While We Are Away

Check out BGA Overtime for a story that went up last night on Owen Zalc, the Dartmouth placekicker who is in a very good place mentally and physically this year after a trying junior season.

While we're out of town, the Big Green has a day of R&R on tap today at Storrs Pond, the local recreation area. Kayaking, swimming, volleyball, spike ball, wiffleball and a lot more will fill the afternoon as the players enjoy a break from football.

The team will be back on the field tomorrow and Monday before we return. While we are visiting That Certain Dartmouth '14 and That Certain Fellow there will still be content on the OT so be sure to stop by.

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We had a nice drive over back roads from our Vermont hillside home to Bar Harbor. While we were That Certain Nittany Lion '16 shared this photo of Griff the Wonder Dog, who he is watching while we are away and it's such a nice shot I had to include it this morning.

We'll be doing some exploring around Acadia National Park today. We had a chance yesterday to walk across the "bar" that gives Bar Harbor its name. Here's a look from a vantage point on the far side of the bar, and from just above it.

 

Nick Lowery In His Own Words

In an interview about his new book, former Dartmouth and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery '78 talks about playing tennis with Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl as well as with Chris Evert, on whom he admits to once having a crush.

Part of the interview:

Host: (Y)ou said that Dartmouth wasn’t great at football. Dude, I went to Columbia, and we never beat you, so…

Nick Lowery: I don’t know when I said Dartmouth wasn’t great at football. We were always in second place. And superb the last few years, my friend. The late, great Buddy Teevens–we have reasserted the greatness of Dartmouth football.

Read about the book on Amazon HERE. 

Find the interview with a transcript HERE.

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A story headlined Despite roster overhaul there's plenty of optimism for The Citadel football team in 2026 speaks to what a Dartmouth grad transfer can bring to the team beyond ability on the field (LINK):

You need a quarterback on defense, too. Dartmouth grad transfer Zyion Brown has filled that role nicely since he stepped onto campus in the spring.

The 6-0, 240-pound linebacker helped lead the Big Green program to back-to-back Ivy League titles and recorded 83 tackles a year ago for Dartmouth.

Brown has some big shoes to fill in replacing Mikey Rosa, who led the team in tackles for loss (8½) and quarterback sacks (5½) in 2025.

“He is a winner and he’s helping some of the younger guys on the team realize that winning isn’t just want happens on game day, between the stripes, on Saturdays,” Drayton said. “Winning is about how do you eat, how do you rest, how do you communicate, and he’s been able to impart his wisdom to the rest of his teammates.”

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Arkansas football players Caleb Wooden, Sean Williams among those granted temporary restraining orders against NCAA. Find the story HERE.

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What might have been the most interesting game for Ivy League fans on the first night of college football turned out to be no contest. Literally.

From the Lafayette website:

Thursday night's Patriot League football contest between Lafayette and Georgetown has been ruled a no contest after prolonged lightning strikes in the Washington, D.C. area.

After approximately a two-hour delay, the game was called after halftime with Lafayette trailing 13-7 and slated to receive the second-half kickoff. The game will not be reschedule. 

Lafayette will give opening the 2026 season a second effort on Sept. 5. at Connecticut in a noon kickoff.

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Opening night was a bust for the Pioneer Football League as well. No fewer than three PFL teams lost to Division II competition:

Concord 41, Davidson 35
Ohio Dominican 42, Morehead State 40
South Dakota Mines 38, Drake 35

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EXTRA POINT
Mrs. BGA and I are headed to Acadia National Park this morning to visit That Certain Dartmouth '14 and That Fellow Who Roots for a Baseball Team That Shall Not Be Named. They relocated to the Bar Harbor park a few weeks ago and are closing on a house, so we're excited to be heading up to see them before football season really picks up.

We'll be camping and may not have internet, so there's a chance this site could be quiet before we head back Monday morning, but I'll see what I can do.

