11:30 a.m. update: I'll be headed out to practice shortly and will be away from the computer until 5 p.m. or so. If you are trying to sign up for BGA, I'll get back to you before I write up tonight's practice report, but it might not be until 6 p.m. Thanks.
Dartmouth kicks off practice for the 2019 season this afternoon on Memorial Field. Check out BGA Premium tonight to read how it went.
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Dartmouth kicks off practice for the 2019 season this afternoon on Memorial Field. Check out BGA Premium tonight to read how it went.
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The Dartmouth website has an in-depth look at the Big Green team with a short video narrated by sports information director Rick Bender HERE.
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Defending Patriot League champion Colgate entered the season looking to be easily the toughest test on the Dartmouth nonconference schedule but the Raiders got off to a rough start yesterday, dropping a 34-14 decision to Villanova. Led by a grad transfer quarterback from Campbell University of all places, Nova ran for 239 yards and passed for 205 yards and three touchdowns in what was nothing less than a convincing win.
Colgate quarterback Grant Breneman finished 22-of-36 for 211 yards, one touchdown and one interception and was sacked four times. The Raiders were limited to 77 yards rushing on 30 carries and that included one run of 38 yards. The attendance was listed at 4,519.
One interested observer out in Hamilton, N.Y., was CBS Sports Network color commentator Kevin Carter, who worked the game. The 14-year NFL veteran's son, Zion, is a freshman tight end at Dartmouth and will get his own look at Colgate on Sept. 28.
Green Alert Take: No question, Colgate did not look like a powerhouse in its opener. Worth remembering, however, is the Raiders didn't start like a house afire when they had their hands full in a 24-17 win over a struggling Holy Cross team in last year's opener. Villanova, meanwhile, looked nothing like the second-division CAA team it was projected to be. With a talented – and battle-tested – dual-threat quarterback, hard-running backs and offensive and defensive lines that controlled the game the Wildcats improved to 32-4 all-time against current Patriot League teams. Given the way Villanova dominated up front against a veteran Colgate offensive line (four starters back) the sense here is that the game might have been a more effective barometer about Nova than it was about the Raiders.
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The first Massey Ratings are out and they had Dartmouth defeating Colgate even before yesterday's game was played. Here's how Massey sees the Dartmouth season playing out and the "confidence" it has in each result (LINK):
Dartmouth 45, Jacksonville 7 (100 percent confidence)
Dartmouth 20, Colgate 14 (66 percent)Dartmouth 21, Penn 7 (84 percent)
Dartmouth 33, Yale 19 (81 percent)
Dartmouth 37, Marist 6 (98 percent)
Dartmouth 31, Columbia 13 (88 percent)
Dartmouth 26, Harvard 20 (65 percent)
Princeton 27, Dartmouth 24 (57 percent)
Dartmouth 31, Cornell 10 (90 percent)
Dartmouth 35, Brown 7 (96 percent)
Here's how Massey sees the Ivy League season playing out (LINK):
Princeton 7-0
Dartmouth 6-1
Harvard 5-2
Yale 4-3
Columbia 2-5
Cornell 2-5
Penn 2-5
Brown 0-7
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The Milford (Mass.) Daily News posted an Associated Press story under the headline USA Football introduces new development program to attract younger players that includes this about the Football Development Model (LINK):“The FDM is a progressive approach for the development and safety of our players as they are learning the game,” said Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens, a member of the council. “This is 21st-century football that embraces the value of the team experience, fundamental skill instruction and contact reduction in an effort to teach the sport in a smarter and safer fashion.”
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Dual-threat quarterback Kendell "Doc" Bonner was an early-decision admit at Dartmouth in 2017. The USA Today Maryland player of the year and first-team Washington Post All-Met selection who called to mind all-time Dartmouth great Dalyn Williams had a late change of heart and flipped his commitment to Air Force. (LINK)After a year at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School Bonner has come back to Maryland and will be a redshirt freshman this year at Morgan State.
