Saturday, November 14, 2026

Game On

The AccuWeather forecast calls for 37 degrees and the wind out of the west-northwest at 13 mph at kickoff in Ithaca today with a chance of light rain or snow showers starting at 2 p.m.

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IVY LEAGUE TODAY
Noon:
Princeton at Yale
Columbia at Brown
1 p.m.
Dartmouth at Cornell
Harvard at Penn

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The Ivy League football website summarizes the Ivy League championship scenarios today (LINK):

• Harvard and Princeton are both seeking to secure at least a share of the Ivy League title. Harvard can clinch a share with a win over Penn and a Princeton loss to Yale. Princeton can clinch a share with a win over Yale and a Harvard loss to Penn. 

• Harvard is the only team that can clinch the Ivy League’s automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs this weekend. The Crimson would need a win over Penn, a Princeton loss to Yale and a Dartmouth loss to Cornell.

Green Alert Take: Left unsaid is that regardless of what happens elsewhere, with a win at Cornell today Dartmouth will still have a chance at the Ivy League championship on the final day of the season. Brown, as well, can assure it remains in the championship picture with a win over Columbia.

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FCS writer/podcaster Sam Herder sums it up:

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A reminder that the Dartmouth-Cornell preview went up last night on BGA Overtime HERE. Check back tonight for a game story and tomorrow for the first follow story.

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EXTRA POINT
And people wonder why I prefer the train!
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Friday, November 13, 2026

Cornell On Tap


Find the Dartmouth game notes for Cornell HERE. Cornell used to have arguably the most comprehensive notes package in the Ivy League but has switched to a narrative notes format HERE. The Big Red statistics can be found HERE.

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The latest Inside the Woods podcast from Valley News features quarterback Grayson Saunier and a few thoughts from head coach Sammy McCorkle.


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On the StatsPerform Analyst site Craig Haley offers up this (LINK):
This week, No. 19 Harvard (7-1, 4-1 Ivy) is a fan of … Yale? It’s true, if the Crimson (7-1, 4-1) win at Penn and fellow Ivy co-leader Princeton (6-2, 4-1) falls at Yale, coach Andrew Aurich’s squad would clinch at least a share of a fourth straight league title. That would be a first for the Crimson and the run would trail only the 1982-86 Penn and 1969-73 Dartmouth teams with five straight Ivy titles. But then it might feel eerily familiar to Harvard fans. Yale has won the last four times in their rivalry (they meet on Nov. 21 at Fenway Park). In the last three years, the Crimson went into The Game with the chance to clinch an outright title – only to have to settle for a title share.

Green Alert Take: As The Optimist pointed out a couple of days ago, Dartmouth also is a fan of Yale these days. But not just tomorrow. Also a week from tomorrow when the Bulldogs take on Harvard. Should Yale beat Princeton tomorrow and then win The Game, Dartmouth can grab at least share of the Ivy League title by sweeping its final two games.

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A story on the Georgia Tech website about Chris Corbo '26 tells us that the former Dartmouth tight end's first touchdown catch for the Ramblin' Wreck was thrown by Grady Adamson, the son of former Big Green offensive lineman Chris Adamson '97. Find the story HERE.

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EXTRA POINT
Happy (?) Friday the 13th.

A little trivia for you. This is the third Friday the 13th this year, the most you can have in a year. The other two were last February and last March.

The most recent year with three Friday the 13ths was 2015. There won't be three in a year again until 2037.
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Thursday, November 12, 2026

Looking Ahead

Princeton never did post regular game notes online last week, although they were available in the press box. No idea if this is Cornell's version of game notes, but there's at least a two-deep. Check it out HERE.

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The wise guys have Dartmouth as a 1½ point favorite out in Ithaca. In games Big Green fans will be keeping an eye on, the wise guys see Harvard as a 13½-point over Penn, but haven't yet chimed in on Princeton-Yale.

Sagarin sees Cornell as a 1½-point favorite over Dartmouth. The service has Harvard a 12-point favorite at Penn and Princeton as a 1½-point underdog at Yale.

