The Day After The Day After

Your Mileage May Vary will go up on BGA Overtime tonight. Be sure to stop by HERE.

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No game or follow story in The Dartmouth, but the Yale Daily News covers the Dartmouth-Yale game HERE.

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It's behind a paywall . . . but if  you haven't visited the Valley News site recently you may be able to access its remote coverage of Saturday's game HERE.

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Be sure to watch this:

A loyal BGA reader notes that Yale players have Tony Reno's initials on their jerseys and expressed surprise that teams around the league don't have TR badges on their helmets. 

Green Alert Take: It's a great point and something I hope the Ivy League office has in the works.

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Paul Justafan offers his thoughts about the weekend's results HERE.

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Here are the updated Ivy League football standings. Keep in mind the order is determined first by Ivy League record, then by overall record, then by "streak" and finally by point differential if needed.

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EXTRA POINT
Mrs. BGA and I brought Griff the Wonder Dog with us yesterday when we hiked our nearby mountain. It's a bit of a grind for him at age 12½, but I'm not sure there's anything in this world that makes him happier, and that includes eating. ;-)

And speaking of Griff, any idea what his two favorite words are?

That's easy. Do and you. As in:

Do you want to eat?
Do you want to go in the car?
Do you want to go out?
Do you want to go for a walk? 
Do you want to go for a hike?

As soon as he hears those first two words his ears perk up and his tail starts to wag.

This is not Griff, but the mighty algorithm brought this up earlier today and it's too good not to share because this is the exact look we get almost every day at exactly 5:30!

The Roundup

Just one Ivy-Ivy game this week:

Harvard 41, Cornell 29
After falling behind, 10-0, the Crimson (4-0, 2-0) scored the next 41 points with quarterback Charlie Smith completing 23-of-27 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns on the afternoon. Xaden Benson added another interception to give him six in just four games this fall. He leads the nation.

Garrett Bass-Sulpizio had two touchdowns while throwing two interceptions for Cornell (2-2, 1-1), which ran for 240 yards and scored 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter after falling behind, 41-10. Attendance in Ithaca was 5,418.

Brown 28, Bryant 13
Playing on their home field for the first time this fall, the Bears (2-2, 0-1) held an opponent to 14-or-fewer points for the fourth time this fall. It’s the first time Brown could claim that in 40 years.

Matt Childs ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 45 yards in front of 2,531 in Providence. Bryant (4-2, 2-0) had the advantage in total offense (408 yards to 383) but managed just one touchdown and a pair of third quarter field goals.

Princeton 28, Wagner 13
After dropping their opener to Bryant, the Tigers have won three consecutive games for the first time since 2022. Kai Honda didn’t put up the numbers he did a week ago, but ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries to lead Princeton.

Josh Robinson caught five passes for 84 yards while Josh Smith pulled in three for 61 yards and a touchdown. A crowd of 1,223 on Staten Island saw Princeton improve to 3-1 (1-0 Ivy) while the Seahawks fell to 1-5. 

Penn 24, Howard 20
Trailing by 20-10 entering the fourth quarter, and with starting quarterback Miles Teodecki sidelined by a knee injury sustained in the second quarter, the Quakers (2-2, 0-1) rallied behind replacement Karson Siqueiros-Lasky to score two touchdowns and earn the come-from-behind win.

Siqueiros-Lasky, named the starter in preseason before being supplanted before the first game by Teodecki, finished 19-of-29 for 226 yards and two touchdowns with and interception and also caught a critical fourth-quarter touchdown pass on a gadget play. Ronan Johannson led Penn with seven receptions for 113 yards. Teodecki had two carries for 48 yards with a long of 41 before being injured. Howard (2-4) managed just 13 completions on 33 pass attempts with one interception, one touchdown and five sacks in front of 5,342 in Philadelphia.

Columbia 41, Marist 28
The Lions got an 85-yard return of a blocked field to open the scoring, a 44-yard scoop-and-score for another in the second quarter, and then ran off the game’s final 20 points in the fourth in front of 1,141 in Poughkeepsie.

Chase Goodwin completed 22-of-32 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns with one interception to pace the Lions (3-1, 0-1). Hutch Crow caught seven balls for 105 yards and one TD with Bryce Colman grabbing nine for 93 yards and a touchdown. Griffin Johnson had 98 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries for the Lions, who finished with just 86 net yards of rushing. Marist (3-3) got 321 yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Sonny Mannino.