There will be new content tonight on BGA Overtime. Tomorrow will be dark (the team has an R&R day at Storrs Pond), but there will be posts going up Sunday and Monday, so keep coming back. Everything will get back to normal on Tuesday. 

This And That

 

If you visited BGA Overtime yesterday you saw this shot I took at Wednesday’s practice. I’m headed out to this morning’s session shortly, so be sure to stop by the site tonight.

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While Dartmouth and the other Ivies continue working toward their Sept. 19 openers, the FCS season actually kicks off tonight with 23 games.

Among games of interest on the first night of the season is a Patriot League matchup with Lafayette at Georgetown. If you’ve figured out how to get ESPN+ through your TV provider (at no extra cost this year, thank you very much), you can catch that game at 7 p.m.

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Meet Brysen Terry, a 6-foot-6, 325-pound offensive linemen who has announced he’ll be headed to Dartmouth next fall:

You can read the story HERE and learn how his father Adam, a seven-year NFL veteran, has helped him on his football journey.

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From Dartmouth’s social media after the NFL team had a scout at practice yesterday to check out safety Harrison Keith:

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From a story regarding former Dartmouth safety Sean Williams ’26 in the Fort Smith Southwest Times Record (LINK):

Arkansas football's Caleb Wooden and Sean Williams sued the NCAA on Wednesday, Aug. 26 in hopes of gaining an extra year of eligibility to play in 2026. ne petition, filed jointly in Washington County Circuit Court and obtained by the Southwest Times Record, requests a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the NCAA.

And . . .

Wooden has been practicing with the Razorbacks since re-enrolling in the university on onday, Aug. 17. According to the suit, Williams was admitted into the university on Tuesday, Aug. 25, and will begin practicing when he enrolls in classes.

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In related news, Yahoo has a story headlined Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 approve ban on pro players returning to college to play; ACC considering move HERE.

And from The Athletic (LINK):

“A player who signed an NFL Player Contract that is subsequently terminated by the NFL Club may return to college football, subject to applicable NCAA eligibility rules,” league counsel Lawrence P. Ferazani Jr. wrote in a memo distributed to teams and obtained by The Athletic. ” … Any player who returns to a college football team may not return to an NFL Club for the remainder of that year.”

And that brings us to this from On3 about a three-year basketball player at Princeton (LINK):

Former Florida guard Xaivian Lee is officially headed back to college basketball. After going undrafted in the 2026 NBA Draft and spending the summer with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lee has committed to Gonzaga, according to On3's Joe Tipton, giving Mark Few another experienced playmaker for the upcoming season. The veteran guard participated in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas but will instead return to the college ranks after entering the transfer portal. His decision gives Gonzaga one of the most accomplished guards available, while providing Lee another opportunity to boost his NBA stock.

And . . .

Earlier this summer, Lee signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Cleveland shortly after going undrafted in June, earning an opportunity to compete during Summer League. Across five appearances with the Cavaliers, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged 6.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 16 minutes per game while shooting 40% from the field. 

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EXTRA POINT
True story. I went online to see if I could get a new supply of reporters notebooks, which fit nicely both into your hands and a back pocket. With that I realized two things that are related. First, those notebooks are more expensive than you might think. And second, while a lot of them have only a dozen or 15 pages left in them, it makes a lot more sense for me to use up the stash I have left from my newspaper days than to fork over good money for new ones.

Back At It

Just back from a 6:15 a.m. practice on foggy Memorial Field. Check out BGA Overtime  tonight for the latest out of Dartmouth football.

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Yesterday was media photo day for the Dartmouth program and here's a sampling of some of the shots taken by Zach Pierson, manager of content services for football, and posted to Instagram HERE.

