After a couple of disheartening losses at the hands of two non-conference opponents, Dartmouth football recovered beautifully on Homecoming Saturday, beating the Columbia Lions 37-28 in front of a sizable and enthusiastic home crowd. The game was hotly contested throughout, and the Big Green's margin of victory, in all fairness, doesn't quite do the heated nature of the contest justice.
So, in light of all we've gleaned from the season thus far, how should Dartmouth football be viewed? And, more importantly, what should we expect in the upcoming weeks?
Regarding the first inquiry, it seems Dartmouth football may be in the process of achieving a breakthrough for the first time in the Teevens Era. Now, it's important for me to clarify that I'm not using the term "breakthrough" lightly in this instance. There's no denying that Dartmouth football has shown steady improvements since the beginning of the 2005-2006 season, but this year has been different, marked by developments that suggest Dartmouth football may no longer be a team fated to the cellar of the Ivy League. Leading the possible budding ascension is the offense, which has averaged 24 points a game through its first six outings, a marked increase from previous years' totals of 14.7 in 2005-2006 and 14.3 in 2006-2007.
The Big Green's 2-1 record in Ivy play is also a positive improvement on past years' performances which, from a mathematical standpoint, unquestionably puts the Big Green in the thick of the Ivy race.
Currently there are only two teams, Harvard and Yale, with superior Ivy records.
It remains necessary to acknowledge the fact that the Big Green's two conference wins have come against two of the Ivy League's bottom dwellers, Columbia and Penn.
It's also important to note that there exists a dichotomy in Ivy League football -- with Yale and Harvard on one side and the remaining six squads on the other. As a result of this, there are limits to how high Dartmouth football can climb -- at least this season.
It appears like the highest attainable outcome for 2007 Big Green football is a third-place Ivy finish that would give the team claim to the title "best of the rest" -- a realistic goal that, if achieved, would classify as a breakthrough that could jump start a return to prominence for the long-lagging program.
Regrettably, the team's pursuit of said breakthrough begins against a squad on the superior side of the aforementioned dichotomy, Harvard, this Saturday. That's not to say our boys don't have a shot -- but it's safe to assume, judging from its season to date, that victory is still a longshot for Dartmouth.
Luckily, even if Saturday's result is a loss, Big Green football can finish the weekend no worse than tied for third place in the Ivy standings. The squad's remaining three games are against much more manageable opponents, Cornell, Brown and Princeton, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the Big Green close out the season with a 5-2 league record.
We could very well end up safely at the top of the best of the rest hierarchy.
