Add One, And Schedule Musing

From a story out of Indiana headlined Here is the 2025 South Bend Tribune All-Area High School Football Team (LINK):

Kayden Lee, Mishawaka Marian

The senior IFCA All-State selection and Dartmouth University (sic) commit had 34 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

Variously listed at 6-foot-1, 275 and 6-2, 265, Lee was named to the Indiana Football Coaches Association Class 3А Senior All-State Team. Per his social media, he chose Dartmouth over an offer from Tufts.

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Dartmouth used to publish its football schedule at least four years in advance. This from the 1983 Big Green media guide – remember those things? – probably got a few alums and fans excited about an Oct. 4, 1986 game at Navy. (Don't be too excited. Navy won, 45-0.) And for the record, the listed 1987 visit from Connecticut was replaced by a visit from Davidson.

Given the changing nature of college football scheduling – it's not done nearly as far out as it was in the past – Dartmouth stopped posting its future schedules a few years back. But my email "in box" is a reminder that a good number of you are curious about next year's schedule, and aren't interested in waiting for another of those lame releases where the next schedule is "unveiled."

When I asked coach Sammy McCorkle in the final week of the season who the Big Green would be playing out-of-conference he confirmed it would be Lehigh, Monmouth and Merrimack, but did not offer the dates.

Doing a little digging, I was told that Lehigh would be Sept. 19. Given that the Mountain Hawks played here in 2023, the Lehigh-Dartmouth game next fall figures to be in Bethlehem. With a web search confirming the Monmouth game for Hanover on Sept. 26, that left the Merrimack game for Oct. 17, the final open date in the Big Green schedule. Because Dartmouth played at Merrimack in 2024, that game should be in Hanover.

Having connected all of those dots, and barring a late change (or worse yet, a mistake on my part), the 2026 schedule looks like this:

Sept. 19 at Lehigh

Sept. 26 Monmouth

Oct. 3 Penn

Oct. 10 at Yale

Oct. 17 Merrimack

Oct. 24 at Columbia

Oct. 31 Harvard

Nov. 7 at Princeton

Nov. 14 at Cornell

Nov. 2 Brown

A reminder, that's the unofficial schedule. Also, expect at least one Ivy League game – and very likely two – to be shifted to a Friday night for TV purposes. 

A few thoughts . . .

Dartmouth figures to have a lot of windshield time next fall with games at Lehigh (700 mile round trip), at Princeton (635 mile round trip), at Cornell (600 mile round trip), at Columbia (500 mile round trip) and at Yale (380 mile round trip). That's 2,815 miles, or pretty much like riding the bus from New York City to Los Angeles. ;-)

There are back-to-back home games against Monmouth and Penn early, and back-to-back bus rides to Princeton and Cornell late.

The schedule features three home Ivy League games (Penn, Harvard and Brown) with four on the road (Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Cornell).

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EXTRA POINT

We have a 7-foot star with Christmas lights in the middle of our field, a string of lights around our "porch," and more lights that wrap around our garage doors and then up our driveway almost to the road.

Because the automatic timers running the lights went a little wonky after getting soaked by heavy rain the other night, I was going to turn the lights off manually last night at about 9. Instead I left them on per Mrs. BGA's wishes.

Before I turned on the Sunday night football game upstairs, I looked out the window at all the Christmas lights and laughed to myself. If Mrs. BGA's idea was to bring a holiday smile to the faces of people driving by, leaving them on was a sweet gesture. But by my estimate not a single car went up or down our road after I went upstairs. Not a one.

Familiar Names

A story headlined Report: Tennessee Titans Coaching Search Taking Shape has two names of potential candidates that should be familiar to Dartmouth football followers.

First is a former Dartmouth defensive back from the class of 1998. From the story:

Matt Burke The Titans gave Burke his first professional start in 2004, so it would be a reunion of sorts for the Dartmouth graduate. … Houston hired him as the defensive coordinator in 2023 to serve under defensive mastermind/head coach DeMeco Ryans. The Texans' devastating defense is a top-five unit in the league.

