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Dartmouth's game notes for Saturday against Cornell are found here. A few nuggets straight from the notes:Lafayette-Lehigh may get all the publicity for longest running series in the Football Championship Subdivision, having played at least once every year since 1897, but not many people realize that the Battle of the Bigs (Dartmouth Big Green vs. Cornell Big Red) is the second longest, with this the 94th consecutive year the two have met on the gridiron. And of the seven longest series among FCS teams, Dartmouth is a part of four of them — versus Yale (87 consecutive years, 4th), Princeton (80, 6th) and Columbia (71, 7th).Regarding the attendance of 10,138 for last week's Homecoming game against Harvard, Dartmouth notes report . . .
It was the first time at least 10,000 showed up since a game against Yale on Oct. 17, 1998 when 12,017 witnessed a thrilling 22-19 Dartmouth victory over the Bulldogs.One more from the Big Green game notes:
Only once has Dartmouth had a lead at halftime, that coming in the season-opening 35-7 win over Butler. But some- thing has clicked after the intermission as the Big Green have outscored their opponents in the third quarter by a 42-7 margin and more than doubled them up in the second half overall, 87-38.
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For the program story I freelanced on offensive lineman Pat Lahey, click here.Included with the story is this terrific explanation Pat offered about what is required to play on the O-line:
"We are the biggest, slowest guys on the field and we have to react to a really fast-moving defense. To be able to do that you have to know pre-snap alignments and be able to make a lot of adjustments on the fly. Unless you really know the game you don't get that sort of insight. I think it kind of surprises a lot of people because most people think it is just five guys who try to protect the quarterback and act like bouncers at a nightclub. But it is way beyond that.
"Offensive line is a position where you can work as a unit with four other guys and really get a lot of things done as a group. It's not an individual thing. I think it is the ultimate kind of team sport within the sport."
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WVBR has a story about the famed Fifth Down game between Cornell and Dartmouth. From the story:After reviewing game film, officials discovered their mistake. There was no precedent for any sort of event like this, however Cornell players, the Coach, the athletic director, and the University President who ironically was a Dartmouth alumnus, agreed, in a huge triumph of sportsmanship, to heroically telegram Dartmouth and offer to forfeit the game. Dartmouth accepted and the game is now recorded as a 3-0 Dartmouth win. It is the only time in history that a football game was decided off the field.For what it's worth, an LA Times story from a couple of years ago suggests that Cornell's president made the offer to give the game to Dartmouth fully expecting Dartmouth would turn it down. Oops ;-)
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A couple of receivers from The Woodlands in Texas plan to make recruiting visits to Dartmouth according to the Houston Chronicle.
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This may be a surprise to anyone who was at the Dartmouth opener in September, but while the Ivy League champion sits home at season's end, a Butler team the Big Green beat handily, 35-7, may be headed to the NCAA playoffs. From The Sports Network:Butler, which has only seven seniors, has been the surprising team in the title race. It won a combined five league games in the 2010 and '11 seasons.
PFL foes probably didn't see it coming, either, because the Bulldogs had to replace a three-year starter at quarterback, which it has done remarkably with Illinois State transfer Matt Lancaster (23 total touchdowns against two interceptions).
The Bulldogs (7-2) lead this year's title race with a 6-0 league record.
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If you are headed to Ithaca this weekend, pack your warm clothes. The Accuweather forecast is calling for a hi of 40 degrees and "Mostly cloudy, breezy and chilly with a rain or snow shower in spots."