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SI.com follows up its posting on Saturday's posting about the best FCS offenses in each FCS conference in 2025 (LINK) with its determination of the best defenses in each conference a year ago in terms of yards allowed per play. The top five from the Ivy League (LINK):

Harvard (4.8)

Yale (4.8)

Princeton (5.2)

Dartmouth (5.2)

Cornell (5.5)

The capsule accompanying the post:

Harvard's defense was very good to start the season, but really took a step back late in the season. The Crimson will be hoping that this unit will be more like what we saw early last year, especially with some of the top returning talent, including All-American Damien Henderson. Much of Yale's defense also returns, including All-American safety Abu Kamara. Now, the Bulldogs will look to continue that same level of success under new head coach Kevin Cahill.

Week One Dartmouth opponent Lehigh topped the Patriot League with 4.5 yards per play a year ago. Here's what the story said looking head to 2026 for the Mountain Hawks:

Lehigh was dominant defensively for the second consecutive season. The thing to watch will be whether they can replace several incredible players along the defensive line. All of their top producers for sacks and negative plays are gone. They do have plenty of depth returning in the back seven that should keep this unit among the top defenses in the conference.

Week Two opponent Monmouth was third in the CAA at 5.2. From the story:

It may come as a big surprise that Monmouth finished with a Top 3 defense. Part of their problem is how often they are on the field due to being paired with an up-tempo, explosive offense on the other side of the ball.

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Headline from an ESPN story that offers another reminder that college football at its highest level is broken:

Ole Miss had FBI sweep for bugs after Lane Kiffin's exit for LSU

Find the story HERE if you dare.

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The Citadel two-deep has gone public and grad transfer Zyion Freer-Brown '26 is listed as a starting linebacker. (LINK)

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EXTRA POINT
Penn State move-in day for the general student population usually coincides with the Little League World Series in Williamsport, about an hour east of Happy Valley. Twice we caught LLWS games when we were dropping off That Certain Nittany Lion '16, and here's my takeaway:

If you ever get a chance to go to Williamsport for the Series, do not miss it. It is everything you see on ESPN and more.

'Media Day" Catch Up

If you stopped by BGA Overtime yesterday, you read that coach Sammy McCorkle was particularly impressed by the play of his wide receivers in Monday morning's practice. (LINK)

This clip from Dartmouth social media shows deep threat Luke Rives tracking the ball and making the kind of catch that caught McCorkle's eye:

COMPETING #GoBigGreen | #TheWoods pic.twitter.com/3ZYMLqUQSJ

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) August 24, 2026

Today is photo day (aka "media day") for Dartmouth football so there will be no on-field practice or BGA Overtime posting tonight.

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Craig Haley of Stats Perform/The Analyst has made his projections for the FCS playoffs. He doesn't have Dartmouth making it, but does have Big Green opponents Harvard, Lehigh and Monmouth in the field.

Haley has Harvard as a16 seed playing host to unseeded Monmouth, with the winner visiting No. 1 seed Montana State. On the other side of the bracket he has 14 seed Lehigh hosting unseeded Youngstown State with the winner visiting No. 3 UC Davis.

Find the story HERE.

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The Ivy League is still three weeks away from playing games, but the first opponent for each Ivy team opens this week. Here's that schedule with the date, the Ivy League team and its opponent's first game:

THURSDAY
Columbia – Lafayette at Georgetown, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY
Brown – New Haven vs. Marist, 6 p.m.
Cornell – Colgate at Fordham, 6 p.m.
Harvard – New Hampshire at Albany, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY
Dartmouth – Lehigh at Holy Cross, 3:30 p.m.
Yale – Holy Cross vs. Lehigh, 3:30 p.m. 
Penn – Bucknell at Richmond, 6 p.m.
Princeton – Bryant at Stonehill, 6 p.m

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Former Dartmouth quarterback Jackson Proctor '25 has been beaten out for the starting quarterback position at FCS power South Dakota. Earning the nod is Austyn Modrzewski, a redshirt freshman and two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Colorado. (LINK)

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Speaking of starters and backups, Ourlads is an online service that, among other things, posts informed guesses at depth charts for FBS schools at this LINK. Here's where it sees Dartmouth's grad transfers fitting in as camps start to wind down:

