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Third Place in Football's Sights
11/11/2009 10:00:00 AM | Football
HANOVER, N.H. — Third place is on the line in Providence, R.I., this Saturday when the surging Dartmouth Big Green (2-6, 2-3 Ivy) take on host Brown (5-3, 3-2 Ivy) at 12:30 p.m. Dartmouth has won two of its last three games, including a 20-17 double-overtime thriller against Cornell this past weekend, with a different player breaking the school's single-game rushing mark in each victory.
After sophomore running back Nick Schwieger broke the 18-year-old rushing record with 242 yards on the ground in a 28-6 win over Columbia back on Oct. 24, freshman quarterback Greg Patton upstaged Schwieger by amassing 243 rushing yards in the victory over Cornell, the first varsity action of Patton's career. Patton, the Ivy League's Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week, only got the opportunity because Schwieger was lost for the season when he broke a finger on his right hand at Harvard on Halloween.
With this new-found offensive weapon, how Patton will be utilized against the Bears remains to be seen. Brown is 11th in the country against the run, yielding barely 90 yards per game. But its pass defense ranks last in the Ivy League, which is where Conner Kempe steps in. Kempe alternated taking snaps with Patton against Cornell and completed 23 passes for 208 yards. The strong-armed sophomore took over the signal-calling duties after senior Alex Jenny was lost for the season when he dislocated his throwing elbow at Yale back on Oct. 10. Since then, Kempe has averaged nearly 200 yards through the air in his four starts, including a 300-yard passing game at nationally ranked Holy Cross.
Kempe has several choice targets to throw to, with junior Tanner Scott (33 catches for 404 yards, 2 TD) and sophomore Michael Reilly (29 catches for 359 yards, 3 TD) leading the receiving corps. Adding some variety are sophomore tight end John Gallagher (24-196, 1 TD) and senior wideout Niles Murphy (16-153, 4 TD), which helps offset the preseason loss of junior co-captain Tim McManus (broken leg) who caught 60 passes in 2008.
The Dartmouth defense has proven a bit more opportunistic of late. Through the first five games, the Big Green had forced just three turnovers; in the last three contests, they have recovered three times as many with five fumbles and four interceptions.
Junior linebacker Pat Scorah heads the defensive unit with a team-high 52 tackles, five going for a loss. Last week he recorded his first career interception plus jarred the ball loose to account for two of the four Cornell miscues. Five other players have at least 40 tackles, led by freshman linebacker Garrett Wymore, who has had double-digit tackle performances in each of the last two games.
If the defense can keep the potent Brown offense out of the end zone, special teams will likely play a very big role. Dartmouth has blocked seven kicks this season, third among FCS schools, including a field goal by senior Pete Pidermann at the end of regulation against Cornell that forced overtime. The Bears, meanwhile, have struggled on field goals, converting just 3-of-11 with three getting blocked.
Brown Stadium has proven to be a difficult place to play of late for the Big Green as they have lost their last five games at the venue. The games have generally been shootouts, especially two years ago when the Bears outlasted Dartmouth, 56-35. The average score of the five games has been 35-21. Last year in Hanover, Brown came away with a convincing 45-16 triumph. Historically, Dartmouth has the advantage with a 54-28-4 record against the Bears dating back to the first meeting in 1894.
The Big Green currently stand in a tie for fourth with Yale in the Ivy League standings, while Brown stands alone in third. None of these teams will be able to catch both Harvard and Penn, who are tied at the top with perfect 5-0 marks. But with victories in its final two games, Dartmouth would at worst finish in a tie for third place, which would be its best finish since tying for second place in 2003.
The game will be broadcast by WFRD 99.3 FM out of Hanover with Bob Lipman calling the action and Wayne Young '72 providing analysis. Big Green fans can also listen over the internet at www.DartmouthSportsNetwork.com, or purchase a game-day pass on the Brown web site, www.BrownBears.com, to watch the video stream of the event.
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