It may not mean much to you, but in the world of recruiting the news this week that Dartmouth football's Twitter account has surpassed Harvard's account for "followers" is huge. Here's how the Ivy League football programs stacked up late in the week:
Yale - 44.3k
Princeton - 39.4k
Dartmouth - 32.2k
Harvard - 31.8k
Columbia - 32.0k
Penn - 29.0k
Brown - 23.6k
Cornell - 23.4k
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When Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports Tweeted that highly regarded Penn Athletic Director Grace Calhoun – the chair of the NCAA Division I council – was leaving Philadelphia to become AD at Brown it was a shocker. But Thamel has proven over the years that his sources are solid and yesterday the news was made official with a release from Brown under this headline (LINK):
Nationally recognized head of Penn athletics M. Grace Calhoun to lead athletics and recreation at Brown; A varsity student-athlete who graduated in Brown’s Class of 1992, Calhoun will serve in a newly elevated role of vice president of athletics and recreation, beginning April 19, 2021.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has a story about Calhoun's departure after seven years HERE.
Calhoun had reportedly been on the "short list" at both UCLA and Boston College.
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Albany stunned New Hampshire last night in the spring football opener for both schools, 24-20. (LINK)
Caylin Parker, the grad transfer from Dartmouth, is not on the participation list for Albany, which had just one running back carry the ball.
The game, played without fans in 22-degree weather, had a bizarre ending as the Wildcats squandered two golden opportunities to rescue the win in the final minutes.
Trailing by four points because of a missed extra point, UNH took over at midfield with 5:01 remaining. The Wildcats advanced the ball to the Albany 23 before their drive bogged down. A fourth-and-four pass that fell incomplete gave the visitors possession with 2:14 left and a chance to run out the clock with a first down.
The New Hampshire defense rose to the challenge, however, forcing a three-and-out and a punt from the 25 with 1:07 on the clock. What happened next could not have gone much better for UNH as Albany botched the longsnap and the Great Danes' panicked punter illegally kicked the ball while it was on the ground. That loss-of-down penalty gave the ball to the Wildcats at the Albany 7 with 1:07 left.
But UNH would return the gift unopened.
On first down the Wildcats were flagged for having 12 players on the field, moving the ball back to the 12. After two incompletions they were called for a false start on third down. That left them facing third-and-goal from the 17. Two more incompletions sandwiched around an Albany timeout and the visitors had escaped with a Houdini-like win.
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EXTRA POINT
For those of you following along, Mrs. BGA kindly lifted the standup desk into place so I could type this from a vertical position instead of sitting. I am now going to get horizontal ASAP. I guess my back is a little better . . . but not much.
