Perfect Showdown at Yankee Stadium Saturday

Saturday, November 9

Bronx, N.Y.

3:30 PM

Dartmouth College

Princeton

Tickets

11/6/2019 10:03:00 AM | Football

Saturday, November 9, 2019 Yankee Stadium ESPNU Audio Broadcast @DartFootball Dartmouth Notes

No. 13 Dartmouth hosts No. 9 Princeton at the iconic venue with the Ivy League title on the line

By: Rick Bender

No. 13/13 DARTMOUTH (7-0, 4-0)
vs. No. 9/10 PRINCETON (7-0, 4-0)
Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019 | 3:30 PM | ESPNU
Yankee Stadium | Bronx, N.Y.

For the second straight year, Dartmouth and Princeton both enter this game nationally ranked with perfect 7-0 records and the Ivy League title on the line. This time, however, the two will square off in Yankee Stadium as part of the 250th anniversary of Dartmouth College as well as the 150th anniversary of the first college football game between Princeton and Rutgers.

Last year, the Tigers won an epic defensive struggle, 14-9, at Princeton Stadium, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 6:33 to play. Both teams drove 75 yards to the end zone on their first possession, and the only other points came on a second-quarter safety that gave the Big Green a 9-7 lead that nearly held up.

Dartmouth is coming off a miraculous victory at Harvard last week, driving 96 yards in the final minute without the aid of a timeout. The final play featured Derek Kyler eluding heavy pressure and heaving a Hail Mary 43 yards into the end zone, where it was tipped by a Harvard defender and landed in the arms of junior Masaki Aerts for his first career touchdown and a 9-6 victory.

The Big Green defense was stellar once again, holding the Crimson to a pair of field goals, matching Harvard's fewest points in a home game since a 6-3 Dartmouth win back in 1996. Twice Harvard had opportunities to put the game away in the final 3:18 put could not pick up a first down on either possession as Dartmouth put up a wall. Jack Traynor, a two-time unanimous All-Ivy first-team selection, led the defensive effort with 13 tackles to nearly earn his third weekly honor this year from the conference office.

Although the line recorded just one sack, that by Niko Lalos, the men up front did get credited with seven QB hurries. Jackson Perry helped out on eight tackles in the middle of the line and Lalos had seven stops along with safety Niko Mermigas.

For the first time this year, the offense struggled, dropping from first to 13th nationally in scoring. The 272 yards of offense were the fewest of the year (as were the 52 rushing yards), but the Big Green have not been held under 300 in consecutive contests in eight years.

Dartmouth is hopeful that QB Jared Gerbino will return to the field after leaving the Harvard game with an injury just before halftime. The senior has completed 70.9 percent of his passes for 782 yards and nine touchdowns this year, plus leads the team with 269 yards and four TDs on the ground.

But if he is unavailable, Kyler is more than capable, hitting on 68.8 percent of his throws for 639 yards and seven scores this year, and his Hail Mary completion put him over 2,000 yards for his career.

Drew Estrada has been Dartmouth's playmaker this season with a team-high 33 catches for 577 yards and six TDs, not to mention his 9.2-yard rushing average on 18 carries and nation-leading 20.9-yard average on punt returns. Another favorite target is senior Hunter Hagdorn, who is fourth all-time at Dartmouth with 146 catches.

Aside from Gerbino and Estrada, Dakari Falconer and Caylin Parker have combined for 416 yards and six touchdowns rushing the ball. But no player on the team is averaging even 40 yards a game on the ground as the Green have spread the wealth.

Scouting the Tigers
Princeton, ranked ninth in the FCS by the AFCA coaches and 10th by STATS, enters the weekend on one heck of a roll having won its last 17 games. Like Dartmouth, six of their seven victories have been by double digits with the lone exception coming against Harvard in a 30-24 triumph two weeks ago.

The Tigers feature a potent offense that ranks in the top 10 nationally in passing efficiency (fourth), scoring (seventh) and total yards (ninth), despite losing their quarterback and top receivers from a year ago.