Find a Dartmouth Alumni Magazine story about Burke HERE. 

The second familiar name the Titans may consider is the son of one of the all-time Dartmouth greats who coached under Buddy Teevens – and brother of a former Big Green quarterback. David Shula '81 doesn't get a mention, but his famous father does. Again from the story:

Chris Shula Shula is the grandson of legendary Dolphins head coach Don Shula and has been quietly making a name for himself without the help of the family legacy. 

Chris Shula is defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. 

Read the story about the search for a new Tennessee Titans coach HERE. 

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No promises on how long it will available before YouTube takes it down, but if you need a Dartmouth football fix and want to relive one of the Big Green's signature wins from last fall, click you can watch the entire broadcast HERE.

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It probably won't happen anytime soon in the FBS playoffs, but an unseeded team has made it to the FCS championship game. Here's part of what Craig Haley wrote for The Analyst (LINK):

With a 30-14 victory at No. 12 seed Villanova in a national semifinal Saturday night, (Illinois State) became the first team to win four road games in a single playoff – and it’s all part of a nine-game road winning streak since mid-September.

Additionally, coach Brock Spack’s 12-4 squad is the first unseeded team in an FCS playoff with 16 seeds (the 1995-2000 and 2024-25 seasons) to advance to the national championship game.

Illinois State will face second-seeded Montana State, a 48-23 winner over Montana, for the FCS national championship on Jan. 5 at Vanderbilt's FirstBank Stadium in Nashville.

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EXTRA POINT

The drenching rain a couple of days ago washed away much of our snow but there's still a good chance of a white Christmas here on our Vermont hillside. Depending on which forecast you believe, we could be in line for anywhere from one to four inches of the white stuff on Tuesday. Fingers crossed.

Good Stuff

This Xweet from Grayson Kline, the Dartmouth offensive quality control assistant, made me smile. The former Penn State tight end wrote of his Big Green protege, "Any more All-American teams coming out that he can be a part of, or does he have them all covered now?"

And why did that make me smile? Because this popped up on my computer this morning (LINK):

If that's a little hard to read, the Walter Camp FCS All-America tight end is, you guessed it, none other than Dartmouth's Chris Corbo.

Also making the first team were Yale receiver Nico Brown and Penn offensive lineman Netinho Olivieri (whose name was spelled incorrectly).

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The local Valley News has an exhaustive look at Dartmouth's successes and remaining challenges trying to breathe life into the long-struggling Big Green athletic program. Among other things, the piece highlights the women's soccer team winning the Ivy League tournament last fall, the men's ice hockey team getting off to a phenomenal start this season and the continuing success of the football team. The story headlined Big Green try to make winning routine is behind a paywall, but you may be able to access it HERE. 

A couple excerpts of possible interest in the story for followers of the football program:

Football head coach Sammy McCorkle has been part of one of the college’s few consistently strong programs the past decade, including five Ivy League titles since 2015. 

McCorkle, who has been around the college since 2005, said he also has seen a shift toward better support for athletics in recent years. 

“There’s no doubt, of course, recently, with (Athletic director Mike Harrity) and with (President Sian Beilock), it’s definitely been an emphasis on making sure they provide us with the resources and the things that programs need to be successful,” McCorkle said.

“It goes all the way up to relationships developing with the admissions, financial aid, and the resources and the money that is put into athletic programs to help them succeed,” he added.

And this, which finishes the story:

Ultimately, when it comes to athletic success at Dartmouth, Harrity recounted a story that (former football coach Buddy) Teevens had told him:

Other schools that recruited against Dartmouth would ask players why they would want to come to Dartmouth, because it’s out in the woods. 

“He said, ‘You know what, we’re going to embrace that we’re in the woods and we’re going to talk about that and let me tell you about what in the woods means,’ ” Harrity said. 

“He just flipped it on its head, and I loved that…and those are the coaches who are successful.” 

