Tuesday, August 19, 2014

More Scheduling

The scheduling conversation continues. From an alum who covered football for The Dartmouth:
For the people advocating for the Ivies to schedule lower-tier FBS teams and academies, they should bear in mind that there will be minimal motivation for those schools to schedule Ivies. Unless I'm mistaken, only one win over an FCS team can count toward the six that FBS schools need to qualify for a bowl, and the FCS team in question needs to offer scholarships in order to count. I think the Army-Yale deal is a one- or two-time thing, and at least partly a reflection of Army's dim bowl hopes. Army actually has a second FCS team scheduled (Fordham). 
For what it's worth, and I don't know if this is still accurate and applicable, here's the rule:
One win over a FCS team can count toward the win total each year provided the FCS team has supplied financial aid for football averaging out to at least 56.7 full scholarships (90% of the limit of 63 allowed to FCS schools) over "a rolling two-year period" that can include the current season.
I seem to recall there was some kind of Ivy League exception, but I can't find anything to back that up so maybe I invented it ;-)
After playing New Hampshire every year from 2000-2009, Dartmouth football has taken a five-year sabbatical from the Granite State series to get the program healthy again.

The Big Green is finally back on track but guess what? Not only has Dartmouth improved, but so has New Hampshire, which Dartmouth will play in Week 2. Last year the Wildcats made it to the national semifinals and this year they could be even better, given that many of the key pieces from last year's run are back in the fold.

To listen to The Sports Network, the UNH team that shows up on the Big Green schedule Sept. 27 is loaded. TSN (LINK) picks the Wildcats to win the über-tough CAA, writing:
The Wildcats expect an even better regular season this year with all of their veterans. (Sean) Goldrich has finally pulled away from (Andy) Vailas in the quarterback competition, and he can get the ball to a 1,000-yard rusher (Nico Steriti) and 1,000-yard receiver (the All-American RJ Harris). A veteran offensive line will keep the offense moving as well. A much-improved defense was a difference maker last season, and it returns six of its top seven tacklers, led by LBs (Akil) Anderson and (Shane) McNeeley. One of the bigger losses is PK MacArthur, a four-year starter. Still, it's a loaded team that enters the season as the CAA favorite (Villanova and Towson aren't on the conference schedule) and No. 4 in the preseason poll.
Worth noting: Credit much of the improvement in the UNH defense to Defensive Coordinator John Lyons, the former Dartmouth head coach who helped the NFL Europe's Cologne Centurions twice lead the league in total defense in his three seasons in Germany following his stint in Hanover.
When former Dartmouth assistant Tom Gilmore had Holy Cross going a few years ago, a big part of the Crusaders' success was the result of having a dual-threat quarterback by the name of Dominic Randolph. Well, the head coach of the Big Green's final non-conference opponent has finally found the heir apparent.

As a freshman last year, Peter Pujals led the struggling Crusaders to a 31-28 win over Dartmouth on his way to Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors. Pujals is back for his sophomore season and the Big Green will get another shot at him on Homecoming, Oct. 18. Here's a Patriot League video report about the dynamic quarterback:


Dartmouth alum Kyle Hendricks '12, did it again. The Chicago Cubs right-hander raised his record to 5-1 yesterday as he tossed seven inning of three-hit ball and gave up just one earned run in a 4-1 win over the Mets. (LINK) Since surrendering three earned runs in his first big league inning, Hendricks has a 1.13 ERA in the ensuing 47.2 frames. On the season his ERA is a stirling 1.66.

The Dartmouth has a story about Hendricks (LINK) with comments from Dartmouth coach Bob Whalen and several of Hendricks' former teammates.

Former jayvee quarterback Ed Lucas '04, who gave up football to concentrate on baseball at Dartmouth and went on to win Ivy League player of the year honors, is batting .236 in 53 games with the Miami Marlins.
That Certain '14 reported to a local high school this morning to begin her fall as a student-teacher overseeing classes in geology and environmental science. That Certain Nittany Lion, meanwhile, has finished his summer working at Hanover Country Club and hit the links early this morning in a bid to get his handicap down to 3-point-something before we cart him out to State College later this week. He'll need a couple of really good rounds to do it.
Tonight on BGA Premium – A look a Cornell.

If you haven't signed up or renewed for 2014, all the information you need to stay up to speed on all things Ivy League football can be found as THIS LINK.

I'm still working up the "alerts" list, so it might be another week before they start coming regularly to your in box. But don't worry, they'll be coming ;-)