Massey has Dartmouth winning at Cornell, 28-27, with 52 percent confidence. The service has Princeton falling at Yale, 28-21, with 76 percent confidence, and Harvard winning at Penn, 28-17, with 86 percent confidence.

For perspective, Massey had Princeton defeating Dartmouth last week, 21-20, with 51 percent confidence. Sagarin had Princeton as a three-point favorite over the Big Green.  

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FCS Football Central has updated its "playoff picture" and offers this (LINK):

Locks: None
Should Be In: None
Work To Do: Harvard, Princeton

As we predicted last week, Princeton defeated Dartmouth and placed Harvard back in control of this conference race. With Harvard’s win over the Tigers, it means that the Crimson would need to lose again, while Princeton wins its remaining two games to earn the auto-bid. It also means that the two-bid Ivy League is officially dead. Even at 8-2, Princeton and Harvard do not have the resume to earn an at-large bid.

Green Alert Take: While it may be true that "Even at 8-2, Princeton and Harvard do not have the resume to earn an at-large bid," Harvard does have the name recognition that wouldn't hurt its chances. Not sure about Princeton.

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Lambert Cup Poll emblematic of supremacy in the East (LINK):

1 Monmouth
2 Harvard
3 Lehigh 
4 Princeton
5 Central Connecticut 
6 Villanova 
7. Albany
8 Bryant
9 Dartmouth
10 Brown
ORV in order: Holy Cross, Richmond, Stony Brook, Colgate, Delaware State, Yale, Robert Morris

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Placekicker Own Zalc and lacrosse goalie Riley Harrington are enlisted in an effort to resurrect an old Dartmouth cheer. Find the story HERE or just watch the video:

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Tyrone Hendrix, the Dartmouth offensive quality control coach a handful of years ago, has been named interim head coach at New Mexico Military Institute, a military junior college in Roswell, N.M. Hendrix was in his second year as the school's offensive coordinator after serving for three years as head coach at Florida's Fivay High School. (LINK)

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Brad Ausmus '91, who signed with the Yankees before ever playing for Dartmouth, has been hired as manager of the Houston Astros. Ausmus, who played 18 years in the big leagues, previously managed the Detroit Tigers for four years and also the Los Angeles Angels. He has been the Yankees' bench coach for the past three seasons. (LINK)

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EXTRA POINT
Hunters on our nearby trail are rare, but not unheard of, so it makes sense to wear blaze orange this time of year. Griff the Wonder Dog knew he was headed for the mountain as soon as he saw his vest come out yesterday.

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Wednesday, November 11, 2026

A Few More Leftovers

Still nothing in The Dartmouth about Saturday's game in Princeton, but the weekly newspaper down that way has a story HERE. Lots of insights into the game including this from Princeton linebacker Connor Cronin regarding the Big Green's final bid starting at the 8-yard line:
“Our mood was they are not going 92 yards and scoring on us, that is not happening,” said Cronin, describing the vibe in the huddle. “That is what we were saying in the huddle. We are too good to let them go 92 yards on us. It was, ‘Keep them in bounds, get to the quarterback, and don’t let any big plays happen.’ We succeeded in that.”

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The Princetonian has a game story HERE.

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The Analyst has a piece looking at FCS Strength of Schedule: Opponents’ Winning Pct. HERE. A total of 128 teams are ranked and here's what the survey found:

1. Eastern Kentucky (3-7): 64-32 (.667) – 10
2. Dartmouth (4-4): 45-25 (.643) – 8
3. Abilene Christian (5-5): 62-35 (.639) – 10
4. Florida A&M (2-8): 54-32 (.628) – 9
5. Cornell (3-5): 42-26 (.618) – 8

As for the rest of the Ivies, here's where they ranked:
22. Columbia (4-4): 37-30 (.552) – 8
29. Brown (5-3): 38-32 (.543) – 8
42. Princeton (6-2): 37-33 (.529) – 8
T50. Harvard (7-1): 35-35 (.500) – 8
65. Yale (4-4): 34-36 (.486) – 8
80. Penn (4-4): 33-37 (.471) – 8

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From last week:

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A little more from FootballScoop (LINK):

The NCAA rulebook, rule 1-1-6 states that "persons subject to the rules, including bands and audio/video/lighting systems operators, shall not create any noise or distraction," and Rule 1-4-2-d says no equipment may be used to confuse opponents.

