The Tussle

Find Brown's game notes for "The Tussle" between the homestanding Bears and Dartmouth HERE.

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To hear a little from Brown coach James Perry coming out of his team's overtime win against Columbia and in advance of Saturday's Tussle against Dartmouth, check out the Brown Football Report HERE.

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Why The Tussle? Last night's BGA Premium story once again tossed out the name to add a little juice to the season-ending game between Dartmouth and Brown. Back in the day these things seemed always to start with an unofficial nickname in the press so in that tradition this is from last night's BGA column (LINK):

College Football Hall of Famer DeOrmond (Tuss) McLaughry served as head coach at both Dartmouth and Brown.

McLaughry headed up the Bears’ program from 1926-40, posting a record of 76-58-5. His first team, the legendary “Brown Iron Men,” featured 11 players who were on the field for all 60 minutes of wins over Dartmouth and Yale, as well as for much of the rest of that season. His 1926 team finished 9-0-1 and is still the only undefeated team in Brown football history, while his ’28 and ’32 teams both lost just one time.

McLaughry moved on to Dartmouth in 1941, replacing Earl Blaik. After two seasons he took a leave to serve his country as a lieutenant colonel in the Marines. He would return to the Big Green in 1945 and coach the team until 1954. His 1948 and ’49 squads were credited at the time with being the first in school history to post six wins over so-called “major” teams.

While McLaughry is part of football lore at both Dartmouth and Brown, his biggest impact may have been on his profession.

In addition to serving on the NCAA football rules committee from 1945-54, he played an integral role in the American Football Coaches Association, serving first as the organization’s secretary, then as president, and finally as its executive director from 1960 to 1965.

During his tenure the American Football Coaches Association bestowed the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award for "service to football" on McLaughry, and in 1964 the AFCA honored the former Brown and Dartmouth mentor by establishing the Tuss McLaughry Award, the highest honor given out by the organization. It is presented annually for nothing less than “service to mankind.”

Read those words again. The award bearing Tuss McLaughry's name is presented for "service to mankind."

Among the winners of the McLaughry Award since its inception have been General Douglas MacArthur, Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, the Apollo 11 astronauts, Jimmy Stewart, General Chuck Yeager, Roger Staubach and former Dartmouth football player Jeffrey Immelt ’78, who went on to run General Electric. This year’s honoree will be Archie Manning.

Green Alert Take: The Tussle. How better to honor Tuss McLaughry and add some spark to the game than to name the season-ending contest between his two Ivy League schools after him?

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Craig Haley takes a look at some of the most impactful games around the FCS for The Analyst and offers this on the all-important Harvard-Yale game (LINK):

Both rivals are completing their 150th seasons, and Yale has a 69-61-8 series lead before “The Game” turns 139. A win would give the Bulldogs a share of the Ivy League title alongside Harvard (Dartmouth also remains alive for a title share). Harvard tops the league in scoring average (33.3), with sophomore QB Jayden Craig coming off offensive player of the week honors in his second career start. Yale’s No. 2 scoring offense (30.7) boasts Nolan Grooms (Ivy-high 20 TD passes) and wide receiver Mason Tipton (755 yards, 10 TDs – both league highs).    

The Pick: Yale

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The Syracuse Daily Orange writes about the artistic pursuits of corner Isaiah Johnson '22, the second-year grad transfer from Dartmouth who is fourth on the 'Cuse team in tackles with 52 and is tied for the team lead in pass breakups with six. Not much mention of football or Dartmouth but you can find the story HERE.

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The Concord Monitor has a story about New England College, which is resurrecting its football program under onetime Dartmouth assistant Kevin Kelly, finding a conference landing spot. Kelly coached with the Big Green in 1991 and in 2011 was the Patriot League coach of the year at Georgetown. Find the story HERE. 

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Sorry if this is burying the lede but there's no real breaking news in a piece on the FBS Schedules website regarding Army making schedule changes to accommodate its move to the American Athletic Conference next fall. The impetus for the story was a schedule posted on the Lehigh game nots this week that has the Mountain Hawks playing at Army next fall. Dartmouth gets this mention in the FBS Schedules story (LINK):

The remainder of Army’s 2024 non-conference schedule is in flux as the school trims down its opponent list. The Black Knights did have another game against a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team on the schedule — vs. Dartmouth at Sept. 28. For now, that game remains listed on Dartmouth’s official website.

Green Alert Take: Stay tuned. 

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EXTRA POINT
From a posting by online flower business BloomsyBox (LINK):

You can get paid to cozy up, chill out, and rate 12 Hallmark(®) Christmas favorites. Our lucky winner will be paid $2,000, as well as receive other prizes totaling over $500.

The winner will be asked to score each of the assigned Hallmark Christmas movies on a scale of one to ten, for each of the following criteria: 1. Festivity Factor, 2. Predictability Quotient, 3. Chemistry Check, 4. Tear-Jerker Test and 5. Replay Value.

Green Alert Take: Wait. The winner has to watch all those movies?