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EXTRA POINT

Way back on Dec. 2, 2024 I wrote in this space a note about a full can of beer someone left in the snow on my hiking trail, perhaps as incentive for a hiker to keep marching to the top of the mountain. The post included a photo of the can.  (LINK)

Covered in snow all winter, the beer can reappeared in the spring and on April 24, 2025 I wrote about finding it still unopened and placing in the the crook of a tree along the trail, wondering when it would be discovered. I included a photo of where I placed it.  (LINK)

Just about every time I have hiked the trail since I'd take a peek to see if the can was still there. It always was, even after a storm took down the tree holding it last spring.

On my hike a few days ago I looked over and finally the can was gone. I have no idea who found it or whether they cracked it open without knowing it had been on the trail for the better part of two years, but I'm going to miss seeing it. ;-)

Yale Bound

Left for New Haven at 0-Dark-30 this morning to be sure to make the noon kickoff so no time for a proper BGA today.

Columbia 41, Marist 28

Trailing 28-21 early in the fourth quarter, the Lions (3-1, 0-1 Ivy) ran off 20 straight points over the final 9:56 to win going away.

On the night Columbia scored on an 85-yard blocked field goal return, a 44-yard return of a fumble recovery, and a safety to win in front of 1,141 in Poughkeepsie.Chase Goodwin was 22-of-32 for 277 yards and three touchdowns with Hutch Crow catching seven balls for 105 yards and Bryce Coleman nine for 93. Both had TD receptions as did Beckett Robinson, who caught three passes for 62 yards. Griffin Johnson added 99 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries.

Marist (3-3, 2-0 Pioneer) got 324 yards through the air from quarterback Sonny Mannino.

Catch you tonight.

Yale Eve

Was it a Yale spy flying over practice yesterday?

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BGA Overtime featured the weekly Fearful Forecast last night and will have the Yale preview tonight.

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Both schools got their game notes up yesterday:

Click HERE for Dartmouth's notes.

Click HERE for Yale's notes.

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The Dartmouth has a preview of tomorrow's game HERE.

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The Yale Daily News has a preview HERE that includes what would be bulletin-board material – if such a thing still exists. ;-)

In terms of defense, the Big Green may have one of the worst squads in the league. While Dartmouth may have a case for having the toughest strength of schedule thus far among the Ancient Eight, that doesn’t change the fact that they remain at the bottom of the conference in nearly every defensive category.

Not that the same story doesn't take issue with Yale's defense as well:

One major flaw in Yale’s defense stands out. The Bulldogs have given up thirty points per game in their first three games, all against what can be considered as weaker opponents. All of their opponents’ best offensive games of the season have come against Yale, which should be a warning sign.

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Paul Justafan does his usual fine job with a whip-around coverage of this week's Ivy League action HERE. 

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Jake Novak doesn't go into much detail on his podcast, but he does pick Dartmouth to come away with the win down in New Haven. (LINK)

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And finally, he coached at both Dartmouth and Yale so surely there are votes in Hanover, New Haven and points between waiting to be cast for retired defensive line guru Duane Brooks.

Click HERE if you want to hear Ryan Seacrest try to figure out Duane Brooks! To learn more about why Duane is vying for, click HERE.

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EXTRA POINT
Late in August I shared a story about Jacob and Esther, the northern cardinal couple who regularly visit our video bird feeder. I told you that these birds often mate for life, and that we had watched Jacob sweetly feeding sunflower seeds to Esther. (LINK)

We've been seeing more of Jacob than Ether recently and we just learned why. The pair welcomed a new addition to the nest. In this 10-second clip you can see Jacob feeding his very hungry offspring, who was making (her?) first visit to the feeder.

Un Futuro Atleta Olimpico

Former Dartmouth quarterback Jared Gerbino '20, who had success playing pro football in Italy after graduation, will represent that nation as a receiver on its flag football team when the sport makes its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028. He even thinks Italy will make it to the gold medal game.

Find a story as well as an edited version of this video HERE.

(And thanks to Google Translate for the headline help. ;-)

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A reminder that Saturday's noon kickoff between Dartmouth and Yale in New Haven will be carried nationally on ESPNU. Eric Frede and Jack Ford will be the broadcast team. An audio broadcast of the game will be available with Matt Corsetti on the call.

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The Massey ratings system correctly predicted a four-point Dartmouth victory over Penn last week. It was off on the final score, however, picking Dartmouth to win 28-24 when the final was 14-10.

Looking forward a week ago, Massey had Dartmouth falling to Yale, 31-24, with 71 percent confidence.  After last week's games, the system sees the same score but has raised its confidence level on the pick to 72 percent.

The one significant change on Massey's part regarding the rest of the Dartmouth season is against Princeton in Week 8. Last week it had Dartmouth beating the Tigers, 24-23, with 50 percent confidence, making the game a tossup. This week it sees Princeton winning that contest, 24-21, with 58 percent confidence.

