Grad transfer Drew Estrada will also make his Big 12 Championship debut when the ninth-ranked Bears (10-2, 7-2) play No. 5 Oklahoma State (11-1, 8-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
"After the season we had last year, I don't think a lot of outsiders expected us to have the season we are now," said Estrada, a second-team All-Ivy League pick as a receiver and kick returner at Dartmouth. "I didn't know, to the extent that we would be 10-2 right now. But, when I got here, I saw the talent and work ethic. And with the new (offensive) staff coming in, I knew there was a different mindset going on, and everyone was moving in the right direction."
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Estrada won't be the only former Dartmouth player in action this week. From a story in New York's Times Union headlined C.J. Lyons emerges as RPI football's shutdown cornerback (LINK):
Lyons began his college career at Dartmouth, appearing in three games as a freshman for the Ivy League school in 2018. But financial issues led him to look for another top academic school. RPI cornerback Darnell Clement, a former high school teammate no longer on the Engineers, recommended he come to Troy.
And:
Lyons and his defensive teammates face their biggest challenge of the year at 1 p.m. Saturday, when the Engineers (11-1) take on top-ranked North Central College (11-0) in an NCAA quarterfinal in Naperville, Ill. The Cardinals, the defending national champions, have the highest-scoring offense in Division III at 57.4 points per game.
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From Bushnell Cup finalist Derek Kyler's Twitter last night (LINK):
I'm incredibly grateful for the past 5 years the Dartmouth community has been able to give me. Those memories will be carried with me for the rest of my life. That being said, my recruitment is now open as a mid-year graduate transfer.
Kyler has used up his Dartmouth eligibility but has graduate eligibility and offers already from UMass and Eastern Illinois.
Also on the transfer/grad transfer front, Dartmouth offensive linemen Jake Guidone and JP Flores have added offers from James Madison. Already sitting on a JMU offer is tight end Robbie Mangas.
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Headline out of Ohio (LINK): Browns' Callie Brownson reinvents herself, crawls out of 'really dark spot' after DUI arrest. The story notes that the former Dartmouth staffer has been named head coach of the U.S. Women’s Tackle National Team headed for the world championships next summer in Finland.
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Former Dartmouth offensive coordinator Jim Pry is mentioned prominently in a story about his son Brent being named the head coach at Virginia Tech. The piece includes a picture of father and son together. (LINK)
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More from Craig Haley's Twitter:
FCS leaders in fewest turnovers
7 – James Madison (4 fumbles, 3 interceptions) and Montana State (4-3)
8 – DARTMOUTH (5, 3)
9 – Columbia (6, 3), Maine (3, 6), Marist (2, 7), McNeese (6, 3)
And in case you are wondering, I dug this up:
Interceptions thrown this year by Ivy League teams
3 – DARTMOUTH, Columbia
8 – Princeton, Harvard
12 – Yale, Penn
14 – Brown, Cornell
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Once again, because for some unknown reasons the Ivy League presidents won't allow their champion to go on, Holy Cross is BGA's Ivy League proxy in the NCAA playoffs. Here's the preview of this week's game from The Analyst (LINK):
Holy Cross (10-2) at No. 5 seed Villanova (9-2)
Kickoff – 7 p.m. ET Friday at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pennsylvania (ESPN+)
Series – Villanova leads 13-9
Coaches – Holy Cross: Bob Chesney (25-15, five seasons; 92-40 overall); Villanova: Mark Ferrante (30-20, five seasons)
3 Players to Watch – Holy Cross: QB Matthew Sluka (97 of 173, 1,343 yards, 11 TDs, 4 INTs; 762 rushing yards, 13 TDs), RB Peter Oliver (140 carries, 741 yards, 4 TDs), LB Jacob Dobbs (130 tackles, 17.5 TFL, 9.5 sacks); Villanova: QB Daniel Smith (159 of 284, 2,163 yards, 22 TDs, 9 INTs; 203 rushing yards, 7 TDs), LB Forrest Rhyne (110 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 4 QB hits), CB Christian Benford (36 tackles, 7 INTs, 16 pass breakups)
3 Key Factors – 1. Both offenses will seek balance and efficiency given the defenses rank first (Holy Cross, 253.4) and second (Villanova, 254.9) in the FCS, respectively, in fewest yards allowed per game. 2. The visiting Crusaders have not been fazed by road games, going 6-0 to tie for the best mark in the FCS (also Eastern Washington). It includes wins at UConn, Yale, Monmouth and Fordham. 3. Perhaps it’s overlooked because he spent two seasons at Campbell, but Villanova third-year quarterback Daniel Smith Jr. is tied for the most total touchdowns among active FCS players (138 via passing, rushing and receiving). He produced five in his only career playoff game in 2019.
Up Next – The winner will play South Dakota State (9-3) or No. 4 seed Sacramento State (9-2) in a national quarterfinal on Dec. 10 or 11.
Prediction – Villanova 24, Holy Cross 13
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Another reminder about how lucky we were in the fall, from Brown sports information:
Brown women's basketball has announced the postponement of its game against New Hampshire on Wednesday, Dec. 1. The postponement was announced out of caution for COVID-19-related concerns.
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EXTRA POINT
I can almost hear the snickers when I walk into a hardware store and ask if they have a thing-a-ma-jig to fix the whadda-ya-call-it. Yeah, I'm much better with a keyboard than a jigsaw.
I wasn't going to buy anything fancy when this came in the mail yesterday, but they have all kinds of stuff from AA batteries to USB charge cords to beef jerky (yuck!) so I figured it was worth stopping by.
Then I looked at the date on the mailing (which I've circled in yellow). There were three different discount cards: this one for Black Friday, another ending Nov. 29 and one ending Nov. 30.
The mailing arrived at our post office box on Dec. 1. Oh well . . .
