Missed an update on our Route 66 trip while visiting with BGA Brother and his kids in New Albany, Ind. We jumped on 66 in St. Louis after a trip to the top of the Gateway Arch and a "concrete" frozen custard at Ted Drewes' legendary stand. Here's a little taste of what we have seen so far, starting with the "second-largest rocking chair in the world" in front of our EV.
1. Harvard – 118 (9)
2. Dartmouth – 105 (4)
3. Yale – 103 (3)
4. Columbia – 72
5. Princeton – 55
6. Penn – 49
7. Cornell – 42
8. Brown – 32
As promised, here’s how my ballot would have looked if redistricting hadn’t taken way my vote:
1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Columbia
4. Penn
5. Princeton
6. Brown
7. Cornell
Wait, wait, you say, What about Dartmouth?
No, I’m not trying to avoid the ire of Big Green readers and coaches. In a perfect world no beat writer would ever be allowed to slot the team they cover in a poll. Beat writers know way more about the team they cover – both the good and the bad – than they do about the other teams, particularly when there’s precious little available on other teams around the league. When I worked at Dartmouth Ivy schools were required to send along a prospectus with a full fall roster and a relatively comprehensive look at the strengths and challenges each team faces, making voting much more educated. To my chagrin, the Ivy League doesn’t do that anymore.
So where would I peg Dartmouth? I’ll say this much: I’d have the Big Green in the mix and playing for something on the final Saturday of the season along with at least two others.
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EXTRA POINT
The Great Route 66 Road Trip of 2025 made it deep into Ohio yesterday. A Scrabble game is already heating up at the campground and our well-charged EV is keeping a small fridge cool. We’ll hit Route 66 for the first time tomorrow as we visit the Gateway Arch.
Cheers,BW
EXTRA POINT
This is pure Ripley’s. Last night the meteorologist on one of the TV stations out of Burlington, Vt., informed us that if there is no precipitation today or tomorrow it will be the first completely dry weekend in this part of the world since Dec. 14-15. Wow.
The Dartmouth has a story headlined New Teevens Center honors the past by building the future that includes these thoughts from Dartmouth quarterback Grayson Saunier and coach Sammy McCorkle (LINK):
Saunier:
“We’re super excited to honor Coach Teevens and to carry out his legacy through this center.” … Coach Teevens was “a phenomenal leader of our team and a lot of our values and morals today have been set in a foundation from him.”
“Being an Ivy League student and competing at the highest level of college athletics is no joke. It’s full throttle all four years. But, having resources like the Teevens Center coming up will help us take that next step as student-athletes and we’re super pumped about it.”
McCorkle:
“Buddy was a humble, modest guy. He did not do things because he wanted to be ‘the guy’; it was because he wanted to help individuals and I think that’s exactly what the center is all about. It signifies who he was as a person and what he was able to develop in our football program.”
“We’re very fortunate to be able to utilize opportunities like these. It’s all about having that edge, and … developing leadership, developing team unity…. the fact that our athletic department is providing these different ways to learn leadership, like the DRIVE program, is huge for the success of our athletic programs.”
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Flo Orimolade ’17 in action for the Calgary Stampeders:
— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) August 1, 2025
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New Stanford athletic director John Donahoe is a 1982 Dartmouth alum and former Dartmouth trustee. From the story (LINK):
He was previously the CEO of Bain & Company (1999), eBay (2008), and Nike (January 2020-October 2024). He also is listed as the chairman of PayPal and has held other high level corporate positions as well. On the academic side, he was on the board of trustees of Dartmouth from 2003-2012, giving him a chance to return to his alma mater where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics (’82).
