Schwieger First Dartmouth Player to Win Bushnell Cup in 18 Years

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Dartmouth junior Nick Schwieger (Norton, Mass.) along with Harvard senior Gino Gordon were unveiled today as the co-winners of the Asa S. Bushnell Cup, given to the Ivy League Player of the Year, at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Schwieger is the sixth Big Green player to earn the honor since its inception 40 years ago, and the first since Jay Fiedler in 1992. Like Schwieger, Gordon is the sixth player from his school to win the award as well, but fifth in the past 10 years.

A 5-10, 210-pound tailback, Schwieger led the league in rushing, scoring and all-purpose yards, despite missing one of Dartmouth's 10 games during the season. His 1,133 yards on the ground are the second most ever by a Big Green runner as he carried the ball 242 times for an average of 4.7 yards per carry and 125.9 yards per game, currently the sixth highest nationally among Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) players. Schwieger scored 14 rushing touchdowns, tying another school record, to post the most points (84) by an individual at Dartmouth in 40 years. Six times the product of Bishop Feehan ran for 100 yards in a game, topping 200 yards once as well.

“It is with great honor that I accept this award,” Schwieger stated. “So many great players have won this award before me, and to be considered amongst the likes of Keith Elias, Jay Fiedler and Ryan Fitzpatrick is a privilege. I want to thank my offensive line and our tight ends for all they did this year. They know that much of my success can be attributed to their hard work. The receivers also did a great job blocking downfield, and [quarterback Conner] Kempe really stepped up as a leader of our offense.”

Schwieger began the season with a bang, galloping for 216 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25 carries in a 43-20 victory at Bucknell, ending Dartmouth's 17-game road losing streak. His first touchdown was a 56-yard run late in the third quarter that gave the Big Green the lead for good and turned out to be the longest run of the season by a Dartmouth player. The 216 yards were also the most on the ground by an Ivy runner all season, and he also caught five passes for 57 more yards.

After missing the second game of the year with flu-like symptoms, Schwieger returned at less than 100 percent at eventual Ivy champion Penn and nearly helped the Green pull off the upset on the road with 72 hard-fought yards and a touchdown. Dartmouth pushed the Quakers to overtime, but eventually fell, 35-28.

In each of the next three games, Schwieger ran for at least 124 yards as Dartmouth picked up victories over Holy Cross and Columbia. First, he took the ball 31 times against the Crusaders for 169 yards and a score, then carried the ball a career-high 32 times at Columbia for 124 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner with less than three minutes to play.

Schwieger had his final two 100-yard games among the final three contests while scoring a total of seven touchdowns. He topped 160 yards for the third time with 164 at Cornell while reaching the end zone twice. While he was held to 86 rushing yards against Brown, Schwieger did score two more touchdowns, then ran for three mores scores in the season-ending 31-0 shutout win at Princeton while amassing 105 yards.

“Nick certainly was the difference-maker on offense, the go-to guy,” said Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens, himself a Bushnell Cup winner for the Big Green in 1978. “He not only made the big plays, but also was a very unselfish player in the backfield as a competent blocker. A tough, physical, aggressive and very intelligent runner, Nick will deliver on every hit; he does not have a self-preservation reflex. We could confidently throw the ball to Nick as well, and he could turn throws behind the line into 15- or 20-yard plays. Even with all of his talent, he is a very humble kid, always giving accolades to his teammates and thankful for the blocking he gets up front."

With his senior year still in front of him, Schwieger is second on Dartmouth's all-time rushing list with 1,840 yards and needs just 413 more to pass Al Rosier '91. He also ranks fifth on the Big Green career charts in all-purpose yards with 2,686; only two players in school history have surpassed 3,000.

Gordon was the lead runner for the Crimson, carrying the ball 168 times for 1,059 yards for a 6.3-yard average per carry while scoring 10 touchdowns. In addition, he caught 19 passes for 156 yards as Harvard finished the year in a tie for second with a 5-2 Ivy record and 7-3 overall.

Dartmouth was 3-4 in the Ivy League to place fifth, and 6-4 overall to post its first winning season in 13 years. The Big Green had 10 players earn All-Ivy honors, with five being named to the first team, including Schwieger. Of those 10 players, seven are juniors and will lead Dartmouth in its attempt to win an Ivy League-record 18th conference crown.

This is the second straight year two players have shared the Bushnell Cup, but just the third time since the award's inception in 1970. The inaugural award was split between Dartmouth quarterback Jim Chasey and Cornell running back Ed Marinaro, while Brown wide receiver Buddy Farnham and Penn linebacker Jake Lewko were co-winners last year.

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