If the Richmeister were ever to leave Saturday Night Live to cover Ivy League athletics, he'd have a field day with Dartmouth's junior star, quarterback Jay Fiedler.

Jay "Big Train" Fiedler. The Fiedler Express. "Jetstream" Fiedler. Jackpot Jay. Fiedler of Dreams.

Odd thing is, it's not the Richmeister calling him these names. It's the Dartmouth athletic department. Local and national newspapers. And coaches around the Ivy League.

Everyone watching Ivy football is enamored of this Oceanside, N.Y. native, last year's Ivy Sophomore of the Year and a leading candidate for Player of the Year this time around.

He is the best quarterback in the Ancient Eight, no question.

Ranked second in passing efficiency and third in total offense nationally, Fiedler will own every passing and total offense record at Dartmouth before he is through with his thesis (it's in engineering, by the way, and he holds a 3.15 GPA).

Oh, and Fiedler competes in the decathalon for the Dartmouth track team. He placed third in the pentathlon at the indoor heptagonal games as a sophomore.

Dan, Dave...and Jay. Get Reebok on the phone--it's not too farfetched.

But Fiedler might have trouble doing the commercials. He does not fit the swaggering, "God I'm good" stereotype of typical college phenoms (eg. Princeton tailback Keith Elias). When he says, "I don't really have an ego. I just want the team to win," you sense that he really believes it.

That said, Fiedler is under no illusions about his signal-calling prowess. It's tough to delude oneself when putting up numbers like he does.

"I think that the key to my success is that I can read defenses very well," Fiedler says. "I have a lot of freedom to audible at the line if we're not picking up blocks or there's a mismatch. I think the biggest thing, though, is that I can find the open receiver quick."

He pauses, then adds with emphasis: "I can get the ball to him as quickly as possible."

"He's a big, strong kid [Fiedler is 6'2", 215 pounds] who runs well and has a strong arm," Dartmouth Coach John Lyon said. "He's bright. He understands how we're trying to attack the defense and does a good jub to put in the right plays at the right time."

Dartmouth wide receiver senior Matt Brzica--who was Ivy Sophomore of the Year himself as a quarterback before losing his job to Jackpot Jay--is more succinct in assessing his teammate's ability:

"[Jay's] a great quarterback, a great quarterback," Brzica said. "He has a great arm, he knows the game well, he knows how to read defenses well and he can put the ball right in any receiver's hands. Virtually every time."