Season-Opening Eve

BGA's Fearful Forecast last night offered up predictions for all games featuring Dartmouth opponents HERE. Come back tonight for the Dartmouth-Lehigh preview, Saturday night for a game story and Sunday for a follow.

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Dartmouth's football notes for Saturday's opener at Lehigh have been posted HERE.

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The Ivy League's brief look at games around the Ancient Eight can be found HERE.

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FCS Football Central on SI has a piece headlined Behind The Numbers: Week 3 FCS Football Preview that takes a look at the Dartmouth-Lehigh game and includes this (LINK):

Last season, Dartmouth did have an elite rushing defense, allowing only 3.38 yards per carry, which ranked 12th nationally. The problem is that Dartmouth lost a ton of talent to the transfer portal.

Green Alert Take: I don't know about you, but I find that incredibly misleading and gives the wrong impression. Dartmouth's players graduated and by Ivy League rule were required to grad transfer elsewhere if they wanted to keep playing.

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From the NCAA.com weekend overview (LINK):

The Ivy League opens play this week with some key nonconference games against teams like New Hampshire, Bryant, Holy Cross and others. But the most important game comes when Dartmouth visits an elite Lehigh team.

Dartmouth was voted third in the preseason Ivy League poll. It’s the same spot Dartmouth finished last year, tying with Penn at No. 3. Penn lost to Lehigh last year by 14 points.

If Dartmouth beats Lehigh, which is ranked No. 7 nationally, it would be a statement win for the conference. If a conference’s third-best team can beat the nation’s No. 7 team, what does that say about how good the top two teams are?

A win for Dartmouth is a win for the entire Ivy League this week.

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You may find this graphic presentation of AI-driven Ivy League coverage HERE worth a quick look. Or not.

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The games are starting but recruiting never ends. Dartmouth has a new name:

Nicholas Washington is a 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back from River Bluff High School and Lexington, S.C. Per his Xwitter account he holds offers from East Tennessee State, Kennesaw State, UT Chattanooga, The Citadel, Wofford, Campbell and North Carollina Central.

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Now it's wheels up – or rather wheels down – as Mrs. BGA and I head off for the Lehigh Valley.

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EXTRA POINT
It would seem acorns, like our apples, are having a banner year. On my daily hike a couple of days ago I had to be careful in places where I stepped or I'd be like the bad guys when Kevin puts marbles at the bottom of the steps in Home Alone.

This was just one of many places on the trail where acorns could take down someone not paying enough attention to where they place their feet. I stayed upright on my entire hike, but I have to admit I slid a little a couple of times.