Gearing Up

The Dartmouth sports information office's latest Teevens Teleteaser:

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Dartmouth's game notes for Saturday's game are available here. Sacred Heart's notes have yet to be posted.

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The Dartmouth has a story under the headline, Football tri-captains play big part in early-season success

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From The Sports Network:

A more manageable non-league schedule has made such a difference for coach Buddy Teevens at Dartmouth. His Big Green (3-1), who host Sacred Heart on Saturday, are seeking a third straight .500 or better season, which they haven't had since 1995-97 under John Lyons.

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College Sporting News has posted the first Gridiron Power Index of the season. Billed as "the index ranking for the NCAA Division I FCS and a top indicator of at-large playoff selection," the GPI combines seven computer rankings and the two leading polls to rank teams. Harvard comes in at No. 8 in the nation in the GPI while the Ivy League ranks eighth of 13 conferences.

Here's how the GPI has the Ivy League slotted:

10. Harvard (11.86)
45T. Brown (40.00)
55T. Dartmouth (49.00)
60. Princeton (50.86)
66. Cornell (54.00)
77. Penn (61.43)
102. Yale (79.86)
103T. Columbia (81.00)

And here's how the GPI has the leagues ranked:

1. Missouri Valley Football Conference (25.34)
2. Southern Conference (30.00)
3. Big Sky Conference (33.18)
4. Colonial Athletic Association (37.01)
5. Southland Conference (38.77)
6. Ohio Valley Conference (42.00)
7. Ivy League (53.50)
8. Patriot League (57.63)
9. Big South Conference (63.86)
10. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (65.61)
11. Northeast Conference (66.83)
12. Southwestern Athletic Conference (75.96)
13. Pioneer Football League (76.77) 

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Yesterday's Harvard Crimson had a column spun out of the disappointing attendance for the Harvard-Cornell showdown last Saturday. From the column:

Ultimately, the only real answer is participating in the FCS playoffs. At the moment, from the perspective of would-be casual fans, the teams aren’t playing for anything. Sure, you can argue that there’s pride, or honor, or tradition, but those rewards only draws the most loyal fan base, and an aging one at that. 

Fans—and in particular, students—need to see that the team is playing for something more tangible. Participation in the FCS postseason can be that something.