Kevin Davidson has stepped in behind center without missing a beat, completing 70.3 percent of his passes for over 2,000 yards, 19 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Twice this year he has thrown at least five scoring strikes in a game (seven against Bucknell), becoming the first Princeton QB to do so in a career, let alone one season.

There are plenty of receivers to throw to, starting with Jacob Birmelin, who is among the top three in the Ivy League in receptions (6.3 per game) and yardage (86.0). Throw in Dylan Classi (26 rec., 431 yards, 3 TD) and Andrew Griffin (23 for 380, 6 TD) and the Dartmouth secondary will have its hands full in slowing down the air attack.

But the Tigers feature a pretty balanced attack, producing eerily similar overall numbers on the ground, but in a very different manner. Princeton has a trio of running backs that carry the load, led by Collin Eaddy with 494 yards and nine touchdowns. Ryan Quigley and Trey Gray have combined for 493 yards and seven scores to essentially match that production, though Eaddy has caught a pair of TD tosses as well.

Only two teams nationally have allowed fewer points that the Tiger defense — Dartmouth and No. 1 North Dakota State. Ten different players have contributed to the 21 team sacks, and Princeton leads the league with 13 interceptions by 11 defenders. LB Jeremiah Tyler leads the conference with 12.5 tackles for a loss as part of his 47 stops, while fellow LB James Johnson leads the squad with 50.

The Tigers are coached by Bob Surace, now in his 10th season with a record of 55-42 and three Ivy titles (2013, '16, '18). Prior to his arrival, he served as an assistant coach with the Cincinnati Bengals, helping the team to an AFC North title in 2009. Surace was an All-Ivy first-team center back in 1989 at Princeton, which won a share of the conference crown.

Dartmouth at Yankee Stadium
Where else would you expect to play a game of this magnitude but one of the most famous athletic venues in the world? Dartmouth and Princeton are squaring off in what just happens to be the 200th football game played at the various iterations of the fabled stadium, but the first for the Big Green (though they did practice at Yankee Stadium prior to playing at Princeton in 1965 and '69). And speaking of large, round numbers, Dartmouth is celebrating the 250th anniversary of its founding, while Princeton is celebrating its role in the very first college game 150 years ago.

Big Green at Pro Stadiums
While this is the first time Dartmouth has played at Yankee Stadium, it's not the first time in a professional stadium having played 30 games at various venues around the Northeast. The most recent came two years ago when Dartmouth defeated Brown at Fenway Park, 33-10, to improve to 15-12-3 in pro stadiums and 6-1 at Fenway. The site that has hosted the most of these Big Green games no longer exists — the Polo Grounds (13 games) where they were 7-5-1. But this is just the third time Dartmouth has played at a pro stadium since World War II, the other a 17-17 tie with Columbia at Giants Stadium in 1983.

Something's Gotta Give
Princeton enters the game on a 17-game winning streak, the second longest in the FCS. Dartmouth has won nine straight (third longest win streak) and 19 of its last 20. For both teams, their last loss is against each other. Which team will blink?

A Perfect Rematch
Last year, the Big Green and Tigers were both 7-0 when they met in Princeton for an epic battle. It was just the sixth time in Ivy League history that two teams met that late in the season without a loss, and the game did not disappoint (except Dartmouth fans) as the Tigers won a defensive struggle, 14-9, then went on to record a perfect 10-0 season to claim the conference crown. Now the Big Green are looking to exact their revenge at Yankee Stadium in the seventh battle for perfection in league history, three of which will end up being between these two.

1964 — Princeton (7-0) def. Yale (6-0-1), 35-14
1965 — Dartmouth (8-0) def. Princeton (8-0), 28-14
1968 — Harvard (8-0) and Yale (8-0) tied, 29-29
1993 — Penn (7-0) def. Princeton (7-0), 30-14
2001 — Harvard (7-0) def. Penn (7-0), 28-21
2018 — Princeton (7-0) def. Dartmouth (7-0), 14-9

Quick History Lesson
Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it." Well, in 1965 when Dartmouth and Princeton met with 8-0 records, the Big Green emerged victorious, 28-14, to win the Ivy League championship. The Tigers won 17 straight games with their last loss coming against Dartmouth in 1963, 22-21. This year, Princeton enters this game with a 17-game win streak and last loss coming against the Big Green in 2017, 54-44. So by Santayana's logic, I am forced to forget 1965 happened.