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EXTRA POINT

Thanks for those who shared best wishes for Griff the Wonder Dog, who underwent surgery yesterday. We picked him up a little before 5 p.m. and he was still a little woozy from the anesthesia and understandably looked a little worse for the wear, but you could tell he was relieved when we got him home.

I shot a picture of the old boy this morning, but given what he's been through, I'm not sure even he would like how it turned out. ;-). So instead, here's a Christmas pic of him from a few years ago. Once he's back to feeling like himself I'll toss up a new shot.

And Another Honor For Corbo

Just a quick note before we head down to the Upper Valley early this morning for a very important appointment.

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From Dartmouth athletics social media

Dartmouth tight end Chris Corbo has been named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America first team. The Big Green senior is the lone offensive repeater from the 2024 AFCA first team.

Also selected to the first team were Penn wide receiver Jared Richardson, Yale receiver Nico Brown and Yale defensive back Abu Kamara.

Find the full AFCA All-America team HERE.

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EXTRA POINT

It's a nervous day for us because Griff the Wonder Dog is having yet another surgery, this one for a large lump that broke through the skin on his neck. Mrs. BGA has been a hero cleaning and bandaging him morning and night for the past several weeks as we awaited his scheduled surgery, which fortunately was moved up because of a cancellation.

It couldn't have been pleasant for Griff to have his wound cleaned and dressed twice a day, but through it all he has never flinched. In fact, he never stopped wagging his tail. The old boy has been through a lot in his 11½  years – the doggie version of ACL surgery on a back leg as a pup, having part of one ear removed last because of a tumor, having another lump cut out and more – but good luck ever meeting a sweeter dog. You go Griff!

Griff the Wonder Dog and his best friend, Squirrel

More All-America Honors

Stats Perform named its FCS All-American teams yesterday with Dartmouth tight end Chris Corbo on the first team and Big Green offensive lineman Delby Lemieux on the third team. All totaled, eight current or former Ivy League players were honored:

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

QB – Beau Brungard, Youngstown State, Jr., 6-0, 215

QB – Taron Dickens, Western Carolina, R-So., 5-11, 180

QB – Cole Payton, North Dakota State, Sr., 6-3, 233

RB – Joshua Dye, Southern Utah, R-So., 5-11, 205

RB – Rodney Nelson, Monmouth, R-So., 5-8, 195

WR – Marquis Buchanan, Rhode Island, R-Jr., 6-4, 175

WR – Bryce Lance, North Dakota State, R-Sr., 6-3, 209

TE – CHRIS CORBO, DARTMOUTH, SR., 6-5, 250

OL – Seth Anderson, North Dakota, R-Sr., 6-5, 300

OL – JT Cornelius, Monmouth, Grad, 6-6, 290

OL – Titan Fleischmann, Montana State, Jr., 6-4, 300

OL – Trent Fraley, North Dakota State, Jr., 6-1, 303

OL – Joshua Sales Jr., Austin Peay, R-Sr., 6-5, 312

OL – Logan Weedman, Tennessee Tech, Sr., 6-5, 295

DEFENSE

DL – Lando Brown, Southern Utah, R-Sr., 5-11, 215

DL – Kaleb Proctor, Southeastern Louisiana, Sr., 6-3, 280

DL – Jacob Psyk, UC Davis (Harvard), Grad, 6-3, 265

DL – Joshua Stoneking, Furman, R-So., 6-3, 264

DL – Andrew Zock, Mercer, So., 6-2, 250

LB – Luke Banbury, William & Mary (Cornell), Grad, 6-2, 230

LB – James Conway, Fordham, Grad, 6-2, 235

LB – Tye Niekamp, Illinois State, Jr., 6-3, 240

LB – A.J. Pena, Rhode Island, Sr., 6-2, 243

LB – Jaydon Southard, Stephen F. Austin, Sr., 6-1, 225

DB – Kimal Clark, Indiana State, Sr., 5-10, 195

DB – Charles Demmings, Stephen F. Austin, Sr., 6-1, 190

DB – Caden Dowler, Montana State, Jr., 6-0, 205

DB – Abu Kamara, Yale, Jr., 6-1, 208

DB – Maximus Pulley, Wofford, 5th Year, 5-11, 200

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK – Nick Reed, New Hampshire, So., 5-7, 181

