go Big Green and steamroll the Lions this Saturday. If you haven’t been to a football game yet, here’s your chance. This is the one weekend when excuses aren’t valid. It’s Homecoming.From a Newsday high school football blog regarding two players at Long Island powerhouse St. Anthony's: "Andreassi and Fletcher have apparently commited to Dartmouth from what I heard." ... That would be JB Andreassi, a defensive back, and Austen Fletcher, a 6-2, 285 lineman. A little Googling reveals that Fletcher's brother, Alex, was a Buddy Teevens commit at Stanford.
This was mentioned on the premium site last night but deserves a nod today. Jake Goldberg '07, the Dartmouth football manager the past four years, has earned the prestigious Dean of the College Award for Service at Dartmouth. The announcement of his award includes this: "Jacob has served as a Teaching Assistant multiple times for introductory chemistry courses and became renowned by students and faculty alike; he put in countless hours in the laboratory, on weekends, and even with students in his residence hall to provide support and encouragement through these stressful courses."
My only question, having seen everything the "distinguished double major in chemistry and history," did with the football program is, how did he find the time? Jake, by the way, is working in the chemistry department this fall but stopping by the athletic complex and helping out when he can.
I confirmed yesterday that photographer Charlie Pack was indeed shooting the Dartmouth football team last week at Holy Cross. Once again, to get an idea of what Charlie does, check out last year's proof sheet of Dartmouth pictures.
This is pretty cool stuff: a vintage Dartmouth football calendar. Asgard Press produces reproduction calendars for a wide variety of schools including Cornell, Harvard and Yale. See the full list of schools available here.
You won't find any mention of it in this release, but when the Patriot League Council of Presidents held their annual retreat last week, awarding scholarships for football was expected to be a hot topic of discussion.
The Lambert Trophy used to be representative of "Eastern Supremacy" in college football. Dartmouth won the award twice, including 1970 when it gained the hardware over Penn State. With the I-A/I-AA breakup, the Lambert Trophy spawned the Lambert Cup and the award became watered down. But the Lambert is still being given out. The current ECAC® Lambert Championship Subdivision Football Poll presented by FieldTurf Tarkett (doesn't quite ring like Lambert Trophy, does it?) has three Dartmouth opponents in the Top 10:
1. MassachusettsSpeaking of Yale, the Yale Daily does a nice job of analyzing the roots of the Bulldogs' current success. ... But a columnist at the school paper advises waiting a bit before annointing this team champions or one of the best ever.
2. Hofstra
James Madison
4. Yale
5. Delaware
New Hampshire
7. Richmond
8. Fordham
9. Holy Cross
10. Wagner
The Cornell Sun has an interesting story about what happens to a hot-shot high school player who arrives on campus to find someone else firmly entrenched in the job he thought would be his.
The Princetonian has a story about the reasons for Princeton's athletic success. The story includes this fact that I should have known but didn't: Princeton is the only school to have won Ivy League championships in every men's and women's sport. From the story:
Will Princeton teams continue to win more championships than any other Ivy League school? The simple answer is "yes," as long as we do not stray from our proven formula for success.And finally, still limping a bit from a leg injury he suffered in his last game, that certain Hanover 8th grader played probably half the game at corner and wide receiver last night in a 12-0 victory for his 7th-8th football team.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Wednesday's Practice Report
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 17, 2007
HANOVER -- Midway through the week that marks the halfway point of the 2007 campaign, some “bests” and “mosts” from the first half of the season -- in the view of Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens.
To read the story, visit Green Alert Premium.
www.biggreenalert.com
Oct. 17, 2007
HANOVER -- Midway through the week that marks the halfway point of the 2007 campaign, some “bests” and “mosts” from the first half of the season -- in the view of Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens.
To read the story, visit Green Alert Premium.
Another Name To Watch
A little more detail on a football commit reported elsewhere on the web. JB Andreassi is a 5-foot-11, 185 defensive back at powerhouse St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington, N.Y., in Long Island. Through five games this year, Andreassi had 42 tackles and a 70-yard interception return. He was averaging 34. yards on three kickoff returns and also was running back punts. St. Anthony's was recognized as the top high school athletic program in the state of New York in 2005. The Friars had a 64-game league winning streak snapped earlier this year. They are six-time CHSFL AAA champions.