Buddying Up to a Record
With the 42-10 victory over Yale on Oct. 12, Buddy Teevens became just the second head football coach in Dartmouth history to win 100 games with the Big Green. Now the 63-year-old Teevens is on the verge of tying Bob Blackman — whose name also graces the endowed coaching position inhabited by Teevens — for most victories as Dartmouth's head coach. Teevens sports a 103-92-2 record in Hanover, one win shy of Blackman's total. No other Big Green coach has more than 60.

Big Green Continue Climb in Polls
After winning its first four games, Dartmouth made its debut at No. 21 in both the AFCA Coaches Poll and STATS FCS Poll. Three weeks later and the Big Green find themselves ranked 13th in both polls. And with Princeton ninth in one poll (AFCA) and 10th in the other, this is the second straight year the two clash with both among the top 25.

Dartmouth-Princeton Fun Fact
The head coaches for this showdown between Dartmouth and Princeton are Buddy Teevens for the Big Green and Bob Surace for the Tigers. They are the only two people who have won an Ivy League football title as a player and a head coach — Teevens for Dartmouth (1978; '90, '91, 2015), and Surace for Princeton (1989; 2013, '16, '18).

Prayers Answered on Hail Mary
Dartmouth nearly didn't make it to this game with an unblemished record as Harvard had the Big Green on the ropes last week. The Crimson, clinging to a 6-3 lead, had Dartmouth pinned at its own 4 with exactly one minute to play and no timeouts. Unfazed by the challenge, QB Derek Kyler deftly directed Dartmouth down the field, completing three passes and scrambling for a first down another time, before spiking the ball with six seconds showing at the Crimson 43. Harvard appeared to have bottled Kyler up on the last play, but he slipped through the grasp of four defenders and heaved his throw toward the end zone. Although two Crimson defenders got to the ball first, they could only tip it up and into the arms of junior Masaki Aerts for the game-winning touchdown, his first with the Big Green and just his eighth career catch. The play made national headlines and was the No. 5 play on SportsCenter's Top 10 that day. It was also the second time in the last three years that Dartmouth turned a deficit into a victory on the final play of regulation — Jared Gerbino ran for a 1-yard TD at Penn in 2017 as time expired to lift the Green to a 16-13 triumph.

Consecutive Wins Over Crimson
Last year, Dartmouth ended a 14-game skid against Harvard and a quarter-century drought at home, defeating the Crimson, 24-17. This year, the 9-6 win was the first for the Big Green in Cambridge since a 30-16 triumph in 2003 when Andrew Hall made "The Catch" as it is known in Dartmouth lore. The Green had not won two straight over Harvard since the 1995-96 seasons.

Double-Digit Win Streak
With the 9-6 victory at Harvard, Dartmouth has now won nine straight games dating back to last season. Only eight times have the Big Green put together a win streak of at least 10 games in their history (not simply unbeaten streaks):

15 (4 times) — 1924-26, 1961-63, 1970-71, 1996-97
11 (once) — 1964-66
10 (3 times) — 1907-08, 1920-21, 2017-18

Getting the Points Across
• Dartmouth continues to lead the FCS in scoring defense at 10.1 points per game, one year after finishing second in the category.
• The six points allowed to Harvard matched the Crimson's fewest at home since a 6-3 Big Green victory in Cambridge in 1996.
• The Big Green have held five of their seven opponents to 10 or fewer points this year.
• On the flip side, Dartmouth had not won a game when scoring in single digits since that 6-3 win at Harvard in 1996.
• The last time Buddy Teevens was part of a Big Green team that won when scoring fewer than 10 points was a 3-0 win over Yale … in 1977 when he was a junior on the team.
• Since the Ivy League started formal play in 1956, Dartmouth has nine wins when scoring in single digits, five coming between 1956-62.
• The Big Green entered the Harvard game leading the FCS in scoring, but now ranks 13th (37.1).
• Dartmouth has outscored the opposition 87-6 in the first quarter and 177-23 in the first half.