South Florida
RB DJ Crowther – First team

Ball State
C Max Wentz – First team
TE Sean Ward – Second team

Duke
DT Dakota Quiñonez – Second team

Georgia Tech
TE Chris Corbo – Second team

Wyoming
DE Thaddeus Gianaris – Second team

Virginia
CB Patrick Campbell – Third team

North Texas
WR Grayson O'Bara – Third team

Ohio State
OL Vasean Washington – Not mentioned

Green Alert Take: Keep in mind the depth charts are not official, and in some cases – such as tight end at Georgia Tech – there can be more than one starter.

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EXTRA POINT
Happy National Parks Service birthday although as everyone's favorite ranger would warn us, having a lit candle that close to a straw hat would be frowned on by Smokey Bear!

A 100-Game Football Losing Streak Snapped?

Keep reading and you'll find out what team finally broke through. In the meantime . . .

Sunday night's Big Green Overtime practice story centers around Dartmouth starting quarterback Grayson Saunier. Find the story HERE, and come back tonight for coverage of this morning's practice.

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The so-called experts forecasting the Minnesota Vikings' regular-season roster think Dartmouth's Delby Lemieux '26 faces tough odds making the team as an undrafted free agent, but this probably didn't hurt his cause. From a story headlined PFF grades from the Vikings preseason loss to the Ravens (LINK):

Best run blocking grades
OT Henry Byrd 68.8
OT Delby Lemieux 65.3
OT Walter Rouse 64

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Courtesy of Dartmouth social media:

Rain or Shine We WORK. #GoBigGreen | #TheWoods pic.twitter.com/TxdwnOI7cX

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) August 23, 2026

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The Analyst has a ranking of FCS conferences using . . .

. . . "the AI projection model TRACR (Team Rating Adjusted for Competition and Roster), which considers how good a team is relative to the strength of its opponent. The accumulation provides an offensive rating and a defensive rating per 10 drives in a game, and the difference between them gives an overall team rating." 

Got that? Me, neither. But no one in the Ancient Eight should be complaining about how the ranking turned out:

1 Missouri Valley
2 Big Sky
3 United Athletic
4 Ivy League
5 CAA
6 Patriot
7 Southern
8 MEAC
9 Southland
10 Ohio Valley
11 NEC
12 SWAC
13 Pioneer

Here's what the piece says about the Ivy League:

The Ancient Eight gained two bids (Yale and Harvard) in its first season of playoff eligibility. Led by those defending co-champs – Yale is 14th and Harvard 17th – six league members are in the top 50 of TRACR, and all eight are in the top 70. The last league in college football to kick off its season (Sept. 19) plays a shorter, 10-game regular season. 

And if you are like me and haven't been paying enough attention, the United Athletic Conference formed in 2023 and features Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Tarleton State, West Florida and West Georgia.

Green Alert Take: Central, Eastern, North, West and West? It's the "directional" FCS conference! 

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One more Ivy Leaguer makes the "Best Returning No." with the season starting Thursday:

The best returning No. 4 is Yale DB Abu Kamara
-2026 Sr
-6’0” 208 lbs
-2-year All-Ivy League 1st Team
-2-year All-American
-2024: 84 tackles, 2 INT
-2025: 76 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, 2 INT, 13 PBUs
-2025 Ivy League DPOY

The list of Ivy Leaguers who have been so recognized:

96: Yale DT Jaylin Tate
86: Cornell TE Ryder Kurtz
85: Columbia WR Titus Evans
77: Harvard OL Spencer Doan
75: Penn OL Luke Sacchetti
71: Harvard OL Thomas O'Brien
64: Princeton OL Barrett Eddlemon
37: Penn S Ty Cortes
35: Harvard LB Sean Line
29: Harvard K Kieran Corr
27: Princeton CB Evan Haynie
24: Dartmouth S Harrison Keith
19: Harvard WR Brady Blackburn
18: Yale WR Jaxton Santiago
  4: Yale DB Abu Kamara

