Abuhoff, Schwieger Honored

Chosen to this week's Ivy League honor roll from Dartmouth:

Corner Shawn Abuhoff with 11 tackles (10 solos), two pass breakups. And, while the Ivy League release doesn't mention it, 152 yards in kickoff returns including an 89-yarder that set up the Big Green field goal that made it 16-10 in the third quarter.

Tailback Nick Schwieger who had 22 carries for 112 yards and one Sam "Bam" Cunninghamesque touchdown leap.

And yes, there is a math problem in the "lede" to the release ;-)

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So you want to be a college football coach, huh? Read this from the Arizona Daily Star and get back to me.

If that doesn't get you rethinking your career path, read the second Columbia Spectator editorial in as many years calling for head football coach Norries Wilson to be fired. From the editorial:

We aren’t asking to be at the top of the Ivy League, but as a school that prides itself on the excellence of its faculty, administrators, students, and services, Columbia should have a football team that is not the laughing-stock of the Ivy League.

Speaking of Wilson's situation, in a story spun out of what is happening at Columbia the Daily Pennsylvanian sports editor shares what he learned when his paper pushed for Penn to change basketball coaches a couple of years ago. He writes:

It wasn’t until after (Glen) Miller was axed that I realized that my sports section was calling for Penn to fire someone, to take away his livelihood. That’s not a demand to be taken lightly.

Coaches should be held to the same performance standards as any university employee, and it’s the paper’s job to hold the school accountable.

In this respect, sports brings out the worst in us. We want ineffective coaches fired mid-season (or after the season, as The Spectator says). We want quarterbacks benched after two lousy games. Each of us knows what play should have actually been called with the clock running out.

Check out Jay Paterno's column on finger pointing.

Now think back to that first story about the travels and travails of assistant coaches. Granted, a lack of job security comes with the territory, but keep in mind that when the Spectator calls for Wilson to be fired, it's essentially calling for his nine assistant coaches to be let go as well. That's nine families that will be calling Bekins or Mayflower or Allied, nine houses that have to be sold or leases to be broken, and who knows how many children leaving their friends and classmates behind, all because of a game.

So you want to be a college football coach, huh?

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A Dartmouth assistant who got off the not-so merry go round several years ago was offensive line coach Cyril Brockmeier, who landed here.

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A Daily Dartmouth column about Homecoming includes this:

From a purely football standpoint, our football team has hung tough in games despite getting a win. Yes, we have one win, but we also got blown out by Yale. So the game should be a good one to watch and one that I hope and think we can win. And that is the good thing about Homecoming — it can almost make you forget about the rest of the season. If you win 30-0, the game makes everyone forget the season’s other painful losses.

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Ivy League teams and Dartmouth opponents receiving votes in the national polls this week:

The Sports Network/Fathead.com
33. Harvard
40. Brown
55. Penn
56. Sacred Heart

FCS Coaches Poll
26. Harvard
46. Brown

Um, Sacred Heart is 4-2 and more power to the Pioneers. But, really?

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From a Daily Pennsylvanian story about quarterback Billy Ragone's winning ways:

... (W)hile the Quakers have not lost an Ivy game in over two years, there have been some very close calls during their 17-game winning streak.

Yet, in all of these narrow games, there have been two recurring themes: Penn comes away with the victory, and Ragone plays an instrumental role in the clinching score.

You won't get an argument from Dartmouth.

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Big news out of Providence. From the Brown Daily Herald:

After nearly six months of contentious debate over the prospect of cutting the ski, fencing and wrestling programs, President Ruth Simmons recommended yesterday that the Corporation, the University's highest governing body, keep all three programs this year.

And . . .

Simmons also proposed that admissions slots for athletes — which currently constitute about 13 percent of each matriculating class — should be reduced from 225 to 205 slots, a 9 percent decrease. But Simmons also recommended increasing the amount of money budgeted to matching financial aid offers from other Ivy League universities.

And . . .

To further increase Brown's ability to compete with other Ivy League schools, Simmons suggested increasing coaches' salaries across the board.

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Big Green Alert premium takes a look back at the Holy Cross game tonight in a recap of the start of Homecoming Week practice.

Also, the new BGA podcast will be posted later this morning with thoughts about how Ivy and nonleague opponents fared last week, a look at what's on tap for the Green's 10 opponents this week, a reprise of the Holy Cross game and a look ahead to Columbia.