Quarterbacking Rarity
The last two seasons, Dartmouth has relied on the tandem of Jared Gerbino and Derek Kyler at quarterback. But when each one completed 11 passes at Harvard, it was the first time both connected on double-digit throws in the same game and just the fourth time in the last 20 years the Big Green had two accomplish the feat. And with his Hail Mary, Kyler surpassed 2,000 yards for his career (2,001), the 20th Dartmouth QB to reach the milestone.

Running on Empty
Dartmouth ran for only 51 yards at Harvard, its fewest in five years. Surprisingly, the Big Green also won that game, a 38-31 road win at Yale. But historically, when Dartmouth totals 51 or fewer yards on the ground, the end result is rarely good; the Green are 5-47 (.096) over the past 50 years in those games.

Streaking or Not
• Dartmouth scored at least 21 points in the first half in each of it first six games this year, an Ivy League record (according to the Elias Sports Bureau) that ended with the Harvard game.
• The Big Green streak of 14 straight games with a touchdown in the first quarter ended at 14 games.
• Before the win at Harvard, Dartmouth had not been shut out in the opening quarter since taking a goose egg against Columbia two years ago.
• But the Hail Mary pass extended the Big Green streak of scoring at least one touchdown to 83 games. The school record is 109 from 1961-73.
• In their previous 16 games, the Big Green trailed for a total of 19 minutes and 27 seconds (and just 3:29 in the first six games this year). Against the Crimson, Dartmouth trailed for over 48 minutes yet still won.

Hagdorn Climbing the Charts
Wide receiver Hunter Hagdorn caught seven passes for 58 yards at Harvard, leaving him fourth all-time for Dartmouth with 146 receptions and seventh with 1,816 receiving yards. Next up on the yardage list is wide receivers coach Dave Shula '81, who had 1,822 in his career as a Big Green receiver. If Hagdorn is to become the sixth player in Big Green history with 2,000 receiving yards, he will need to average just over 60 yards a game; he is at 48.8 per game this season. And for good measure, he is tied for seventh with 13 TD grabs in his four years.

Quick Hitters
• Dartmouth has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 27 of its last 28 games with the lone exception coming in last year's 24-17 win over Harvard.
• In those 28 games, the Big Green have thrown 53 touchdowns and just 15 interceptions.
• Harvard's Devin Darrington is the first player to run for 100 yards (102) against the Dartmouth defense since Princeton's Charlie Voelker in the 2016 season finale, ending a streak of 26 games.
• The last 300-yard passer against the Green D? Princeton's Chad Kanoff in the 2017 finale.
• Drew Estrada leads the FCS with 20.9 yards per punt return, plus is ninth in all-purpose yards (145.6).
• Dartmouth is first in the FCS in converting third downs and second in completion percentage.
• The defense is up there, too, ranking second in the FCS in red zone defense, sixth in passing efficiency defense and ninth in total defense.
• Fourteen of the Big Green's 36 touchdowns this year have traveled at least 30 yards with the longest being an 87-yard punt return by Drew Estrada.
• Gerbino has 1,397 yards rushing in his career, which is 19th all-time and second among Dartmouth QBs (Dalyn Williams '16 had 1,494).
• Gerbino is also second all-time at Dartmouth with a rushing average of 5.5 yards per carry.
• Derek Kyler, on the other hand, has the highest career completion percentage in program history (minimum 1,500 yards) at 68.9 percent as well as the best career passing efficiency at 162.69.
• Connor Davis has converted his last 37 PATs, 14 shy of the school record held by 18-year NFL veteran Nick Lowery '78. And his 75 career PATs are just 19 behind Dennis Durkin '93 for the career record. Oh yeah, Davis is only a sophomore.