BGA Overtime

(BGA Oct. 29) – The Optimist  is sitting at the usual table making small talk with the server when The Pessimist walks in wearing a smiling mask. While the other guy looks on in amazement, The Pessimist sits down and removes the mask to reveal another underneath. This one appears to be in agony. The Optimist : Halloween isn’t for another couple of days. S’plain Lucy. The Pessimist : Nice I Love Lucy reference. These are the masks of Thalia and Melpomene, one the Muse of Festivity and the other the Muse of tragedy. The Optimist:  I'm guessing you'd be more familiar with  Thelma and Louise . You’ve been messing around with artificial intelligence again, haven’t you? The Pessimist: Yes, but you have to admit Dartmouth fans watching the Columbia game were making real-life Thal and Mel faces on Saturday afternoon. The Optimist : Thal and Mel it is now, huh? OK, I’ll admit it was an up-and-down game, but the bottom line is we won a road showdown for the Ivy League lead and ...

  (BGA Oct. 28) – You know the drill, so without further ado . . . 1) The question before last week’s game was whether the upstart Columbia Lions were ready for their first star turn on the big stage near the corner of Broadway and 218th Street. Even head coach Jon Poppe admitted afterward to wondering about that as his team fell behind, 10-0, in the opening half. As for the Big Green, it had just one first down until the midway point of the second quarter – that the result of a 15-yard hands-to-the-face penalty – but the moment never seemed too big for Dartmouth. The Big Green looked like a team that had been there before, maintaining its poise while methodically building 17-0 and 24-7 leads. But then the tables turned. Dartmouth showed a surprising lack of composure down the stretch, allowing Columbia to close within three points and possibly force overtime or steal the win if it could recover an onside kick. That has to be a one-off   if the Big Green is to win another tit...

(BGA Oct. 27) – Columbia came into Saturday’s showdown for the Ivy League lead ranked ninth in the nation in run defense and first in the conference in rushing offense. Dartmouth began the day ranked dead last in the country in turnover margin. In no small part because each of those things changed dramatically the most noteworthy ranking for either team could change as well. That would be the Big Green’s No. 22 national ranking. Spurred by a career-high 182 yards from senior tailback Q Jones, Dartmouth ran for 271 yards while limiting the Lions to 84 and picking off three passes in a 24-21 win that was nowhere near that close. “It was a good win for our football team,” said Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle. “The guys prepared well this week. … They came ready to play and beat a good football team." With the win Dartmouth improves to 6-0 for the first time since starting 8-0 in 2019 on the way to claiming a share of the Ivy League title. More importantly, the Big Green is 3-0 in conf...

  (BGA Oct. 25) – When Dartmouth and Columbia squared off for the Ivy League lead in 1996, there were future NFL draft picks on both teams, another player who would spend a year in the league and a fourth who signed a free agent contract. All four players were on the defensive side of the ball.    While the odds are against any future NFL draft picks being on the field Saturday when the 5-0 Big Green and 4-1 Lions collide, it’s not as if the Ivy Leaguers will be playing chess against each other with the undisputed conference lead at stake, right? Actually, to listen to the coaches of the 2-0 Ivy teams, there will indeed be an element of The Game of Kings at play, in no small part because of the talent both teams have at quarterback, running back, receiver and well, all over the board. Err, field. “They have very good players and make big plays,” said Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle. “They're a very disciplined, well-coached team. We need to have our players in the rig...

  BGA (Oct. 22) – The Optimist arrives at the usual place at the usual time carrying an iPad of all things. The Pessimist’s curiosity is piqued. The Optimist: We’re famous. The Pessimist: I give up. The Optimist: Give me a second to boot this thing up. The Pessimist: Boot it up? You sound like you have a clue what you are talking about. The Optimist: OK, I want you to read this Ivy League message board posting I’ve highlighted from someone who goes by the nom de plume Go Green. The Pessimist: Go Green sounds kind of sickly, if you know what I’m saying. But OK, here goes, and I quote: “I agree that this team has been manna from heaven for BGA’s “The Optimist and The Pessimist.” The Optimist: Can you believe someone actually wrote that? The Pessimist: Yeah, well, I think whoever wrote that nailed it. It’s true you guys are 5-0 but holy cow, you are living life on the edge. You could just as easily be 1-4. The Optimist: I think you are getting a little carried away. Even if we split...