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While we're at it, Sagarin has Yale as a five-point favorite over the Big Green Saturday. Here's how Sagarin ranks the Ivy League this week (LINK):

Harvard
Princeton
Yale
Cornell
Dartmouth
Penn
Brown
Columbia

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If you want a sneak peek at Dartmouth's next two opponents, check out highlights from last week's Yale-Merrimack game HERE. 

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There's nothing you probably don't already know here, but this went up a few days ago and you may still find it interesting:

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And finally, a good friend shared a link to a story that is worth checking out. Find the piece headlined The Easter Egg Hidden in Michigan’s Football Jerseys; Gerald Ford almost quit the team over the mistreatment of a black player, and the jerseys nod to it HERE.

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EXTRA POINT
I may have mentioned this before, but my electric lawn tractor turned stubborn about a month ago and these days chooses to go backwards only. With the growing season winding down, I figured there was no hurry getting it serviced, so instead I've held off while I've been researching a potential switch to a new type of battery that would dramatically improve the tractor's run time next year.

Unfortunately, my assumption that the growing season was pretty much over proved a little optimistic. Twice in the past month I had to pull out my walk-behind mower and spend long hours cutting the lawn. Yesterday I broke out the walk-behind and cut the grass for what I seriously hope is one last time. Helping pass the time, I had a few podcasts lined up and I listened to every last one of them before I  could put the mower away.

Out of curiosity, when I came inside I checked the steps app on my iPod. Wondering how accurate it was, I jumped on my laptop, plugged in the numbers, and asked two different AI engines how far I would have had to walk behind a 21-inch-wide mower to cut my entire lawn. Both AI results were in lockstep with what my iPod said.

Cutting my entire lawn – which I should mention is relatively hilly – I pushed my John Deere walk-behind mower ±7 miles. So yeah, I'll be having the tractor worked on this winter.

Vote Early, Vote Often

 

Admit it. After looking this over, you HAVE to click HERE to find out what the former Dartmouth defensive line coach is up to, right?

Green Alert Take: I don't really understand, but Coach Brooks got my vote. ;-)

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To be completely honest, I haven't spent much time looking over the Sting data-driven breakdowns of Dartmouth and its opponents and I can't vouch for what they purport to show. That said, here's a graphic from the site about the upcoming Dartmouth-Yale game that may tease you into checking it out. Click HERE to investigate.

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Roar Lions podcaster Jake Novak updated his Ivy League power rankings after last week's games and they look like this (LINK):

Dartmouth
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Cornell
Penn
Columbia
Brown

Green Alert Take: I have to admit that when I saw Jake was ranking the teams again I was pretty sure he'd have Harvard at No. 1. I just thought the undefeated Crimson sneaking past then-No. 20/22 Colgate would push them past a Dartmouth team that improved to 1-2 with a hard-fought win over 1-2 Penn.

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Yahoo has a story headlined Several Ivy League Grads Making Their Mark In The FBS that centers around TCU quarterback Jaden Craig and UCF safety Ty Bartrum, former Harvard teammates who faced each other on Sept. 26.

The story also includes this from Dartmouth grad  DJ Crowther '26, now tearing it up as the lead running back at South Florida (LINK):

"Coming out of high school, (players) can go to the Ivy League, get their degree and then transfer. It is something that definitely could put more eyes on the Ivy League. Over the past few years there have been a lot of Ivy League players that have gone to the FBS level and are doing well."

Green Alert Take: The headline is a little misleading. There are more than "several" Ivy League grads making their mark in the FBS.

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A bio of ESPN writer Hallie Grossman just surfaced HERE and it deserves a mention because of this paragraph (italics are mine):

In 2026, her in-depth profile on WNBA star Sophie Cunningham was one of the most-read and shared pieces on ESPN.com of the year. Among other sports figures she has written features on: football players Saquon Barkley, Jared Goff, Fernando Mendoza and Trevor Lawrence; boxer Katie Taylor and Nebraska women’s volleyball head coach Dani Busboom Kelly. She also has written about the successful Oklahoma softball program, and one of her favorite pieces was a story on Dartmouth football and then-coach Buddy Teevens.

That sent me scurrying to find the story, which you can find HERE.

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EXTRA POINT
You've seen variations of this theme before, but now that our beloved '84 VW bus is rolling again, I drove it over to our nearby lake to write yesterday's piece for BGA Overtime. My mobile office has no phone, no fridge, no pooch, no toys and no other distractions except for the view, which is ideal for a writer. With the sun shining brightly, even on a 50-degree afternoon it was perfectly comfortable.

Penn In Review

Your Mileage May Vary went up on BGA Overtime last night. Two crotchety old guys will be stopping by the site tonight.

