Two of Dartmouth's nonconference opponents opened their seasons against FBS teams last night and while both lost by lopsided scores one showed it may have a pretty potent offense. The scores: Central Michigan 66, Central Connecticut 10, and Bowling Green 41, Fordham 17.
Week One Dartmouth opponent Fordham gave up a 100-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff of the game and fell in a 20-0 hole after one quarter. Although the Rams never really challenged after the rough start, they finished the game with a solid 401 yards of total offense, including 182 on the ground. Julius Loughridge, who ran for 1,146 yards a year ago, carried 16 times for 112 yards against BG. Quarterback CJ Montes completed 13-of-21 passes for 159 yards and one touchdown without an interception.
As an aside, Bowling Green's quarterback was Connor Bazelak, son of one of Dartmouth's all-time best 3-point shooters (Len Bazelak '88). He played three years at Missouri and one at Indiana and is in his second season at Bowling Green.
Central Connecticut managed 194 yards rushing against Central Michigan but was absolutely destroyed by big plays. They Blue Devils gave up an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown as well as TD passes of 72 and 47 yards.
Week Two Dartmouth opponent Merrimack opens at Air Force tomorrow at 3:30.
Other FCS-FBS games of interest last night included New Hampshire taking it on the chin at Central Florida, 57-3, and Buffalo topping Lafayette, 30-13, giving former Dartmouth assistant Pete Lembo his first win in Western New York.
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Almost forgot this. HERO Sports came out with its Patriot League forecast and has Fordham finishing second behind defending champion Lafayette.
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Defensive lineman Shane Cokes '23, now in his second year at Colorado, was credited with two tackles in the Buffs' 31-26 win over FCS North Dakota State last night. He started and was in the regular rotation for the Buffaloes, who barely held on for the win when a Bison Hail Mary came up four yards short of the end zone.
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From Dartmouth social media:
🏈 @DartmouthFTBL Preseason Camp Update: Special Teams#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/tPwNqXCtas
— Dartmouth Athletics (@dartmouthsports) August 29, 2024
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From a preview of CAA member Stony Brook team (LINK):
Factoring in on the outside will be linebackers Clarens Legagneur, Tyson McCloud and Chayce Chalmers. Legagneur tallied an interception to go with 28 total tackles, a sack and 4.5 tackles for loss last season, while McCloud notched 36 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and four passes defended with Dartmouth. Chalmers is new to the position after transitioning there from safety this offseason.
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EXTRA POINT
For those of you keeping score, our 400-mile drive back from the New Jersey shore town of Ship Bottom, N.J., to little old West Newbury, Vt., was another reminder to us, at least, that trips like that in an EV are absolutely doable. Interestingly, although we don't own a Tesla, we charged twice at Tesla Superchargers (retrofitted for the rest of us ;-) that worked like a charm.
After choosing to return north via I-87 to make sure we missed the anticipated traffic delay around Hartford, Conn., we topped off our battery with a charge behind the town hall in Bennington, Vt., walking to a sandwich shop and grabbing a quick dinner while the car was plugged in. Perfect. All-in-all, it was a great trip.
