Defensively Speaking ...

Following up on yesterday's post about Dartmouth's 10 highest scoring seasons in the Ivy League era (1956-forward) today will feature the 10 best defensive seasons with the year, average points allowed, record and head coach.

1970 – 4.67 (9-0) Bob Blackman
1962 – 6.33 (9-0) Blackman
1960 – 7.33 (5-4) Blackman
1965 – 7.89 (9-0) Blackman
1957 – 8.56 (7-1-1) Blackman
1958 – 9.22 (7-2) Blackman
1979 – 9.56 (4-4-1) Joe Yukica
1956 – 9.89 (5-3-1) Blackman
1996 – 10.40 (10-0) John Lyons
1963 – 10.44 (7-2) Blackman

The guess here is you are having a hard time believing how the 1979 team that allowed 9.56 points per game finished with just a .500 record. Turns out that while the Big Green allowed 86 points it scored just 98, or 10.89 points per game.

The 1960 team allowed just over one touchdown per game, but finished only one game above the break-even mark because it, too, scored just 98 points.

And in case you were wondering ...

The 1970 team's scores:
Massachusetts 27-0
at Holy Cross 50-14
Princeton 38-0
Brown 42-14
at Harvard 37-14
at Yale 10-0
Columbia 55-0
at Cornell 24-0
at Penn 28-0

The 1962 team that ranks as Dartmouth's next-stingiest since 1956 actually got off to a better start than the '70 team before a couple of letdowns at the end.

The 1962 team's scores:
Massachusetts 22-3
Penn 17-0
at Brown 41-0
Holy Cross 10-0
at Harvard 24-6
at Yale 9-0
Columbia 42-0
at Cornell 28-21
at Princeton 38-27

In case you were wondering, through seven games the '62 Big Green had allowed just nine points, which translates to 1.29 points per game.

Craig Haley writes about his Top 10 running backs in the FCS for next fall on The Sports Network site. Colgate's Nate Eachus is on the list. But for the third year in a row the Big Green will miss the Raider standout, who vaulted onto the national scene against Cornell as a freshman when he started the game at linebacker, moved to running back shortly before halftime because of an injury, and still piled up 241 yards rushing.

Eachus hadn't yet carried the ball when Colgate played Dartmouth during his freshman year, was hurt when the teams played last September, and will be dreaming of playing in the Carrier Dome against Syracuse when the Big Green opens at Bucknell – instead of Colgate – this year. As a fan, it would be fun to get a chance to see him when the Raiders visit Hanover in 2011.

Then again, it's not that Bucknell doesn't have an interesting back to keep an eye on. The Bison will featured a 6-foot-2, 233-pound freshman fullback named Travis Friend who was chosen for the legendary Pennsylvania-Ohio Big 33 game. He also made the Associated Press all-state Class AAAA team in Pennsylvania. Find a story about him here.

Dartmouth catcher Chris O'Dowd was chosen as the Ivy League's co-rookie of the year in baseball. Although the Big Green won it's second Ivy title in as many years it didn't land anyone on the all-conference first team, which is kind of mind-boggling. Must be a pretty good t-e-a-m, huh?

With the NCAA's still a few weeks away, Dartmouth is doing what it can to stay sharp. Last year the Big Green picked up games with the Patriot League champion during the interim between the ILCS and the NCAA's. Upsets in this year's Patriot League playoffs will see No. 3 seed Holy Cross playing host to No. 4 seed Bucknell Friday and Saturday. Should the Crusaders hold serve it might make picking up a game or two easier.

Congratulations to the Dartmouth crew program which had both a tremendous upset as well as solid performances in a number of boats at Eastern Sprints. Find a story here.

And finally, that Certain Hanover High Senior is back from her trip to Montreal and Quebec City with her honors French class. For their final project they separated into teams and videotaped French interviews with people on the street. She told me last night her team asked a doorman at the imposing Le Château Frontenac about the most famous musician he'd held the door for (Paul McCartney). They interviewed a street performer and shouted questions up to a window-washer while the camera was rolling. They tried interviewing another fellow only to discover he was from Australia. They ordered their crepes breakfast in French and sat for a family style dinner at a sugar house on the way home. How come high school wasn't like that when I went?