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Football
vs New Hampshire
Nationally Ranked for First Time Since 1996
10/19/2015 3:10:00 PM | Football
HANOVER, N.H. — For the first time since finishing the 1996 season undefeated with a 10-0 record, the Dartmouth Big Green football team finds itself in the national rankings. The STATS FCS Top 25 weekly poll came out today with Dartmouth ranked 25th, earning two more points than in-state rival New Hampshire to boot the Wildcats out of the poll for the first time in over a decade.
The Big Green improved to 5-0 on Saturday with a dominating 34-7 road victory at Central Connecticut State as senior quarterback Dalyn Williams continued to make his case for FCS National Player of the Year by completing 23-of-33 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. That pick was the first one he had thrown in 2015, ending a streak of 237 passes without one dating back to last season. He also led the team in rushing with 60 yards on just 10 carries.
Dartmouth has won all five of its games by at least 21 points, matching the longest in-season streak with that win margin in the 134 years the school has fielded a varsity team. Dating back to the 2013 season, the Big Green have won 16 of their last 18 contests, with the only two losses coming against ranked opponents (New Hampshire and Harvard last year) with a victory against another ranked opponent (Princeton in 2013).
The offense has been stellar, ranking among the nation's top 20 in passing (12th), scoring (14th) and total offense (16th) thanks in part to Williams — among the top 10 individuals in the country in five offensive categories — and his namesake, senior receiver Victor Williams, who has 40 catches for 592 yards.
As good as the offense has been, the defense, ranked first against the run, has been even better. The opposition has averaged just 9.4 points (third in the FCS) and less than 300 total yards (10th) per game, while the team passing efficiency defense is ranked fifth nationally. Senior free safety David Caldwell is fifth in the nation with four interceptions, and junior linebacker Folarin Orimolade is eighth at one sack per game.
Dartmouth will look to improve to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Ivy League when it hosts Columbia (1-4, 0-2 Ivy) on Saturday at Memorial Field at 3 p.m. Adam Giardino and Wayne Young '72 will call the action in both the live stream via Big Green Insider on the Ivy League Digital Network, and over the airwaves on 99Rock (WFRD, 99.3 FM) out of Hanover. The audio broadcast can also be listened to online through iHeartRadio and the ILDN. And get the inside scoop on the team from Robert L. Blackman Head Coach Buddy Teevens with his half-hour show airing on 99Rock on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Notes: Dartmouth was ranked 17th in the final Sports Network poll of the 1996 season … New Hampshire had made 162 consecutive appearances in the poll until this week, garnering 347 points to the Big Green's 349 … Jacksonville State maintained its spot atop the poll following a 42-13 victory over Tennessee Tech on Saturday … Dartmouth found itself just outside of the FCS Coaches' poll as the first team listed after the top 25, seven points behind Northern Iowa … STATS LLC took over the FCS top 25 poll when it purchased The Sports Network earlier this year.
Players Mentioned
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