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EXTRA POINT
Should have shared this yesterday on World Ranger Day:
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| Screenshot from 2004 Dartmouth media guide |
Tight ends coach Derham Cato, defensive lineman at Dartmouth, No. 90"Not really a reason. They kind of just gave it to me when I showed up Day 1." "I was 81 in high school, but I was a tight end in high school, and then they flipped me (to defense) overnight, and they kept feeding me, and I kept moving inside (along the defensive line). Like, at least 90, it's like, kind of sexy. So I just let it rip, I didn't mind it too bad.”Do you think you were a good player?:No. I would have been somewhere else. I loved my time in college football. And the beautiful thing about football, there's a place for everybody. And getting ready for playing at Harvard is, I mean, you get the same feeling as doing that as me on the sideline out here getting ready to play an SEC opponent. So football is a beautiful game. Doesn't matter where you're playing. It doesn't matter how many people are in the stands."
Cato was a three-year starter and four-year letterman at Dartmouth. He went on to see time in the Arena Football League, NFL Europe, the Canadian Football League and AFL2 before returning to coach tight ends at Dartmouth in 2010. He’s also been on staff at Vanderbilt, Davidson, Washington for five years, Maine for a short stint before moving on to Missouri in 2023.
(Another Ivy League coaching veteran at Missouri is Sean Gleeson, who spent six years at Princeton before moving on to Rutgers, Oklahoma State and Northwestern.)
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Stats Perform's Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List for the outstanding FCS offensive player of the year features Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig and Cornell wide receiver Samuel Musungu (LINK).
Green Alert Take: I pulled the Payton Watch List up expecting to see Dartmouth All-America Chris Corbo listed but while there were 10 quarterbacks, 13 running backs and seven wide receivers, there wasn’t a single tight end on the list. Granted, it would be hard to quantify an offensive lineman for the award, but whither tight ends? You’d think a year after Penn State’s Tyler Warren finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy balloting the position would get a little more love from the Payton Award folks.
Stats Perform also had two Ivy Leaguers on the Watch List for the Buchanan Award as the nation’s top defensive player. Named were Harvard defensive back Ty Bartrum and Yale DB Abu Kamara. (LINK)
In addition to the two Payton and two Buchanan nominees, Dartmouth will face another pair of players this fall who were included on the Watch Lists. Fordham linebacker James Conway and Central Connecticut running back Elijah Howard also made the cut.
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EXTRA POINT
On my hike early on this final morning of July I came across a reminder that fall – read: football – is just around the corner.
Jarritt "JJ" Bolz, RB/LB, Bishop Verot (Senior) During the 2024 season, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound two-way player was credited with 134 total tackles (10.5 Tackles for loss) and 5.5 sacks as a junior for the Vikings. Bolz is committed to playing collegiate football at Dartmouth College.
Bolz is one of 10 nominees for the honor. Check out his Dartmouth commitment HERE.
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Nevada SportsNet has a piece headlined Nevada football offensive preview entering fall camp: Lots of production to replace one month ahead of the Wolfpack opening their season against national championship contender Penn State at Beaver Stadium. From the story (LINK):
Tight end
Projected starter: Jace Henry, 6-4/269, sr.
Overview: Henry doesn't technically qualify as a returning start since he only started four games last season. But that was because he had a season-ending broken foot in the Wolf Pack's fourth game, at Minnesota. Since he only played four games, he used that season as a redshirt and got a second senior year. A transfer from Dartmouth, Henry is the size of an offensive lineman and is a big boon to the Wolf Pack's rushing attack, which tailed off after his injury. Henry also proved to be a good red zone threat in non-conference last year, catching a pair of touchdowns in the team's first three games. That's not something he showed a lot of in the Ivy League, but he could be in line for a 35-plus catch, six-plus touchdown season if he stays healthy.
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With a broadcast background, it was a natural for Jake Novak of the Roar Lions Columbia football blog to expand his offerings into the podcast arena. Click on the graphic below to tune in to his Roar Lions Podcast: Poll Preparation episode that delves into why Columbia likely won’t get the respect it deserves, and how he sees the perception of the other Ivies in advance of Monday’s media poll.