P – Jeff Yurk, Elon, R-Sr., 6-2, 224

LS – Caleb Bowers, North Dakota State, Jr., 6-1, 224

KR – Ja’briel Mace, Villanova, So., 5-9, 175

PR – Bugs Mortimer, Stephen F. Austin, R-Jr., 5-10, 177

AP – Michael Wortham, Montana, R-Sr., 5-9, 190

 

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

QB – Keali’I Ah Yat, Montana, R-So., 6-1, 200

QB – Justin Lamson, Montana State, Jr., 6-2, 210

RB – Eli Gillman, Montana, R-Jr., 6-0, 213

RB – L.J. Phillips Jr., South Dakota, R-So., 5-9, 225

RB – Josh Pitsenberger, Yale, Sr., 6-0, 220

WR – Josh Derry, Monmouth, Jr., 5-9, 180

WR – Jared Richardson, Penn, Sr., 6-2, 220

TE – Nathan Levicki, Presbyterian, Sr., 6-3, 235

OL – Quinten Christensen, South Dakota State, Jr., 6-5, 300

OL – Ryan McKenna, William & Mary, Grad, 6-4, 300

OL – Cannon Panfiloff, Montana, R-Sr., 6-6, 294

OL – Stryker Rashid, Idaho State, R-Jr., 6-5, 295

OL – Cameron Smith, Alabama State, Grad, 6-7, 354

OL – Hunter Smith, Tarleton State, Sr., 6-5, 300

DEFENSE

DL – Paul Brott, Montana State, Sr., 6-3, 300

DL – Kahmari Brown, Elon, So., 6-2, 220

DL – David Hoage, West Georgia, Grad, 6-3, 250

DL – Quincy Ivory, Jackson State, Sr., 6-3, 239

DL – Keyshawn Johnson, UT Martin, Jr., 6-3, 230

DL – Lance Rucker, North Dakota, Jr., 6-3, 230

LB – Theron Gaines, Tennessee Tech, Sr., 6-1, 237

LB – Erick Hunter, Morgan State, Sr., 6-4, 220

LB – Logan Kopp, North Dakota State, R-Sr., 6-1, 221

LB – Rashon Myles Jr., Abilene Christian, Jr., 6-1, 220

LB – KK Reno, Southeastern Louisiana, Sr., 6-0, 220

DB – Jalen Jones, William & Mary, Sr., 6-0, 195

DB – Kasyus Kurns, Tarleton State, Sr., 5-10, 170

DB – Jalen Mayo, Stephen F. Austin, R-Jr., 6-1, 184

DB – Jeremiah McClendon, Southern Illinois, Sr., 6-0, 185

DB – Jarod Washington, South Carolina State, Sr., 6-2, 188

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK – Eli Ozick, North Dakota State, So., 5-11, 191

P – Ben Shrewsbury, VMI, Jr., 6-2, 190

LS – Dylan Calabrese, Illinois State, Sr., 6-1, 245

KR – Brandon Hayes, Southeastern Louisiana, Sr., 6-2, 205

PR – Elijah Kennedy, North Carolina A&T, R-Jr., 5-11, 180

AP – Rodney Hammond Jr., Sacramento State, Sr., 5-9, 195

 

