While I was asleep at the switch in the final week of the Ivy League season I missed some NFL news . . .
Former Dartmouth standout Niko Lalos '20 re-signed with the New Orleans Saints in mid-November and is once again on the team's practice squad. The 6-foot-5, 269-pound defensive end appeared in six games with the New York Giants in 2020.
From the Go Figure Department, the Saints now have not one, but two Ivy League defensive linemen on their practice squad. Penn product Prince Emili, the 6-2, 300-pound rookie defensive lineman who appeared in two games with the Buffalo Bills before being cut earlier this season, was signed to the Saints’ practice roster the same day as Lalos.
Catching up other NFL news, the injured Achilles' heel suffered by wide receiver Drew Estrada '20 in late October was confirmed a few days later as torn, and he was placed on the Houston Texans' practice squad injured list. (LINK)
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The transfer portal officially opens for 45 days tomorrow. Per an ESPN story more than 3,000 FBS players entered the portal a year ago (LINK).
The portal officially opened for FCS players two weeks ago, and look who showed up on the front of the On3 transfer portal page (LINK):
Cokes, of course, is already sitting on offers from North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Washington State, Purdue, Wake Forest, UConn, UMass and Coastal Carolina.
The only new addition (per Twitter) this weekend to the offers tendered to Dartmouth players is defensive back Tyron Herring adding Maine to a list that already featured Eastern Kentucky, Chattanooga and Indiana State.
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While FBS conference championship games had your attention yesterday our proxy participants in the FCS national playoffs were in action.
On a sloppy field in a driving rain in Worcester, Holy Cross led New Hampshire just 7-5 at halftime before the ground came came alive and the Crusaders advanced with a 35-18 win. After outrushing the Wildcats 303 yards to 22, Holy Cross will now visit No. 1 seed South Dakota State in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon.
If rooting for Holy Cross doesn't work for you, here are two other teams to root for while Ivy Leaguers sit idle.
Former defensive lineman Seth Simmer '20 and his Samford teammates defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 48-42, in overtime yesterday. Samford visits No. 3 seed North Dakota State Friday.
Or you could throw in with former Dartmouth quarterback Brian Mann '02, now athletic director at William & Mary, which scored 27 points in the second quarter and a whopping 38 points off turnovers in a 54-14 win over Gardner-Webb. The No 5 Tribe will visit No. 4 Montana State Friday.
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EXTRA POINT
Mrs. BGA put the electric Christmas candles up in the windows yesterday. It's a little early for me, but at least most of them are the battery-operated kind that turn on and off by themselves. Sure beats going around the house each night doing contortions around couches and beds to unplug each one when all you really want to do is hit the sack. And don't bah humbug me! ;-)
