Dartmouth Takes Aim at #23 Harvard on the Gridiron

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

HANOVER, N.H. ? Saddled with an eight-game losing streak ? tied for third longest among FCS teams ? the Dartmouth Big Green (0-6, 0-3 Ivy) will attempt to rid itself of the goose egg in the win column on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. when they host the 23rd-ranked Harvard Crimson (5-1, 2-1), one of the Ivy League preseason co-favorites. This is Dartmouth's second game against a ranked opponent this year, having lost to then-seventh-ranked New Hampshire back on Sept. 27, 42-6.

The Crimson hold the advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1882, 61-45-5. Recently the advantage has been more pronounced with Harvard taking 10 of the last 11 meetings. The last Big Green victory against Harvard was five years ago, 30-16, but the most recent victory at Memorial Field dates back to 1993 in a 39-34 shootout.

One encouraging item for Dartmouth is the fact that last year's game in Cambridge, Mass., was decided by just seven points in a 28-21 loss to the Crimson. Harvard won the Ivy title last year with a perfect 7-0 record, and no other conference team played a closer game. After the Big Green tied the score at 14 on a 55-yard touchdown pass by Alex Jenny (Wayland, Mass.) late in the third quarter, Harvard answered with touchdown runs of 20 and four yards by backup quarterback Collier Winters to take a 28-14 lead. Dartmouth got one of those touchdowns back on a drive that lasted nearly nine minutes, but only two minutes remained when it got the ball back. The Crimson picked off a pass two plays later to seal the Big Green's fate.

Dartmouth is coming off a tough rain-soaked and wind-blown 21-13 loss at Columbia this past Saturday. Much like the game at Harvard last year, the Green got the ball with less than two minutes to play needing a touchdown to keep their hopes alive. In another case of d?j? vu, any hope of a Dartmouth comeback was ended on an interception.

The Big Green managed just 174 yards in the game, including a season-low 79 yards through the air. Much of the passing woes could be attributed to a strong storm that brought wind gusts up to 45-50 miles an hour and plenty of rain. Sophomore Tim McManus (St. Paul, Minn.), Dartmouth's leading receiver, made his first collegiate start at quarterback, completing 5-of-12 passes for 54 yards. But he also scored the lone Big Green touchdown on a seven-yard run in the second quarter.

The wind didn't seem to faze freshman kicker Foley Schmidt (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), however, as he provided seven of Dartmouth's 13 points with field goals from 32 and 34 yards, plus the point after McManus' touchdown. Schmidt is the leading scorer for the Big Green with 28 points, while McManus is second on the squad with 24 points on four touchdowns ? three receiving and one on the ground. The two players were high school teammates at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, Minn.

Dartmouth's defense is led by senior Ian Wilson (Burbank, Calif.), who equaled a season high with 13 tackles on Saturday. He ranks third in the Ivy League with 10.17 tackles per game, plus has a pair of interceptions. But the defense will have to tighten up quite a bit to contain Harvard ? the Big Green rank 110th in total defense (out of 118 FCS teams) and have allowed 33 points per game, while the Crimson are 25th in total offense and have scored 27.2 points per game. That last figure nearly doubles Dartmouth's offensive output of 13.7 points per game.

Harvard has not had many easy victories this year, as three of its five wins have come by a total of eight points. Last week was no exception as the Crimson outlasted Princeton, 24-20. Sophomore tailback Gino Gordon provided the go-ahead touchdown run from six yards out with just 3:34 to play. Quarterback Chris Pizzotti completed 17-of-26 passes in the game for 247 yards without an interception; he has thrown just three in the six games thus far. The running game continued to be a point of concern, however, with just 88 yards on the ground. Harvard has averaged just 116 rushing yards per game this year, 82nd among the FCS schools.

Matt Luft is one of the league's most prolific receivers having caught 40 passes for 671 yards and four touchdowns. Big plays are not uncommon for Harvard as no less than four different players have caught passes of at least 65 yards. Overall, the Crimson passing offense is among the top 10 nationally with nearly 300 yards per game.

The two head coaches ? Dartmouth's Buddy Teevens and Harvard's Tim Murphy ? once coached together more than two decades ago. Teevens was the head coach at Maine in 1985 and 1986, and Murphy was his offensive coordinator. Murphy went on to succeed Teevens as head coach with the Black Bears the next two years.

The game will be televised regionally by the New England Sports Network (NESN). Dartmouth fans can also listen to the Dartmouth Radio Network on 99.3 FM WFRD with Bob Lipman and Wayne Young '72 calling the action, plus Andy Sloan on the sidelines. To listen over the internet, log on to www.DartmouthSportsRadio.net, or keep up with the streamed video or live stats on the official Dartmouth web site, www.DartmouthSports.com.

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