Tuesday News Day

Another Halloween without the Great Pumpkin or a single trick-or-treater. It's been 15 or 16 years we've lived here on the shoulder of Moose Mountain and the only trick-or-treater we've ever had was by a prearranged phone call one Halloween. Oh well, there's always next year, right Charlie Brown?

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The only color in this photo that nicely captures the feel from Saturday night is on the telltales atop the uprights. (Thanks for sharing.)

Conner Kempe gets good protection in the snow. (Robert Mondshine photo)
Harvard's Zach Boden is gang tackled by Dartmouth defenders. (Robert Mondshine photo)

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Cornell's game notes have been posted for Saturday's game against Dartmouth and they include this about the Big Red quarterback:

Sophomore Jeff Mathews is off to a strong start in 2011, completing 63 percent of his passes (150-of-239) for 2,076 yards and 14 touchdowns. His 149.20 quarterback rating would be the highest single-season mark in school history. He is also on pace to toss for 2,966 yards, a mark that would be a Cornell school record.

There's also a chart showing the across-the-board improvement by the Big Red in its second year under Kent Austin. Click the chart to make it readable:

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From a column in the Harvard Crimson:

Dartmouth looked outwitted and outmatched all night. Saturday’s contest wasn’t a football game; it was a Harvard celebration, an exhibition of sorts.

Ouch.

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Yale quarterback Patrick Witt might have to miss The Game against Harvard to interview for a Rhodes Scholarship. Witt told the Yale Daily News:

If the Rhodes Committee is willing to work with me, in a perfect world, I can interview first thing in the morning and get on a flight to be back in time for the game on Saturday. But I don’t know if that will be possible.”

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The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top-25 College Football Poll includes:

23. Harvard
29. Brown
51. Penn

The FCS Coaches Poll (which really needs to add some commercial sponsorship to stretch out that name):

20. Harvard
31. Brown
43. Penn

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The FieldTurf Tarkett Lambert Meadowlands Football Poll (now there's a nice long name), symbolic of Eastern supremacy as they used to say:

1. Lehigh/Maine
3. New Hampshire
4. Old Dominion
5. James Madison
6. Harvard
7. Towson
8. Massachusetts
9. Brown/Delaware
Also receiving votes: William & Mary, Albany, Colgate, Georgetown

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If you have a question for Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens to answer on Thursday's BGA premium post click here. I'll select five questions and pose them to the Big Green coach. (Please don't submit questions that will make either of us uncomfortable.)

Here are excerpts from questions posted on BGA last week:

It took you exactly four years to turn Dartmouth from also-ran to league champ in your first stint as head coach. What has made this turn-around more challenging?
The league is much stronger than it was before. Years ago we were able to outrecruit people by working harder. We were still playing catch-up with some of the facilities. We’re getting literally 50 percent the number of guys what we used to recruit. There were some pleasant surprises and you could afford to make a mistake. And coaching across the board. (The league) is extremely well coached. It’s extremely multiple with talented athletes.

Will Dartmouth be looking to recruit more dual-threat QBs next year, or stick with the traditional dropback passers?
We are really looking for that combination. One of the biggest things about quarterbacks for me is the quickest way to bring a program up to level is with the passer. If you can get a guy who can really throw the ball it is going to even it up quicker. We’ve developed a running game so now we are looking for a more athletic type guy.

Given President Kim’s support of football, what are the chances of Ivy League teams finally having a chance to go to the playoffs or at least have an 11th game?
It doesn’t seem like there’s any sense of urgency at the presidential level for it, except for President Kim. All the coaches would love to see it. I would rather have the 11th game for all of us rather than postseason play for one.

With the cost of an Ivy League education topping $55,000 a year, are you concerned about a dwindling pool of potential recruits and would you ever favor scholarships in the Ivy League?
I would love it. We lose so many kids from middle and upper-middle income families who can’t afford it. Will the Ivies go that route? Probably not. The good thing is, although the cost continues to escalate for an education here, so too does the financial aid program.

Can you describe the in-game play-calling dynamic of Clark, Rorke and Teevens?
It’s pretty much (offensive coordinator) Keith Clark’s show. (Quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator) Chris Rorke is plugged in and they work very well together. So Rorke will be suggesting passes. My input would be, ‘I would like to see a pass next first down.’ Or, ‘Let’s go with the play action.’

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Today's BGA premium will take a look back at the Harvard varsity and junior varsity contests and include coverage of practice. By the way, Sunday featured the 100th Green Alert story so far this season and I'll admit that I'm feeling a little worn out. I can't imagine how the players and coaches feel at this point.

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The next Green Alert podcast will be posted later today.

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And finally, Mrs. BGA is escaping the snow and ice here on the mountain and heading off to cozy Anaheim today for a conference. She won't be back until Sunday afternoon. Cooper the Wonder Dog does fine when she's away because I'm good at scooping and pouring kibble, but the rest of us? We just try to survive. Wish us luck.