Bucknell in Passing

Greetings from steamy State College, Pa. Or in the continuing spirit of alliteration, hazy, hot and humid Happy Valley.

Actually we are at a campground in boiling Bellefonte, Pa., just outside of Penn State.

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Driving in on I-80 yesterday we passed by the exit for Route 15 and Bucknell University. Given my less than lead foot, we rediscovered that's a full seven hours from Hanover. And I get to do it again in just a little over two months ;-)

Speaking of Bucknell, Craig Haley over at The Sports Network has a piece on new Bison coach Joe Susan and the program he is trying to rebuild. From the story:

Change can be good for a program, but it isn't necessarily easy for Bucknell as it switches from primarily using a double-slot option under Landis last season to Susan's pro-style offense.

And ...

"It's a whole new game for them," Susan said of the quarterbacks. "Instead of pitching it southeast and southwest, they're throwing it north. That has been the challenge as we transition from one offense to the other. And I think that's the position that's going to be the key going into the fall. It's still a position that's up for grabs."

And ...

The defense will remain a 4-3 and has more experienced players.

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The Roar Lions Roar blog shifts focus to Ivy League linebacking corps and has this to say about the guys in Green:

Dartmouth can boast the fact that all three of its starting linebackers from 2009 return for 2010. And the three returners, Pat Scorah, Garrett Wymore, and Diego Soto-Fernandez were the numbers 1, 2, and 3 tacklers for the Big Green, respectively, last season. ...

But like the veteran defensive line, the Dartmouth linebackers really need to improve greatly to be considered a top unit. Even if you strip out the rough games against UNH, Colgate and Holy Cross, the Big Green defense still had too much trouble stopping opposing offenses. I do expect improvement in this area in 2010, but Dartmouth will still not be the best.

Jake's unit rankings:

1) Penn
2) Dartmouth
3) Columbia

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Timmy McManus will be a Dartmouth captain for the second time this fall. Should he return as a fifth-year senior in 2011, he would have a chance to be that rarest of animals, a three-time captain. Oops, did I say rarest? That distinction actually belongs to a player from Delaware. More from The Sports Network:

Injury-plagued defensive end/linebacker Matt Marcorelle getting a sixth year of eligibility at Delaware set up an interesting scenario: he will serve as team captain for the fourth time in his career.

Wow. I wonder if he's eligible for the pension?

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We are off to the Arts Festival in a bit, then a quiet day before picking up That Certain Hanover High student (and a buddy) at the Penn State golf camp Saturday at 11. That Certain ... Um, That Certain Something to be Determined, has officially switched from the preseason running program for one college to the program for Dartmouth cross country. While former coach Maribel Souther saw her run at Leverone many times, she has to prove herself to new coach Mark Coogan. The nice thing about running, though, is the stopwatch never lies.