While Dartmouth football no longer has a chance at an Ivy League championship, there is a whole lot more to play for than pride in the regular season finale at Brown on Saturday.
Thanks to a decision from the Ivy League Council of Presidents announced last December, the conference’s gridiron guardians are eligible for postseason play this season in the NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) playoffs.
The 24-team tournament features 11 squads that earn automatic bids by winning their conference championship, which, as mentioned, is out of the question for Dartmouth.
However, the playoffs also feature 13 at-large teams selected by the FCS Championship Committee, which is composed of 11 athletic directors, one from each conference that has an automatic bid to the tournament, according to HERO Sports, which provides regular coverage of FCS Football.
The Big Green, 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Ivy, are among the teams vying for an at-large bid, and seem to have the respect of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).
In the latest AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, Dartmouth remains outside the top-25; however, it received 22 votes, which, among teams not in the top-25, is only behind Southern Illinois and Alabama State.
On top of that, the Big Green are also getting respect from at least one prominent outlet.
A playoff prediction from On SI, an affiliate of Sports Illustrated, projects Dartmouth to earn the final at-large bid.
However, that prediction hinges on the Big Green defeating Brown, who is 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the Ivy, and getting some help.
In the On SI playoff scenario, Harvard claimed the Ivy League’s automatic bid, meaning it would have to defeat Yale on Saturday.
In addition, the prediction credits Dartmouth for its wins over the University of New Hampshire and Central Connecticut State, which this scenario presumes to be the Northeast Conference’s (NEC) automatic bid into the playoffs.
For that to occur, Central Connecticut State would also need to win this Saturday against Mercyhurst to avoid tiebreaker scenarios.
Other outlets, though, have the Big Green on the outside looking in. HERO Sports has Dartmouth among the first four teams out of the playoffs in its latest predictions.
While the prediction credits Dartmouth for its wins over UNH, which was ranked in the top-25 at the time, and Yale, which is now among the top-25, it questions the committee’s level of respect for the Ivy League.
Ultimately, all of the predictions and scenarios in the world are moot unless the Big Green can come away with a victory this weekend.
Dartmouth should have a pretty good shot at defeating the Bears as they enter Saturday’s bout as 7½ point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Big Green are also on a seven-game winning streak against Brown, and have not lost to the Bears since 2016.
Saturday’s kickoff in Providence, R.I., is slated for noon.