Football

IT IS A RARE experience for the varsity to tackle stiff: competition early in the season. It came even earlier than usual this year when Franklin and Marshall turned up with a spirited squad of capable players for the second game. Playing Grade A football they stayed ahead throughout the contest. Those "F and M 23" signs painted on Hanover streets are going to last all winter the durable way they look now. Columbia has beaten the Big Green before and did it again last month. If Dartmouth was not too smart a team that afternoon, mention of the fact does not detract from the performance of a Columbia eleven bent on victory and earning it.

For a good many seasons Dartmouth has been in the upper brackets of eastern football and has had its share of national fame. The ups and downs of college athletics are unpredictable. Granting the bitterness of defeat it is a fact, for example, that in the 23 games played with Cornell the Big Green has won 12, Cornell 10, and one game tied. In the so-called modern series with other opponents Dartmouth stands very well. Football being so unpredictable we predict that the present team will find itself one of these Saturdays, will experience unity in the thrill of gaining ground, and surprise the experts. In this confident prediction we are counting on a coaching staff second to none in the country to find the answer if it can be found.

Meanwhile, record a vote in favor of games that are real tests of the team in early season.