THIRD TEAM

OFFENSE

QB – Braden Atkinson, Mercer, Fr., 6-1, 215

QB – Chris Parson, Austin Peay, R-So., 5-11, 224

QB – DJ Williams, Southern Illinois, Sr., 6-3, 218

RB – Kente Edwards, Lafayette, Jr., 5-9, 197

RB – Marquis Gillis, Delaware State, Grad, 6-0, 210

RB – Luke Yoder, Lehigh, Jr., 5-11, 205

WR – Daniel Sobkowicz, Illinois State, Sr., 6-3, 205

WR – Max Tomczak, Youngstown State, Sr., 6-0, 195

WR – Jalen Walthall, UIW, R-Sr., 6-2, 180

TE – Ryder Kurtz, Cornell, Jr., 6-5, 233

OL – Griffin Empey, North Dakota State, So., 6-3, 298

OL – Erik Gray, Stephen F. Austin, Jr., 6-1, 256

OL – Langston Jones, Lehigh, Sr., 6-3, 325

OL – DELBY LEMIEUX, DARTMOUTH, SR., 6-4, 295

OL – Luke Petit, Furman, R-Sr., 6-3, 285

OL – Stephane Voltaire, Villanova, Sr., 6-5, 315

DEFENSE

DL – Kobe Clayborne, South Dakota State, Sr., 6-0, 280

DL – Kenneth Eiden IV, Montana State. Sr., 6-1, 250

DL – Robert Holz, Gardner-Webb, Sr., 6-3, 255

DL – Matt Spatny, Lehigh, Sr., 6-2, 250

DL – Mike Wells, Youngstown State, Jr., 6-3, 250

LB – Sean Allison, Drake, Sr., 6-0, 235

LB – Mikey D’Amato, Cal Poly, Jr., 6-0, 230

LB – Shane Hartzell, Villanova, Sr., 6-0, 230

LB – Tyler Ochojski, Lehigh, Sr., 6-2, 230

LB – Will Shaffer, Abilene Christian, R-Sr., 6-0, 240

LB – Jack Stoll, Central Connecticut State. 6-0, 230

DB – Chris Jean, Central Connecticut State, R-So., 5-10, 180

DB – Ayinde Johnson, Rhode Island, R-Sr., 6-0, 195

DB – Shadwel Nkuba II, Illinois State, Sr., 6-1, 190

DB – Kristian Pugh, Lamar, Sr., 5-11, 182

DB – Nate Robinson Jr., Marist, So., 6-1, 200

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK – Paul Geelen, Southern Illinois, Sr., 6-6, 205

PK – Trajan Sinatra, Idaho State, So., 5-11, 193

P – Ben D’Aquila, Northern Arizona, Sr., 6-2, 205

P – Mason Miller, Eastern Illinois, Grad, 6-0, 185

LS – Spencer Moore, Cal Poly, R-Sr., 6-3, 225

KR – Javon Ross, Bethune-Cookman, So., 5-10, 165

PR – Max Mosey, Holy Cross, Sr., 6-0, 200

AP – Kolbe Katsis, Northern Arizona, R-Sr., 6-1, 185

The full Stats Perform All-America link with the freshman All-America team can be found HERE.

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A quick athletic facilities tour from Dartmouth admissions:

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EXTRA POINT

A couple of days ago in this space you read that, per the company that sells our video bird feeder, we had 24,762 birds stop by for a nibble to that point in the year. Now it is EV entity Electrify America's turn to provide a yearly roundup.

Per an email from Electrify, we had 77 charging sessions last year at 45 unique stations. From the EA email:

"You took your throne among the top 10% of customers with the most kWh consumed."

OK, two things.

First, we don't usually drive nearly that much, but a 6,000-mile late-summer Route 66 road trip that saw us make it all the way to California played a huge role in racking up that many charging sessions.

Second, with apologies to Electrify America, our out-of-pocket cost for those 77 charging sessions last year? Probably less than $1. That's right. One whole dollar.

As a promotion when we bought our Inoiq 5 we received two years of free charging at Electrify America, and it's safe to say we took full advantage. The only cost for us came if we ran over 30 minutes in a session, and as far as I can recall that happened just one time all year.

Free charging on the road is the reason why we did our Route 66 trip last summer, and why we have another big road trip planned for the summer of '26.

Unfortunately for others who might want to do the same thing, the two-year EA promotion has been replaced by a finite amount of charging. I can't say we were part of the reason why they changed the policy, but sorry about that if we were. ;-)