McManus, Scullin Honored

The Ivy League's weekly honors are in. Sophomore receiver/quarterback Tim McManus has been named to the Ivy honor roll after making seven catches for 35 yards and completing a pass on a reverse to quarterback Alex Jenny for 15 yards against UNH. Senior punter Brian Scullin was chosen for the honor roll after punting seven times for a 37.7-yard average with two of the boots inside the 20.

I missed the Ivy League's official preview last week entirely because it didn't get the same play on the website as it has in the past. I just found this week's preview here. ... A reminder that the Ivy League opener against Penn this week is available on the CN8 Network as well as on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Channel 130.

The Daily Pennsylvanian takes a look back at the Quakers' loss to Lafayette over the weekend. From the story:

From the moment the squad burst through the giant inflatable leopard's head during pre-game introductions, Team Tavani looked crisp and focused on offense, performing admirably in front of the Homecoming crowd.

On the other hand, the Quakers' defense - their most potent asset on paper - trudged sluggishly through the game's opening frames.

There's nothing of major import to be learned from that excerpt except this: Lafayette has a giant inflatable leopard's head.

The DP has notes from around the league including this one from last Saturday that I hadn't realized:

Yale and Harvard's losses on Saturday - at Cornell and at Brown, respectively - weren't just notable because those squads were pegged as the Ivy League's top two teams heading into the season.

It was also the first time since Nov. 11, 2006, that the Elis and Crimson lost Ancient Eight games on the same day."

The FCS poll from The Sports Network is up. Dartmouth opponents in the voting:

5. UNH
25. Brown
29. Harvard
30. Holy Cross
40. Cornell
47. Colgate

The lesson: Don't lose to Cornell. Harvard fell to Brown in a close contest and is still lurking around the top 25. Yale lost to the Big Red and disappeared completely.

The latest FCS Coaches poll:

5. UNH
35. Holy Cross
39. Colgate
44. Harvard

David Shribman '76, may be the executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette but the old Dartmouth sports information worker occasionally sneaks out. The Bloomberg.com site carries his review of three recent football books under the headline, "Football's Classy Giants, Hard-Partying Cowboys, Ivy History." His comments on Sports Illustrated's The College Football Book include this:

Nobody does a lot of things anymore that they used to do in college football, like group Yale, Notre Dame, Princeton, Harvard and Michigan together in anything except maybe the U.S. News poll of top national universities. They once were football dynasties together, which is worth remembering, and why this book is worth having.

Shrib's comment gives me a chance to remind you that the Ivies were grouped with the big boys several years ago in ESPN College Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Game. From the description on the Amazon.com page where the book – which sold for $49.95 when it first came out – is now available for $32.97:

"Essays by the game’s top wordsmiths, including Dan Jenkins, Beano Cook, Chris Fowler, Bruce Wood and more."

OK, I made part of that up. But I did write the extensive Ivy League section and an essay for the ESPN book. (You can find it in the bookstore and check for yourself. ) I can't imagine why, but for some reason the Amazon folks mentioned Dan, Beano and Chris ... but left me out. It was an oversight, I'm sure ;-)