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A Sean Williams '26 update out of Arkansas under the drop headline Fifth year in flux (LINK) 

Arkansas added two defensive backs — Caleb Wooden from last year’s roster and Dartmouth transfer Sean Williams — after a federal court ruling earlier this month that gave athletes in the high school class of 2022 the ability to rejoin the teams they played for last year or transfer to new programs if they had previously entered the transfer portal. The high school class of 2022 was not grandfathered when the NCAA Cabinet voted this summer to allow a fifth year of eligibility for all athletes beginning during the 2026-27 school year.

Last week, however, a federal appeals court halted the injunction, casting doubt on the future of athletes trying to get their fifth year.

“I think we’re doing our due diligence, our homework, obviously talking to our compliance department on where the rules stand now,” Silverfield said. “You’re hopeful that if there’s any young men you bring in as part of your roster they have the ability to go out there and compete on Saturdays, but we also have to be smart and say ‘OK, we don’t want to take reps away from this guy because this whole thing could blow up tomorrow.’

“We know it’s been a lot of back and forth, we’re keeping them in the loop. We’re having those conversations. Best thing we can do, if they’re allowed to and compliance allows, can they start learning the playbook? Can they start finding ways to at least do what they need to do [so that] if they’re number’s called, they have the ability to step up?”

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Headline from FootballScoop: The nation's longest losing streak has come to an end after over a decade and 101 games. Columbia Hight School of Huntsville, Ala., finally broke through with a big 41-14 win after 11 years. Find the story HERE.

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EXTRA POINT
We have a male and female cardinal couple that regularly visit our video bird feeder. Mrs. BGA and I nicknamed them Jacob and Esther after a couple we had dinner with on our cross country train trip several years ago. Cardinals, we've learned, frequently mate for life. Jacob and Esther often visit our feeder together and when they do, Jacob will occasionally grab a sunflower seed and feed it to Esther. It's quite sweet.

Yesterday I watched through a window as Jacob perched on the feeder while Esther stood on a railing about five feet away. Twice I watched Jacob grab a sunflower seed in his beak and fly down to the railing where he fed it to Esther. Maybe I'm an old softie, but it was really quite touching to watch.

Sunday Stuff

BGA Photo

Dartmouth kicked off the preseason yesterday on the Blackman Practice Fields. Click here for a BGA Overtime story about the first day. And be sure to stop by again tonight for a recap of day two.

One more thing. You asked for it, you got it. Off to the upper right is a green box with a direct link to BGA Overtime. Just click in the box each day and it will take you directly to the latest OT entry.

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Keeper's College Football Ratings pulls together all kinds of numbers for teams across the country and just yesterday it posted FCS Returning Starts & Stats. There's a ton to unpack. Here are a couple of screenshots:

Confused? Me, too. For the full charts and an explanation about each column, click HERE.

Green Alert Take: Still not sure what's happening down in New Jersey. Keeper's includes this note:

125 FCS 2026 rosters verified.  ** 2 teams have not issued a current roster: Princeton,  So Carolina St.

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Click the Xweet below for a few practice shots from yesterday courtesy of Dartmouth social media:

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Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle was a charter member of Buddy Teevens' staff when he returned to Hanover in 2005. So was Matthew Smiley, and while McCorkle is still here, Smiley has had quite a coaching journey since leaving Dartmouth after a couple of seasons.

Gamecock Central has a story headlined Countdown to kickoff prediction series: Special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley will deliver some success fakes in 2026 that catches us up on the four college programs Smiley worked with, and the two NFL teams before landing at South Carolina. Click HERE to read the story.

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The FCS Untapped site lists its Most Anticipated Games from Each Conference for the 2026 Season and here's what it says for the Ancient Eight:

Ivy League | Yale vs Harvard (November 21)

It’s The Game being played at Fenway Park. Need we say more?

Green Alert Take: As Captain Renault says in Casablanca, "I'm shocked."

