The 61st National Football Foundation (NFF) Annual Awards Dinner a few days ago recognized legendary Dartmouth standout Murry Bowden '71 for his contributions to college football. Here's the page announcing his award. (LINK)
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Dartmouth's move away from tackling in practice continues to be emulated by football coaches across the country. From a Denver Post story about rules put into place by the Colorado High School Activities Association (italics in the story are mine):. . . (T)here was no such thing as tagging when I played,” (Chatfield coach Bret) McGatlin said. “I’d say (we went) live 75 percent of the time.
“We are better teachers. And let me tell you, we are much better tacklers. I looked at some of our playoff games this year, how good of tacklers we were. It may not look as physical, but it gets the job done.”
It got done at Dartmouth, too. The Big Green posted a 9-1 record this fall, and despite not tackling at full-speed during the week, ranked No. 1 in the Ivy in scoring defense (12.0 points).
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Colgate showed its hard-hitting style in a 35-0 loss at six-time FCS national champion North Dakota State on ESPN yesterday, but came to appreciate just how much difference there is between a team that is bidding for its eighth national championship appearance in a row and the Patriot League champions. Rather than regretting the tough loss, the Raiders sounded like they embraced the challenge and look forward to a return to the playoffs. Here's Colgate defensive back Alec Wisniewski:""We are building this program. We are a small liberal arts university in upstate New York, and we've made huge strides. In 2015, that was like your March Madness Cinderella. This year, we really put our mark on the map.
"We fell short today, but over these three years we've set the standard. If we continue to do that, hopefully you will see us at this stage again and matching their program."And coach Dan Hunt:
"The last three games we've played have been measuring sticks for where we think we can get to."Green Alert Take: Would Dartmouth or Princeton made it as far as Colgate? Would they have given North Dakota State a better game? Some people think so but we'll never know and that's a shame.
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Those last three Colgate games were a 14-point loss at bowl-bound Army, a win over former national champion James Madison and becoming just the latest victim of the North Dakota State juggernaut.Speaking of Army, when Navy was in the midst of its lengthy winning streak over the Cadets I found myself quietly rooting for the underdogs. Watching yesterday I was reminded of my grandfather, a Naval Academy grad, who used to turn off his hearing aid when the Mids were losing. It's easier these days with a mute button on the remote ;-)
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And finally, I did not watch the endless Heisman Trophy presentation show last night. It just drags on too long. But I wasn't surprised how it turned out. In case you are curious, my ballot matched the 1-2-3 finish.
