TSN Prediction:
1. Penn
2. Harvard
3. Princeton
4. Brown
5. Dartmouth
6. Yale
7. Cornell
8. Columbia
The Sports Network is one of the most knowledgeable of the outlets covering FCS and the Ivy League but it missed the boat by overlooking tailback Zach Boden, who should be a huge factor for the Crimson this fall. And TSN probably should have caught the fact that standout tailback Lyle Marsh isn't on the Penn roster anymore.
From the Sports Network capsule on Dartmouth:
Last season was a good one for the Big Green with a 6-4 overall record, but it didn't necessarily help the Dartmouth fandom. The Big Green sported a 1-4 record at Memorial Field - that sole win coming in the first week of the season against eventual Pioneer Football League tri-champion Butler. To be fair, three of those losses were to teams at the top of the Ivy League ladder in Penn, Harvard and Brown. The home schedule is a little more favorable in 2013 for Dartmouth, as the Big Green will host six games in Hanover against Holy Cross and Bucknell (out-of-conference games) and Ivy opponents Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Cornell - all teams they beat last season.Left unsaid is that while the home schedule is more favorable, the abbreviated road schedule is a little less favorable this year, with trips to Penn, Harvard and Brown after the opener at Butler.
•
The venerable Sagarin Ratings are up and here's where Dartmouth and its opponents rank among all Division I teams:152 Harvard
159 Penn
184 Brown
187 Dartmouth
191 Princeton
209 Cornell
215 Yale
228 Columbia
Also
188 Holy Cross
193 Butler
216 Bucknell
•
Jonathan Tannenwald, who knows his way around Penn sports and the Ivy League has a story on Philly.com under the headline Penn football primed for Ivy League title defense. Not much new in the piece but there was this quote from quarterback Billy Ragone, fighting his way back from a horrible ankle injury:"It was tough being on the sidelines for all those offseason winter workouts and spring ball. It was a long process, but we've worked hard to get to this point in the season and I'm ready to go."Surprisingly, there was no mention of Marsh no longer being on the roster.
•
As obnoxious as it is to quote yourself, I'm going to do it this once and remind you that depth charts aren't worth the paper they are no longer printed on. With that out of the way, Week 2 opponent Holy Cross is listing junior Steven Elder at quarterback for Saturday's opener against Bryant.While that's of interest because Dartmouth snuck past Holy Cross last year with Elder sidelined, perhaps of more interest is another position. Could the Crusaders have uncovered a premier running back? Gabe Guild, a 5-11, 190 freshman from Overland Park, KS, is listed as the starter at tailback and if he's the real deal suddenly Holy Cross looks a little more formidable because the Crusaders haven't been terribly dangerous running the ball of late.
Guild's bio says he ran for 1,470 yards and 12 touchdowns last year at Shawnee Mission South in Overland Park, Kan., and for 1,641 yards and 12 touchdowns the year before when he had a school-record 342-yard game.
•
It was 10 years ago, the National Football Foundation reminds us, that Murry “The Reckless Rover” Bowden '71 was named to the College Football Hall of Fame along with Barry Sanders, Joe Theismann, Ricky Bell and others.
•
BGA Premium will feature a look at Game One opponent Butler tonight and the Holy Cross preview tomorrow. Blanket coverage of Dartmouth practice begins tomorrow night.
•
And finally, it was great having a chance to put faces together with names at last night's gathering of freshman football players and parents. Looking forward to four great years together!
For what it's worth, if there's enough interest I'm thinking about hosting another hike up Moose Mountain (or perhaps a shorter trail across the river) before the Holy Cross game for BGA subscribers. Here's the view from the end of our driveway on the shoulder of Moose, eight miles from campus:
 |
| (Click to enlarge.) Not to worry, there's no snow out there yet! |