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Dartmouth defensive back Johnny Stephens has been named the Ivy League defensive player of the week after helping the Big Green open its Ivy League season with a 14-10 win over Penn on Saturday afternoon. Stephens led Dartmouth with 13 tackles. Find a story out of Dartmouth HERE.

Punter Luke Armistead, linebacker Gavin King and quarterback Grayson Saunier earned spots on the Ivy League honorable mention list for their play against the Quakers. Find the Ivy release HERE.

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The Penn game story is now available at The Dartmouth site HERE.

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This is from Dartmouth's social media:

And there's this from a fan:

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Computer/AI-driven preview posts are often quite useless, but this one looking ahead to Saturday's Dartmouth-Yale game in New Haven offers a few things to think about. (LINK) 

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This would be worth a watch even if Yale wasn't Dartmouth's opponent this week:

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Dartmouth receives votes in the FCS Coaches Poll and no fewer than five Big Green opponents are either ranked or receiving votes in the STATS poll:

	STATS	W-L*	Pts	Prev*
1	South Dakota State (52)	5-1	1419	2
2	Montana (3)	5-1	1345	3
3	Tarleton State (2)	5-0	1305	4
4	North Dakota	5-1	1171	5
5	LEHIGH	6-0	1136	6
6	Montana State	5-1	1128	1
7	Stephen F. Austin	6-0	1119	7
8	Youngstown State	4-2	1088	8
9	Austin Peay	5-1	977	11
10	South Dakota	4-2	897	13
11	Lamar	4-1	834	14
12	Illinois State	4-2	720	10
13	Northern Arizona	4-2	670	19
14	UC Davis	4-2	661	16
15	Tennessee Tech	4-1	604	9
16	Idaho State	4-1	576	12
17	Campbell	5-1	542	18
18	HARVARD	3-0	458	20
19	Richmond	5-1	299	24
20	Mercer	4-2	295	23
21	South Carolina State	5-1	256	15
22	Jackson State	5-0	236	25
23	Colgate	4-2	130	22
24	ETSU	4-2	107	NR
25	Southern Illinois	3-3	92	21
	Dropped Out: West Florida (17)
	Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Southeastern Louisiana (3-2, 1-1 Southland): 70; MONMOUTH (4-2, 3-0 CAA): 68; Northern Iowa (2-2, 1-0 MVFC): 60; Stony Brook (3-2, 1-0 CAA): 57; West Florida (3-2, 1-2 UAC): 52; Morgan State (4-1): 51; YALE(2-1, 0-1 Ivy): 47; Western Carolina (3-3, 1-1 Southern): 11; Elon (4-2, 2-2 CAA): 9; Bryant (4-1, 2-0 CAA): 8; Abilene Christian (2-4, 1-0 UAC): 7; CORNELL (2-1, 1-0 Ivy): 6; North Alabama (4-2, 1-0 UAC): 2

	FCS Coaches	W-L*	Pts	Prev*
1	South Dakota St. (24)	5-1	648	2
2	Tarleton St. (1)	5-0	614	3
3	Montana (1)	5-1	570	4
4	Stephen F. Austin	6-0	558	5
5	LEHIGH	6-0	528	6
6	Montana St.	5-1	509	1
7	North Dakota	5-1	496	7
8	Austin Peay	5-1	472	9
9	Youngstown St.	4-2	454	10
10	Lamar	4-1	408	13
11	UC Davis	4-2	358	15
12	South Dakota	4-2	338	16
13	Illinois St.	4-2	288	11
14	Northern Arizona	4-2	287	19
15	Richmond	5-1	277	17
16	Tennessee Tech	4-1	255	8
17	Idaho St.	4-1	197	14
18	Mercer	4-2	194	21
19	HARVARD	3-0	180	22
20	Campbell	5-1	171	24
21	South Carolina St.	5-1	152	12
22	Jackson St.	5-0	147	23
23	Colgate	4-2	78	20
24	MONMOUTH	4-2	48	NR
25	Southeastern Louisiana	3-2	41	NR
	Dropped Out: West Florida (18), Southern Illinois (25)
	Others Receiving Votes: West Florida, 37; Bryant, 32; YALE, 24; Southern Illinois, 19; East Tennessee St., 15; Elon, 15; Idaho, 14; Stony Brook, 9; Abilene Christian, 8; DARTMOUTH, 3; Morgan St., 2; Alabama St., 1; Central Connecticut St., 1; North Alabama, 1; Robert Morris, 1.

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EXTRA POINT
Look who we brought home yesterday! Wiffle, our 1984 VW Westfalia poptop camper – named that because the color brings to mind a familiar plastic baseball bat – is such a tease. It could not have driven better on the way home from having work done at the VW Whisperer up on Lake Champlain. If it always drove that way – or at least almost always – we would never consider selling it because it feels like a family member.