Three Up, Three Down: The Dartmouth Edition

We're excited to have a new segment on The Buzz called Three Up, Three Down, in which we predict three players whose stock will rise and fall over the course of upcoming games.

Look for the following threesome to be thriving after Penn's Ivy opener at Dartmouth on Saturday:

Three Up —

Billy Ragone: Quite simply, this is Ragone’s time. He found his groove in Dartmouth’s backyard last year after a slow start, and it would be no coincidence if he were to do it again Saturday. The Big Green ranked dead last in the Ivy League in rushing defense a year ago, and they can be expected to once again set Ragone up to tuck and run. That usually translates into a more confident aerial attack from him.

The Penn secondary: Few positions for the Quakers should benefit most from the non-conference-to-Ivy-League drop in competition level than the secondary. Although they got torched by a freshman QB last week, Penn’s young defensive backs shouldn’t be tested as much by first-year signal-caller Alex Park, who got picked twice at Holy Cross a week ago. Dartmouth comes in 7^th among the Ivies in passing offense.

NBC Sports Network: A bit of a stretch maybe, but NBCSN definitely picked a good Ivy game to showcase for the second week into its new television deal with the Ancient Eight. This will be Dartmouth’s only nationally televised game all year, so you can bet that Memorial Field will be rocking. And if the past two years are any indication, this should be a thrilling game that perfectly showcases what the Ivy race is all about.

But since not everybody can be on the up-and-up, here's a trifecta that might find tough times this weekend:

Three Down —

Andrew Holland: That Bagnoli allowed Ragone to nurse his bruised collarbone for much of the Villanova game suggests that he’s invested in Billy for the long haul. It’s Ivy time, so we've arrived. Penn’s coaches have been waiting for this precise point in the season to see what Ragone has to offer when the games take on extra significance. Dartmouth topped the Ivy League in passing defense last year and captain safety Garrett Waggoner returns after missing all but two games a season ago. So Ragone’s hybrid style looks a little better right now.

Lyle Marsh: Dartmouth’s defensive scouting report should be simple: Crowd the box and dare Ragone or even Holland to go over the top. That approach means Marsh may never fly too far off the radar while either pounding the rock or catching short, high-percentage passes out of the backfield.

Brandon Copeland: As my fellow columnist David Greenbaum so astutely pointed out this week, Copeland isn’t getting much help up front. Through two games, this defensive line has zero sacks, and you can bet on Dartmouth double-teaming Cope every step of the way. The youth up front can also shoulder the blame for the Quakers’ seventh-ranked spot in rushing defense. Just because Dartmouth lost All-Ivy running back Nick Schwieger to graduation doesn’t mean coach Buddy Teevens has lost his commitment to running the football early and often. And besides, nothing Cope does on Saturday could ever top his 15-yard interception return for a touchdown last year in Hanover, right?