Looking Ahead

Dartmouth football is beginning the final week of the preseason with a scrimmage this afternoon on Memorial Field and I’ll be there with my binoculars, colored pens and stat sheets. Be sure to visit BGA Overtime tonight for a look at the scrimmage and a few thoughts from coach Sammy McCorkle.

Speaking of which . . .

With the season beginning next week it’s time for another installment of . . . Questions for Coach. 

If you'd like to send along a question for me to ask Coach McCorkle the next time I’m at practice, email BGA by clicking HERE. That will address an email to me with the subject line, QuestionsForCoach. (That subject line with no spaces is important.)

I’ll collect your questions over the next few days and present a representative sampling of them to Coach McCorkle for a story late in the week.

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In addition to this evening’s scrimmage story and Questions for Coach, BGA Overtime in the days leading up to the opener against New Hampshire will feature a review of each of Dartmouth’s 2025 opponents, an in-depth preview of this year’s Big Green team, an advance about the UNH game, predictions for the opening week of the Ivy League season, and more.

As many of you know, last year BGA Premium switched over to the BGA Overtime donation model. Taking down the paywall was a gamble, but the tradeoff is, it has allowed content on the site to reach a much larger audience. Huge thanks to those of you who have continued to support BGA. It means a great deal.

If you would like to support BGA, scroll to the bottom of the BGA Overtime front page to learn how.

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Dartmouth athletic communications has a piece out of the weekend practices that begins this way (LINK):

The Dartmouth football team continues to make strong progress this preseason, with one week of camp remaining before classes start and the Big Green shift their focus to preparing for their season opener against New Hampshire. This past week has featured plenty of energy and consistency, which started on day one and has carried forward. 

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From a NJ.com story headlined, Statement wins, epic milestones spearhead N.J. football's biggest Week 1 storylines (LINK):

Holmdel's senior quarterback Jack Cannon was a one-man barrage Friday night in a back- and-forth, 48-35, win over Donovan Catholic (0-2). Cannon, a senior bound for Dartmouth and one of the most prolific offensive players in New Jersey, ran for three TDs and threw for two more. It was a classic dual between to standout quarterbacks until Donovan's Kahden Davis exited with an injury midway through the third quarter. Cannon completed 9 of 12 passes for 161 yards, two TDs and an interception. He had 17 carries for 187 yards. Cannon now has 3,284 yards passing with 32 aerial TDs and 1,813 rushing yards with another 28 touchdowns. 

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The Any Given Saturday message board has a thread under the title, The Patriot League has to abandon its obsession with the Ivies. From the first message (LINK):

The Patriot has to up its scheduling across the board. Start by abandoning its league-wide obsession with scheduling the Ivies. Beating an Ivy adds little to the prestige of the league. Holy Cross is the only school this season that has a consistently challenging schedule.

The thread, which has caught fire, includes this:

I think most years, top to bottom, the Ivy has been held in higher regard than the Patriot. Last year, 5 of 8 teams had a winning OOC record and the conference as a whole had a OOC win % of .667, while the Patriot had 3 of 7 teams with a winning OOC record with an OOC win % of .357. On top of that, every single Ivy has more prestige and name recognition than any FCS school can ever hope for. And this is coming from someone who for many years has poo poo'd on the Ivies when it comes to ranking them because they declined to participate in the playoffs.

This may change with 3 teams with FCS pedigree joining the PL. The good news is the Ivies are now participating in the playoffs so we will have more data points on where they stack up nationally.

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EXTRA POINT

Clouds behind Mount Moosilauke outlined the top of the 4,802-foot peak when I first peeked out the window this morning. The “cloud” below the mountain is a actually fog that rises up from the Connecticut River in the shoulder seasons of fall and spring.