As the blog noted a couple of weeks back, upwards of 15 high school seniors had commited to go the early decision route at that point.
Homecoming opponent Columbia is giving up a whopping 259.6 yards per game on the ground this year, 114th of 116 teams ranked nationally. Defensive coordinator Lou Ferrari tells the Columbia Spectator:
The latest Gridiron Power Index numbers are out. Here's where Dartmouth and its opponents rank:
11-Yale
14-New Hampshire
25-Holy Cross
30-Harvard
54-Cornell
64-Colgate
72-Brown
76-Penn
T79-Dartmouth
T82-Princeton
109-Columbia
In light of the success being enjoyed by the Cleveland Indians (and the Washington Redskins) the Black Athlete Sports Network is re-running a column regarding team nicknames. The same error that was in the orginal column has carried over. From the column:
Colgate tailback Jordan Scott has been added to the list of candidates for the Payton Award as the top offensive player in the FCS. Yale tailback Mike McLeod and UNH quarterback Ricky Santos are already on the list.
Scott is a junior, not a senior as the story says, which means Dartmouth will have to face him again next year. And it will have to face McLeod again next year. Santos will be gone, but it appears the next all-purpose UNH quarterback is in place in RJ Toman. And of course Dominic Randolph will be back at Holy Cross. Doesn't look as if that early season schedule is going to get easier for another year, does it?
This is a fun one. A reserve defensive back from Cornell who appeared in seven games last year as a sophomore has dropped down to the Sprint (nee Lightweight) football team and is having a blast. Check out the Cornell Sun story.
Columbia announced a $100 million athletic campaign last week. Penn State is in the midst of a $100 million campaign. Today's Yale Daily reminds us of another $100 million push in New Haven. That $100 million number is getting popular. (Editor's note: As a reader commented in a reply to an earlier post, Dartmouth never made a formal announcement about an athletics campaign, but if you add up the numbers, the college doesn't have to take a back seat to any of the aforementioned initiatives when it comes to dollars spent in recent years on athletic facilities.)
Back to the Yale story. It says, "Most recently, Yale committed $100 million for renovation of the gym and its athletic facilities, resulting in the creation of the Lanman Center, as well as the Israel Fitness Center and Brady Squash Center."
The Yale Daily story goes on to offer a little background on the school's Payne Whitney Gymnasium, which has 14 levels and more than 12 acres of indoor space. For anyone who has ever been in through the doors of the cathedral-like edifice (and I've been lost inside it more than once), the following anecdote should bring a chuckle:
Spied on the sidelines at Holy Cross last week was Charlie Pack, the Honolulu-based photographer who has made a career of shooting pictures of athletes and producing poster-sized prints with the school name printed on them. I always admired how Charlie could go to a game and get pictures of every last player on the field, including some who didn't play. The guy is flat-out good. Anyway, seeing him sent me scurrying to his web site. Great news for those of you who lost your poster or rue the day the kids used Magic Markers to add horns to your helmet. CW Pack can reprint copies from its archives. Just visit Charlie's site and work your way to the proper year. ... In case you are interested, last year's proofs are viewable here.
And finally, that certain Hanover High School sophomore's field hockey season came to a close yesterday with a 1-0 loss in a first-round playoff game. She once again played every minute in the midfield and, although she's usually quite critical of her performances, she grudgingly said she played "pretty well." No rest for the weary. She plans to begin training for the indoor track season with a long run this afternoon. (She's been invited to train with the cross country team that is ranked No. 1 in the Northeast.)
That certain 8th-grader has a football game tonight under the lights at the new Hanover High field. He practiced yesterday for the first time since hurting his leg and was somewhere south of grumpy this morning in part, his mom thinks, because he's sure the missed practice time will mean even less playing time. I'm going to take in his game after the Dartmouth practice so tonight's Green Alert report will be delayed.
As the blog noted a couple of weeks back, upwards of 15 high school seniors had commited to go the early decision route at that point.