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| Click in the graphic to access the podcast. |
Every once in a while an algorithm brings this stuff up and I have to shake my head:
EXTRA POINT
We brought Griff the Wonder Dog to the weekly concert on the green at a little town just south of us last night. While a small jazz group played on the bandstand, a few small children wandered by and asked if they could pet him. We told them he would love it, which he did. A woman who said last week that Griff always looks like he’s smiling came over to pet him and even give him a kiss on his head. He’s that kind of welcoming fellow.
We like to tell people Griff barks maybe once a year, but now that I think about it, that’s not quite right. I honestly do not remember the last time he barked. And he has never, ever barked at a person. I’d venture to say the only time he’s ever barked was when another dog was playing with him and got too rough. When that happens, he may let out a less-than-enthusiastic bark that probably scares him more than the other pooch.
The best returning No. 26 is @DartmouthFTBL TE Chris Corbo (@ChrisCorbo3)
— Sam Herder (@SamHerderFCS) July 28, 2025
Corbo caught 32 passes for 315 yards and 7 TDs last year, earning All-Ivy League 1st Team and 4 All-American honors
The Countdownhttps://t.co/OSyfZVfQEM
Click through and here's the text:
26: Dartmouth TE Chris Corbo
Jersey numbers are based on 2024 rosters. Corbo is wearing No. 7 this fall.
After tallying nine catches for 81 yards and two TDs two seasons ago, Corbo became one of the best FCS tight ends last fall. The 6-foot-5 and 245-pounder caught 32 passes for 315 yards and seven touchdowns, earning All-Ivy League First Team and four All-American honors. Corbo graded out as PFF’s No. 10 FCS tight end, registering 16 first-down receptions, five contested catches, and just one drop.
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And then there's this from SI.com (LINK):
50 FCS Players Earn Spot On 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl 1000
The East-West Shrine Bowl released its annual Shrine Bowl 1000, highlighting the top 1,000 NFL prospects ahead of the 2025 college football season. 50 FCS players were included in this year's list, a drop from last season's 63 selections.
Ivy League (6)
Chris Corbo (Dartmouth, TE)
Ty Bartrum (Harvard, S)
Jaden Craig (Harvard, QB)
Netinho Olivieri (Penn, OL)
Jared Richardson (Penn, WR)
Josh Pitsenbarger (Yale, RB)
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From a story headlined Rutgers football opens training camp: 6 notes from 1st practice of 2025 season (LINK):
New strength coach switches things up The booming voice on the loud speakers at the practice fields sounded a bit different on Monday. Spencer Brown, who replaced longtime strength and conditioning coach Jay Butler this offseason, participated in his first training camp practice in Piscataway after leading the Scarlet Knights' summer conditioning program. "Spencer has done an unbelievable job, really, galvanizing the strength staff and the players, so I'm really, really pleased with where we're headed," Schiano said. While Brown has helmed the sports performance department for a few months, the former Dartmouth strength coach has made his mark.
One of the things that I believe in is you hire great people and then you let them do their job," Schiano said. "You give them direction and you give them a vision, but you have to let them do what they believe is best. That's why you hired them. So I listen to them, and unless l'm vehemently opposed, I usually let people lead their area of expertise. So he's nade some changes already and he's talked to me about other things he'd like to change, and I'm all for it."
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Brown will host its game against Rhode Island this year under the lights at the new Centreville Bank Stadium, a 10,500-seat soccer facility in nearby Pawtucket. The game has been moved up one day to Friday, Oct. 3.
It will be one of a record three Friday night games this fall for the Bears, who also play at Bryant on Oct. 10 and at Penn on Halloween. (LINK)
EXTRA POINT
With the mercury (silicon?) expected to hit the mid-80s today I got up and hit the trail early this morning. There's something to be said for finishing your daily exercise routine before most of the world has gotten out of bed. But while it was great to beat the heat, there's still the (not-so-) little matter of hopping on the lawn tractor before rain rolls in later this week.
