A couple more games remain in the Ivy League but it’s essentially over as Dartmouth is again the class of the competition.

The Big Green dominated in winning all seven of their games, scoring 455 and allowing 39. Even when their captain and best player, Madison Hughes, was unavailable due to duty with the USA 7s team (where he is also the captain), it didn’t matter. Dartmouth is easily the best team in the Ivy League.

That can be a problem. With Dartmouth so much stronger than the rest, are they actually testing themselves enough to do well in the Varsity Cup in the spring? Head Coach Gavin Hickie says they are.

“The Ivy League is a great competition and I think all of the teams are making strides,” said Hickie, charitably. “But if you look at Cal, BYU, and St. Mary’s, they win games by big margins, too. We try to emulate them in that we can really only look at us and what we do. We look at how we can improve and do better regardless of the score. I know we can do better in catching and passing, decision-making, and tackling. We run up against a lot of teams that are bigger than us, and we have to tackle better.”

But Hickie said a lot of teams did force the Big Green to play defense, and they managed it all quite well, keeping their shape for long periods.

“That pleased me more than anything,” he said.

Hughes has been brilliant for Dartmouth again, but he’s not the only good player. Chris Banks is back from injury and playing well. John Abraham has sparkled, although he is expected to be captain of the Dartmouth track team, so that might hurt his availability. No. 8 Mike McDavid has emerged as an imposing presence on a team that needs one, while freshman Ben Hannam joins his brother Max as effective England-trained players who know how the game flows.

Hickie said the team is still working really hard, because they know that the Varsity Cup can be a cruel competition. They are looking to play teams such as Navy, Army, and perhaps even St. Mary’s in the spring to prepare for the VC tournament.

“We know we have to be more clinical,” he said. “I’d like to see more accuracy in lineouts and kickoffs. But with Varsity Cup being our post-season we know we could be one and done. We want to improve on our finish and our performance each year, but we do that by not taking anyone or any game lightly.”

That seems evident this Ivy League season. With their fall 15s done, Dartmouth turns to 7s and the Ivy League 7s tournament November 8.

That may well be a nice break for them, even if they are heavily favored.

Perhaps the question isn’t whether Dartmouth will win it, but whether any other Ivy League programs can show they can compete with the Big Green.