Two of Dartmouth's three nonconference opponents next fall will be in action this weekend and the third will open the unorthodox spring football season in another week.
Kicking things off will be Oct. 16 opponent New Hampshire taking on CAA rival Albany (and Dartmouth grad transfer running back Caylin Parker) Friday at 7 p.m. in Durham. No fans will be in attendance and as of this morning the forecast for game time is 22 degrees. Here's the STATS Perform capsule look at the game, pitched by the site as one of five games nationally not to miss (LINK):
No. 13 Albany (0-0) at No. 14 New Hampshire (0-0), 7 p.m. (FloFootball/NBC Sports Boston)
The weather sure won't be balmy in Durham for the first CAA North Division matchup, which is appropriate because the strong group of teams will try to give each other the cold shoulder. Albany features quarterback Jeff Undercuffler, whose 41 touchdown passes in 2019 set the FCS single-season freshman record, and running back Karl Mofor, who led the conference in rushing yards per game (100.3) and scrimmage yards (1,609). UNH welcomes back coach Sean McDonnell for the start of his 21st season after he was on medical leave in the 2019 season. The Wildcats' 6-5 team forced 15 turnovers in wins, but only four in losses, making the return of safety Evan Horn (four interceptions, two fumble recoveries) even more important.
The game will be broadcast by NBC Sports Boston and on the FloFootball streaming service.
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On Sunday it will be Sept. 25 opponent Sacred Heart traveling to Western Pennsylvania to take on Duquesne in what is being billed as one of the top Northeast Conference games of the spring.
Valparaiso, which Dartmouth is slated to visit in its Sept. 18 opener, will see its first action one week from Saturday at Butler. Interestingly, the same teams will have a rematch two weeks later.
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Somehow when I wasn't looking Seitu Smith, the former Harvard running back who had a short stint as "Director of Player Personnel" at Dartmouth, has resurfaced in the Ivy League as running backs coach at Yale. (BIO)
Most recently in an offensive quality control role with the Cleveland Browns, Smith has now made his way halfway around the Ivy League. A student-athlete at Harvard, he then worked at Dartmouth, left to be quarterbacks coach at Brown and now is in New Haven.
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Speaking of Brown, the school newspaper has a lengthy story about the athletic director situation at the school under the headline Jack Hayes departs Brown, leaving behind a changed athletics department and complicated legacy; Opinions, experiences of athletics director’s tenure at Brown vary widely (LINK).
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Why link to a posting by New York digital marketing agency Austin Williams under the headline Concerned About Crumbling Cookies? Don’t Fall for Half-Baked Ideas? Here's an excerpt from the story about the computer kind of cookies, not those you buy at the bakery (LINK):
. . . (W)hile the end of third-party cookies means you won’t be able to target “Daniel Jones,” “Saquon Barkley,” “Niko Lalos,” etc., individually, you would be able to target “the New York Giants” as a FLoC.
Turns out Dartmouth's favorite member of the New York Giants was snuck into the story by a 2004 Big Green alum known best, by some, for reading Dr. Seuss aloud . . .
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Pending today's update the active COVID cases on campus include 138 students and two faculty/staff with 287 more in quarantine or isolation. The Dartmouth has a story HERE and the Dartmouth COVID Dashboard is available HERE.
The Manchester Union Leader has a story out of Hanover that includes this (LINK):
“It’s just so frustrating,” Town Manager Julia Griffin said Monday. “This is when I feel like an old mom. I can hear the mother in me saying, ‘Guys, what are you thinking?’”
Griffin said town officials plan to track down students who hosted large parties and their landlords and start issuing fines. An emergency town ordinance enacted late last year limits gatherings to 10 people.
And . . .
During the fall, officials investigated 600 reports of possible violations of the school’s community health protocols which resulted in 86 students losing campus privileges and 124 being given warnings without removal. No action was taken in 397 instances.
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EXTRA POINT
There was a time when I was a big NBA fan. It has come back around a bit but I fell out of love with the pro game when it started looking a little too much like this:
Sport: Regball
— Kendall Baker (@TheKendallBaker) March 3, 2021
Country: Russia
Rules: "Rules are very simple: everything is allowed, except for foot pegs, shocks in the back and a clear provocation to the collision."pic.twitter.com/biyH5TxAO5