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EXTRA POINT
Mrs. BGA and I watched the 2011 film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo last night and I'm really glad I read the book. It was a good flick, but it was hard enough for me to follow the story knowing the plot. I can't imagine how difficult it would have been for Mrs. BGA if I couldn't hit pause to explain what just happened and why.

It's Time

The Harvard and Yale previews went up on BGA Overtime last night. Check out the whole series of previews today, and come back tonight for a story out of the first day of Dartmouth fall camp, where I'm spending the morning. Find it all on BGA Overtime.

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If you told me last year at this time that Sean Williams '26 would be in the news this week I would have guessed he made an interception in a preseason NFL game, or something along those lines. I would never have predicted he would be in a headline on the Arkansas Razorbacks On SI page:

The story begins this way:

A new court ruling in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday could lead to two Arkansas defensive backs not suiting up this season.

After a previous court ruling allowed NCAA athletes from the Class of 2022 to retain a year of eligibility, even if they had exhausted their four years, safety Caleb Wooden and Dartmouth transfer DB Sean Williams were both given a new lease on life, at least in regard to their eligiblity for the 2026 season. Wooden officially joined the Razorbacks on Aug. 16, one day before the start of the fall semester at the University of Arkansas, while Williams committed to Arkansas on Aug. 18.

Click HERE to read the full piece. 

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Dartmouth has announced its promotional lineup for the football season (LINK):

Sept. 26  Monmouth – Family Weekend
Oct. 3 Penn – Homecoming
Oct. 17 Merrimack – Eduicator Day
Oct. 30 Harvard – Staff Health Care Appreciation Day
Nov. 21 Brown – Senior Day/Youth Day

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FCS Football Central on SI carries a piece headlined Ranking The Best FCS Offenses From Every Conference In 2025; Will these top FCS offenses be able to find the same success in 2026? The column judges the offenses by yards per play in conference action. Here are the numbers it worked up for the Ivy League:

Harvard (6.3)
Yale (6.0)
Penn (5.6)
Brown (5.3)
Dartmouth (5.3)

From the story (LINK):

Harvard will have to replace star quarterback Jaden Craig, but the Crimson will have plenty of returning weapons around whoever wins the QB1 job. Dante Reno will look to take the next step at Yale, but the Bulldogs are going to need to find a new workhorse to replace Josh Pitsenberger.

The same story lists Dartmouth week-one opponent Lehigh first in the Patriot League with 7.1 yards per play, and week-two opponent Monmouth second in the CAA at 6.8.

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A HERO Sports piece headlined Top 25 Returning FCS Defensive Ends In 2026 has three Ivy Leaguers in its ranking:

8. Ike Odimegwu, Brown
16. Zairion Jackson-Bass, Yale
18. Jack Middleton, Brown

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Finally, with less than a week until the first FCS game, the uniform number countdown is at six, and the best player in the nation wearing that number will be across the field from Dartmouth on Sept. 19. Here's the HERO writeup (LINK):

The best returning No. 6 is Lehigh RB Luke Yoder
-2026 Sr
-5’11” 205 lbs
-2024: 1,014 rush yards, 10 TDs
-2024 All-Patriot 2nd Team
-2025: 1,409 rush yards, 7.1 YPC, 15 TDs
-2025 Patriot League OPOY
-2025 3x FCS All-American

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EXTRA POINT
If you've been following along you know about our beloved '84 VW Vanagon pop top camper bus, which we take every July (except this one when it was on the disabled list) to a jamboree in southern Vermont. The final count is in, and here's the census from this year's event:

A total of 103 Volkswagens turned up. Of that number there were 63 Vanagons (1980-81), 22 "bay window" models (1967-79), eight "splitties" (1950-67), four Eurovans (1992-2003), two Rialto's (1995-2005) and one lonely Beetle. I hoped to see an electric VW Buzz, but not this year.

Here's an aerial view showing just a few of the VWs.