Homecoming opponent Columbia is giving up a whopping 259.6 yards per game on the ground this year, 114th of 116 teams ranked nationally. Defensive coordinator Lou Ferrari tells the Columbia Spectator:
“There is no way to make them pass. You have to be able to stop the run. We are giving up a lot more yards in the rushing game and opponents are taking advantage while they can.”The Spec has another story about this week's foe under the headline: "Despite Lack of Balanced Attack, Offense Makes Modest Gains"
The latest Gridiron Power Index numbers are out. Here's where Dartmouth and its opponents rank:
11-Yale
14-New Hampshire
25-Holy Cross
30-Harvard
54-Cornell
64-Colgate
72-Brown
76-Penn
T79-Dartmouth
T82-Princeton
109-Columbia
In light of the success being enjoyed by the Cleveland Indians (and the Washington Redskins) the Black Athlete Sports Network is re-running a column regarding team nicknames. The same error that was in the orginal column has carried over. From the column:
Let's backtrack to the very beginning of this on going debate. The battle began at Dartmouth College, now Dartmouth University.Doesn't that make you grate your teeth?
Colgate tailback Jordan Scott has been added to the list of candidates for the Payton Award as the top offensive player in the FCS. Yale tailback Mike McLeod and UNH quarterback Ricky Santos are already on the list.
Scott is a junior, not a senior as the story says, which means Dartmouth will have to face him again next year. And it will have to face McLeod again next year. Santos will be gone, but it appears the next all-purpose UNH quarterback is in place in RJ Toman. And of course Dominic Randolph will be back at Holy Cross. Doesn't look as if that early season schedule is going to get easier for another year, does it?
This is a fun one. A reserve defensive back from Cornell who appeared in seven games last year as a sophomore has dropped down to the Sprint (nee Lightweight) football team and is having a blast. Check out the Cornell Sun story.
Columbia announced a $100 million athletic campaign last week. Penn State is in the midst of a $100 million campaign. Today's Yale Daily reminds us of another $100 million push in New Haven. That $100 million number is getting popular. (Editor's note: As a reader commented in a reply to an earlier post, Dartmouth never made a formal announcement about an athletics campaign, but if you add up the numbers, the college doesn't have to take a back seat to any of the aforementioned initiatives when it comes to dollars spent in recent years on athletic facilities.)
Back to the Yale story. It says, "Most recently, Yale committed $100 million for renovation of the gym and its athletic facilities, resulting in the creation of the Lanman Center, as well as the Israel Fitness Center and Brady Squash Center."
The Yale Daily story goes on to offer a little background on the school's Payne Whitney Gymnasium, which has 14 levels and more than 12 acres of indoor space. For anyone who has ever been in through the doors of the cathedral-like edifice (and I've been lost inside it more than once), the following anecdote should bring a chuckle:
Many are familiar with the story of Helen Hay Whitney, whose family donated $6 million to the construction of the gym. Legend has it that the elderly benefactor pulled up to Tower Parkway to admire her family’s donation, but never stepped foot inside to discover that the memorial she thought was a cathedral dedicated to her son was actually a gymnasium with ornate Gothic architecture. This urban legend floats around the gym between administrators and athletes alike ...Columbia is adding men's and women's varsity squash to its offerings according to the school's web site. Now if they'd just add men's lacrosse. ...
Spied on the sidelines at Holy Cross last week was Charlie Pack, the Honolulu-based photographer who has made a career of shooting pictures of athletes and producing poster-sized prints with the school name printed on them. I always admired how Charlie could go to a game and get pictures of every last player on the field, including some who didn't play. The guy is flat-out good. Anyway, seeing him sent me scurrying to his web site. Great news for those of you who lost your poster or rue the day the kids used Magic Markers to add horns to your helmet. CW Pack can reprint copies from its archives. Just visit Charlie's site and work your way to the proper year. ... In case you are interested, last year's proofs are viewable here.
And finally, that certain Hanover High School sophomore's field hockey season came to a close yesterday with a 1-0 loss in a first-round playoff game. She once again played every minute in the midfield and, although she's usually quite critical of her performances, she grudgingly said she played "pretty well." No rest for the weary. She plans to begin training for the indoor track season with a long run this afternoon. (She's been invited to train with the cross country team that is ranked No. 1 in the Northeast.)
That certain 8th-grader has a football game tonight under the lights at the new Hanover High field. He practiced yesterday for the first time since hurting his leg and was somewhere south of grumpy this morning in part, his mom thinks, because he's sure the missed practice time will mean even less playing time. I'm going to take in his game after the Dartmouth practice so tonight's Green Alert report will be delayed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)