Heating Up

Helmets but no pads when Dartmouth kicked off practice Wednesday afternoon. That will come soon, but probably not soon enough for the Big Green as it begins preparation for the opener Sept. 19 against Colgate.

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The Sports Network, which follows FCS football about as closely as anyone, has its Ivy League preview and preseason ranking posted. No real surprise that Dartmouth was picked eighth, but tapping Columbia for fourth – ahead of defending co-champion Brown in fifth – was a shocker. Here's how the TSN sees things:

1. Penn
2. Harvard
3. Princeton
4. Columbia
5. Brown
6. Yale
7. Cornell
8. Dartmouth

TSN writer Dave Coulson states the obvious: "There is only one direction to go for coach Buddy Teevens and the Big Green after losing 12 consecutive games...up."

The Sports Network also released its first poll yesterday with No. 8 New Hampshire the highest-ranked Dartmouth opponent and No. 23 Harvard the highest-ranked Ivy.

Opponents that show up in the poll:

8. UNH 8
23. Harvard 23
25. Holy Cross
28. Colgate
42. Penn
51. Brown
69. Yale

The powerhouse Colonial Athletic Association, which counts UNH as a member, has four teams in the Top-10 and seven of its 12 schools in the top 25. Oh, and in case you are wondering when you see a team ranked 69th, there were 123 FCS programs last year.

Of all those 123 teams and the other 120 in the FBS, none has lost as many games in a row as Indiana State. When they play host to NAIA member Quincy College tonight, the Sycamores will be trying to break a 26-game losing streak, the longest in the country in Division I. Should they win, Dartmouth's 12-game skid will be the longest in the FCS and tied with Washington for longest in Division I.

The Tribune-Star website writes:

Quincy College is being paid $30,000 to visit Memorial Stadium for Indiana State’s season opener tonight. But as everyone knows, the losing the Indiana State football program has endured over the last five seasons is light years’ removed from normal.

So even though many Sycamore fans are expecting the nation’s longest losing streak — now at 26 losses — to die tonight when Division I ISU takes on NAIA Quincy, nothing in ISU’s recent history suggests that anything should be taken for granted.

For the record, Indiana State is 1-50 since a loss on Oct. 9, 2004. The lone win in the interim was a 28-22 decision over Missouri State on Oct. 21, 2006.

By most accounts, Dartmouth was very close last spring to landing a promising Texas running back named Bo Snelson. His father/coach said, “It really came down to the Naval Academy and Dartmouth. Both the recruiting director and the head coach at Dartmouth made a very big impression on him. They’re quality people. But the Naval Academy speaks for itself." It sounds as if Dartmouth was on the right track as a story out of Annapolis (with photo) reports, "Freshman Bo Snelson, a standout prep player in Texas, could play a leading role at slot back for Navy."

The Harvard website has a piece on the death of senator Edward M. Kennedy, who played football for the Crimson. From the story:

Kennedy was listed at 6 foot 2 and 200 pounds as a senior wide receiver while playing football. He caught Harvard's only touchdown to cap a 92-yard drive in a steady snow during a 21-7 loss against Yale in "The Game" in 1955 in front of 56,000 fans at the Yale Bowl. He also caught a TD pass against Columbia in a 21-7 win that season. For the season, he caught six passes for 80 yards (13.3 yards per catch), ranking second on the team in receptions.

And One More Thing
That certain Hanover High senior student-athlete got a mailing from one of the nation's top schools the other day. It was wrapped in clear plastic, but on the top sheet of paper under the plastic it had this message: "The packaging for this mailing is biodegradable in aerobic and anaerobic conditions without resulting in toxic residue." All I can say is I'm not making this stuff up.