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Dartmouth has won a school-record 16 consecutive nonconference games since a 52-19 loss at New Hampshire on Sept. 27, 2014. The Big Green will face a strong test keeping that streak alive if Week 2 opponent Towson lives up to preseason billing by Athlon. Here is the magazine's FCS Top-25 with last year's overall record and conference record (LINK):1. North Dakota State, (16-0, 8-0 Missouri Valley)
2. Northern Iowa, (10-5, 6-2 Missouri Valley)
3. Weber State, (11-4, 7-1 Big Sky)
4. James Madison, (14-2, 8-0 CAA)
5. Montana State, (11-4, 6-2 Big Sky)
6. South Dakota State, (8-5, 5-3 Missouri Valley)
7. Montana, (10-4, 6-2 Big Sky)
8. Villanova, (9-4, 5-3 CAA)
9. Illinois State, (10-5, 5-3 Missouri Valley)
10. Kennesaw State, (11-3, 5-1 Big South)
11. Central Arkansas, (9-4, 7-2 Southland)
12. Sacramento State, (9-4, 7-1 Big Sky)
13. Austin Peay, (11-4, 7-1 Ohio Valley)
14. Nicholls, (9-5, 7-2 Southland)
15. New Hampshire, 6-5, 5-3 CAA)
16. Sam Houston State, (7-5, 6-3 Southland)
17. Southeastern Louisiana, (8-5, 6-3 Southland)
18. Furman, (8-5, 6-2 Southern)
19. Southern Illinois, (7-5, 5-3 Missouri Valley)
20. Eastern Washington, (7-5, 6-2 Big Sky)
21. The Citadel, (6-6, 4-4 Southern)
22. Wofford, (8-4, 7-1 Southern)
23. Albany, (9-5, 6-2 CAA)
24. Jacksonville State, (6-6, 3-5 Ohio Valley)
25. Towson, (7-5, 4-4 CAA)
Here's what Athlon had to say about Towson, which Dartmouth is slated to visit on Sept. 26:
The Tigers have to replace quarterback Tom Flacco, perhaps with dual-threat Ryan Stover, who was the starter in 2017, or Jake Constantine, who has announced a grad transfer from Weber State. They’re bolstered by the return of sixth-year running back Shane Simpson (4,751 career all-purpose yards) and linebacker Ricky DeBerry from season-ending injuries. Safety Cody Tippett picked off five passes last season as a junior.Towson has had its share of transfer quarterbacks in recent years (Flacco played at Western Michigan and graduated from Rutgers before ending up with the Tigers) and Constantine is just the latest. He was originally a three-star Boise State commit, went to Ventura College after a redshirt season at Boise, then played two years at Weber State before finally landing at Towson. In two seasons at Weber State he threw for 4,428 yards and 33 touchdowns, completing 61 percent of his throws while leading the Wildcats to a pair of FCS playoff appearances. Last year he helped them to the national semifinals.
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A Heavy.com story about New Hampshire corner Prince Smith signing with his hometown Philadelphia Eagles extensively quotes John Lyons, the defensive coordinator over in Durham. (LINK)This bit from the story is something I will tease the former Dartmouth head coach about the next time I see him (italics are mine):
Lyons confided Smith was one of the smartest players that he’s ever coached, a career spanning a decade at New Hampshire and a legendary stint at Dartmouth.Lyons is the last person who would ever refer to his 13-year run in Hanover as legendary, but to be sure, it certainly started that way. Out of curiosity, I went back and found that over his first six years at Dartmouth Lyons' winning percentage was .733, higher even than that of the true legend Bob Blackman, whose career percentage was .722.
Lyons' record spiraled badly over the second half of his career, largely a result of well-documented institutional factors he was unable to overcome, and he finished with a 60-68-1 career mark.
Just how successful was Dartmouth over Lyons' first six years? Check out this comparison:
Dartmouth football 1992-96 – 44 wins, 16 losses (.733), two Ivy League titles
Dartmouth football 2014-2019 – 44 wins, 16 losses (.733), two Ivy League titles
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Big Green football parents will be disappointed to learn that Salt hill, a popular Hanover gathering place on football weekends over the past decade, is closing, a victim of the pandemic. (LINK)
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EXTRA POINTCamping in the mountains of Colorado when our kids were younger we discovered that almost every afternoon the sky would open up for a bit, dump rain on us and then clear again. Locals told us that's just the way it is out there in the summer.
I found myself thinking about that yesterday afternoon with two lengths of hose in my hand watering grass planted over the pair of trenches carved out of our lawn connecting the newly installed solar tracker to our house and garage.
Because a sprinkler wouldn't work with the long, hay-covered scars I've been stuck out there for at least 45 minutes each afternoon with a hose in my hand, daydreaming about how nice it would be if I were in Colorado where Mother Nature would handle the chore.