Video board operators were written into the rulebook after Oklahoma State put yellow lines on its board during a Texas field goal attempt in 2020.

The NFL went through its own version of this earlier this fall. In September, the league told teams it had modified what can be shown on video boards during field goal and extra point tries, after former Eagles, Jaguars and Raiders analytics coach Ryan Paganetti posted a viral clip of a Patriots board shot that included the goalposts, per USA Today.

(Ryan Paganetti '14 spent time with Dartmouth as a walk-on running back.)

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EXTRA POINT
Mrs. BGA grew up in the leafy suburbs west of Boston. In that part of the country, nieces and nephews would be expected to refer to her as Aunt, pronounced Ont.

In New Jersey, where Mrs. BGA's sister raised her family, nieces and nephews would be expected to refer to her as Aunt, pronounced Ant.

Ant or Ont?

While in town for the Princeton football game we had a chance to spend time with our New Jersey niece and nephew, who found a unique solution when they were young. They punted the question entirely and called her Uncle, which they still occasionally do to this day. It always brings a smile.
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Tuesday, November 10, 2026

This, That And The Other Thing

BGA Overtime had a few thoughts and observations last night from the Princeton game. You-know-who x 2 will be stopping by tonight and, yeah, they both have some strong opinions. (BGA OT)

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Here's a 17-minute package of highlights from the Dartmouth-Princeton game Saturday that Tigers' coach Bob Surace called "big boy football:"

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The Ivy League weekly football honor roll can be a little curious. This week's selections from Dartmouth: punter Luke Armistead, running back Jacob Henry, quarterback Grayson Saunier, linebacker Steve Simpkins Jr. (LINK) 

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Princeton's win over Dartmouth has boosted the Tigers into the Top-25 in both polls, joining three other Dartmouth opponents. Week 10 Big Green opponent Brown joins the party as being among the "Others Receiving Votes" with one vote in the Coaches Poll.


STATS

W-L*

Pts

Prev*

1

Tarleton State (48)

10-0

1415

1

2

Montana State (6)

9-1

1342

3

3

Youngstown State (2)

8-2

1295

4

4

South Dakota State (1)

8-2

1280

5

5

Northern Arizona

8-2

1169

6

6

Austin Peay

8-2

1047

7

7

Lamar

8-2

1029

13

7

Stephen F. Austin

9-1

1029

2

9

Tennessee Tech

9-1

986

9

10

South Dakota

7-3

978

8

11

North Dakota

7-4

887

11

12

Montana

7-3

811

12

13

Mercer

8-2

730

14

14

MONMOUTH

8-2

620

15

15

Illinois State

7-3

617

10

16

Campbell

8-2

547

16

17

LEHIGH

8-2

509

17

18

Weber State

6-4

458

18

19

HARVARD

7-1

426

T19

20

South Carolina State

8-2

274

24

21

Idaho State

6-4

212

22

22

UIW

6-4

143

NR

23

UC Davis

6-4

121

NR

24

Abilene Christian

5-5

120

23

25

PRINCETON

6-2

83

NR


Dropped Out:  ETSU (19-tie), UAlbany (21), Chattanooga (25)





Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): 62; ETSU (6-4, 4-2 Southern): 59; Jackson State (7-2, 4-2 SWAC): 50; Villanova (6-4, 5-2 Patriot): 36; Idaho (5-5, 5-2 Big Sky): 34; Chattanooga (6-4, 5-2 Southern): 32; Central Connecticut State (6-3, 5-0 NEC): 31; UAlbany (6-4, 4-2 CAA): 29; Bryant (6-4, 4-2 CAA): 13; Richmond (6-4, 4-3 Patriot): 12; Southern Illinois (5-5, 3-3 MVFC): 9; Alabama A&M (7-3, 4-2 SWAC): 8; North Alabama (6-4, 4-2 UAC): 7; Western Illinois (6-4, 4-1 OVC): 5





