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Football
vs New Hampshire
New Season Begins in Ivy Football Opener
9/30/2009 5:15:00 PM | Football
HANOVER, N.H. — The Dartmouth Big Green get to try their luck on television this Saturday when they host Penn in a nationally televised game on VERSUS at noon. Both Dartmouth and the Quakers have started the season 0-2, yet each has plenty of reasons for optimism.
Coming off a misleading 44-14 defeat at sixth-ranked New Hampshire, the Big Green are attempting to break a 14-game losing streak, the second longest in the country. Despite losing by 30 to the Wildcats, Dartmouth was in position to take a lead in the middle of the third quarter. Driving inside the UNH 15, a Green receiver had the ball stripped from his clutches, and the Wildcats pounced on the loose ball. New Hampshire converted the fumble into an 88-yard touchdown drive, then pulled away in the fourth quarter.
The Dartmouth offense was effective for most of the game, totaling 314 yards against the top-ranked defense in the FCS. And it was a balanced offense — 148 yards on the ground, 166 through the air. The last time the Big Green had amassed 100 yards on the ground was the final game of the 2007 season.
Most of the ground gains came via sophomore Nick Schwieger, who became the first Dartmouth rusher to go for 100 since Oct. 20, 2007, a span of 16 games. His 119 yards came on 26 carries, none of which lost yardage, for a 4.6-yard average. Running the ball against Penn has proven difficult for the Big Green in the recent past — only once have they run for 100 yards against the Quaker defense in the last 12 meetings, that coming in 2000 with 108 yards. Last year Dartmouth had just five yards in a 23-10 loss at Penn.
The passing game was solid as well with senior Alex Jenny throwing for 166 yards while completing 20 of his 29 attempts. Sophomore Michael Reilly and senior Niles Murphy each caught touchdown tosses to account for the Big Green scores. Emerging as a solid possession receiver was junior Tanner Scott, who caught a team-high six passes — four going for first downs — for 48 yards.
Despite being limited by an ankle injury in the second half, Reilly still led the team in receiving yards (57) and tops Dartmouth for the season with eight receptions, 144 yards and a pair of scores. Reilly is expected to start on Saturday.
On the defensive side of the ball, senior strong safety Tony Pastoors has been busy, racking up 28 tackles in the first two games and placing him fourth nationally at 14 per game. Sophomore cornerback Shawn Abuhoff is one of six players in the FCS to average an interception a game, picking a pass off in each of the first two contests. Abuhoff doubles as the Big Green's top return man, ranking fourth in the nation in kickoff returns (32.4 yards per return) and 10th in punt returns (18.3 yards per return).
Penn, meanwhile, suffered a loss to a top-10 team itself during the first week of the season, losing to No. 2 Villanova, 14-3. Last week, the Quakers rallied to tie Lafayette at 17, then lost in overtime on a 28-yard Leopard field goal in a 20-17 loss.
Like UNH, Penn features a stonewall defense as it ranks 11th in the FCS in total defense (245.5 ypg) and 16th in sacks (3.0 per game). Nose guard Joe Goniprow is the leader with four tackles for a loss, including a pair of sacks.
The Quaker offense is usually guided by Keiffer Garton, but he played only sporadically last week due to a reportedly sore arm. Kyle Olson split time and was 14-of-28 passing for 151 yards and two touchdowns to lead the comeback. Olson is a more traditional pocket passer, while Garton is a dual threat with his arm and legs.
“Penn is a good team, very physical, and its record is not indicative of their ability,” noted Big Greenn head coach Buddy Teevens. “As usual, Penn is a very well coached team and will be prepared to play. They were predicted to finish high in the league as they return a number of starters from a good team last year. They have a very good linebacking corps and are as good defensively as anyone in the league.
“We are building confidence,” Teevens continued. “Our guys realize that athletically they have the ability to compete with anyone, but we must eliminate mistakes, missed tackles and assignments, and turnovers. The ability is there, we just need to prove it for 60 minutes.”
While Penn won the battle last year, pulling away with three fourth-quarter field goals, Dartmouth won the last meeting at Memorial Field in 2007, 21-13. But only a handful of players that recorded statistics in that game for the Big Green will be suiting up on Saturday. Senior Rob Mitchelson led Dartmouth with 42 yards rushing on 15 carries, but Jenny's lone stats for the game were a pair of tackles.
Dartmouth is 32-42-2 against the Quakers (14-12 at Memorial Field) in a series that dates back to 1896. Penn has won 10 of the last 11, however, and 21 of the last 27. But since the Ivy League officially began play in 1956, the Penn advantage is a very slim 27-26.
The VERSUS announcing team will feature Mike Crispino and former Dartmouth quarterback Jay Fiedler '94, who had a nine-year career in the NFL. Big Green fans can also listen to the local radio broadcast with Bob Lipman and Wayne Young '72 providing all the action over the airwaves on WFRD 99.3 FM and www.DartmouthSportsNetwork.com. The broadcast will begin at 11:30 a.m., one-half hour prior to the kickoff. Live stats of the game can be found on the official Dartmouth athletics web site, www.DartmouthSports.com. A video stream will not be available online due to the television broadcast.
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