Wrapping Up Holy Cross

The Daily Dartmouth story on the Big Green's loss at Holy Cross includes this quote from sophomore quarterback Conner Kempe:

“We need to score when we have the opportunities and take advantage of what the defense is giving us. The offense just kind of froze in the red zone, and we just need to overcome that somehow.”

He's right, of course, that performance in the red zone is critical. But first you have to get there. Dartmouth was actually a decent 2-for-3 inside the 20 at Holy Cross. A holding call followed immediately by a sack sabotaged the first visit near the end of the half, but when the Big Green crossed the 20 in each of its final two possessions of the game it converted on both. Holy Cross was 4-for-5 in the red zone.

For those keeping score at home, Dartmouth is 11-for-13 (85 percent) in getting points in the red zone this fall while its opponents are 23-for-25 (92 percent).

Dartmouth has scored touchdowns on 8-of-13 (62 percent) marches inside the 20 while opponents are 18-of-25 (72 percent) in scoring touchdowns.

Something to keep in mind: A 30-yard touchdown pass or 40-yard TD run will not count in the red zone stats unless the ball was inside the 20 on that drive and then moved back because of lost yardage or penalty. Dartmouth has nine touchdowns this fall, meaning just one came from outside the red zone (Michael Reilly's 57-yard catch.) Big Green opponents have 24 touchdowns this fall, meaning six have come from outside the red zone.

Speaking of Kempe, he is quoted in a story about his high school coach being abruptly forced to resign in this story out of South Florida.

The weekly Daily Dartmouth power ratings call Saturday's game against Columbia an "absolute must-win." That's a popular sentiment with a visit to defending champion Harvard looming another week hence, but rest assured every game is a must win for the players and coaches.

For a nice summary on what went right and what went wrong for Game Six opponent Columbia in its 27-13 loss to Penn, check out the Roar Lions Roar blog.

Friday's New York Times had another story about the excesses in big-time football recruiting. From the story:

Private planes have long been used to zip coaches around the country, and now the idea of using helicopters has taken off. At least eight programs — Missouri, Minnesota, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Rutgers, Maryland, Louisiana State and U.C.L.A. — have used helicopters to drop in on recruits’ games the past few years.

As the story suggests, if a coach wants to make a "splash" for a prized recruit in front of his friends, there's nothing quite like having a chopper set the coach down within sight of the potential recruit's high school game.

Ever wonder who foots the bill when a student-athlete is hurt and needs medical attention? A Daily Dartmouth story notes that:

Dartmouth students injured on the playing field have limited out-of-pocket expenses due to aid from the Dartmouth Student Group Health Plan and funding from the athletic department.