FCS Coaches

W-L*

Pts

Prev*

1

Tarleton State (26)

10-0

650

1

2

Montana State

9-1

606

3

3

Youngstown State

8-2

591

4

4

South Dakota State

8-2

576

5

5

Northern Arizona

8-2

536

6

6

Austin Peay

8-2

499

7

7

Stephen F. Austin

9-1

470

2

8

Lamar

8-2

464

12

9

Tennessee Tech

9-1

434

9

10

South Dakota

7-3

390

10

11

Mercer

8-2

385

11

T12

Montana

7-3

354

13

T12

North Dakota

7-4

354

15

14

MONMOUTH

8-2

331

14

15

LEHIGH

8-2

255

16

16

Campbell

8-2

241

19

17

Illinois State

7-3

222

8

18

South Carolina State

8-2

220

17

19

HARVARD

7-1

203

T22

20

Weber State

6-4

134

25

21

Idaho State

6-4

126

18

22

Jackson State

7-2

76

NR

23

PRINCETON

6-2

60

NR

24

Abilene Christian

5-5

34

T22

25

UAlbany

6-4

31

20


Dropped Out: East Tennessee St. (21), Alabama A&M (24)





Others Receiving Votes: East Tennessee St., 29; UC Davis, 27; UIW, 25; Chattanooga, 22; Dayton, 22; Central Connecticut St., 19; North Alabama, 11; Bryant, 10; Idaho, 10; Alabama A&M, 9; Villanova, 8; Morgan St., 7; Richmond, 4; Southeast Missouri St., 2; BROWN, 1; Butler, 1; UT Rio Grande Valley, 1.





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Elsewhere, two of Dartmouth's grad transfers in the FBS ranks are coming off solid performances.

Georgia Tech dropped a 44-17 decision to Louisville but former Big Green tight end Chris Corbo '26 had a solid game with six catches for 30 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Corbo now has 18 catches for 134 yards on the season.

Yardbarker has a piece headlined Way-Too-Early Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2027 NFL Mock Draft that offers up Corbo as the team's seventh-round draft pick. From the story (LINK):
Corbo offers an intriguing combination of size, receiving ability, and blocking potential. At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, he has the physical dimensions of an NFL tight end.

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While South Florida fell to 6-3 with a 20-17 loss to East Carolina, tailback DJ Crowther '26 posted his third 100-yard game of the season with 111 yards on 17 carries. He also had three catches for 42 yards. He leads the Bulls with 689 yards on the ground, averaging 5.0 yards per carry with seven rushing touchdowns. He's also fourth on the team in receptions with 12 catches for 142 yards and one touchdown.

An NFL Draft Diamonds piece headlined Top Fifth-Year American Conference Draft Prospects lists Crowther at No. 7 and writes (LINK):
Crowther is a hard-nosed downhill runner who combines excellent vision with contact balance and lateral agility. A 2025 First-Team All-Ivy selection at Dartmouth, he has quickly carved out a role in South Florida’s backfield. He earned American Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors after rushing for 101 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries against Delaware State. He runs with a physical edge, consistently bouncing off defenders and fighting for additional yardage. His receiving skills and willingness to handle pass-protection responsibilities add to his appeal as a dependable three-down back.

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Cornell freshman quarterback Michael McColgan, who Dartmouth will see this weekend if Garrett Bass-Sulpizio can't go because of injury, struggled throwing the ball in last week's loss to Penn (5-for-22 for 47 yards) but showed he can tuck and run with a game-high 83 yards on 16 carries. For a first look at him, check out these brief highlights:

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A story headlined Toast, bonfires and King Tut: Five unique FCS fan traditions has two Ivy League traditions among the five. You can surely tell from the headline which involves Dartmouth and if you've ever seen a game at Franklin Field, you know which involves Penn. Click HERE for the story.
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EXTRA POINT
Heading out shortly to get another vaccination, but don't worry. It's nothing to be even remotely concerned about. Quite the opposite, actually. I'll be letting you know the deal sometime around Nov. 28 (in case that clue hasn't already helped you figured out what's up. ;-)
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