Harvard Headed to Hanover for Homecoming

Saturday, October 27

Hanover, N.H.

1:30 PM

Dartmouth College

Harvard

Tickets

Photo by: Matt and John Risley (Risley Sports)

10/24/2018 4:30:00 PM | Football

Saturday, October 27, 2018 Memorial Field ESPN+ Broadcast 94 ESPN Radio Live Stats Tickets @DartFootball Dartmouth Notes Harvard Notes Series Record

20th-ranked Dartmouth looking to end 14-year skid against the Crimson

By: Rick Bender

#20 DARTMOUTH (6-0, 3-0)
vs. HARVARD (3-3, 1-2)
Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018 | 1:30 PM | ESPN+
Homecoming | Memorial Field | Hanover, N.H.

Many people may look at Dartmouth's 6-0 record and Harvard's 3-3 mark and believe that the Big Green should put an end to the Crimson's 14-game win streak in the series, particularly with a loud homecoming crowd at Memorial Field expected. But consider that two of Harvard's three losses have come against ranked teams and all three losses are by no more than eight points, so the outcome of this game is anything but certain. And the Crimson enter the weekend having won their last 11 contests on this field with the most recent Dartmouth triumph coming 25 years ago, 39-34.

The Big Green are enjoying a nine-game win streak right now, however, and would like nothing more than to push that to double digits for just the eighth time in program history. To do so, Dartmouth would like QB Derek Kyler to continue his ultra-efficient ways behind center.

The sophomore leads the FCS in completion percentage (76.4) and pass efficiency (181.18), and last week connected on all nine of his passes for a modest 75 yards with a touchdown. He also ran the ball seven times for 44 yards, and even caught a TD pass from wide receiver Drew Hunnicutt to start the fourth quarter for some breathing room.

But the Big Green relied a bit more on the ground game at Columbia, racking up 250 rushing yards, led by senior Rashaad Cooper with 82 on just eight carries. Wide receiver Drew Estrada, who leads the squad with 18 catches this season also did some multi-tasking by taking the handoff five times, once on a reverse that ended up as an 8-yard touchdown. While Cooper leads Dartmouth with 309 rushing yards this year, three others have more than 200, including wildcat QB Jared Gerbino with 291 and a team-high five TDs.

While Estrada has the most receptions, Hunnicutt has the most receiving yards (343, 20.2 per catch to lead the Ivy League), and TE Connor Rempel has the most touchdown grabs with four.

As good as the offense has been this year (14th in FCS at 37.2 ppg), the defense has been even better, leading the nation in yards allowed (246.5) and ranking second in points allowed (9.7). Dartmouth is getting it done up front and in the secondary with the league's sack leader in DE Rocco Di Leo — thanks to dropping the QB three times at Columbia — and the nation's leader in interceptions (7) in CB Isiah Swann, who had two picks against the Lions.

Big Green defenders don't have gaudy tackle numbers, partly due to the fact that they aren't on the field all that much; Dartmouth ranks sixth in the FCS in time of possession at 33:17 per game. Linebacker Jack Traynor has the most stops with 38 (4.5 for a loss), followed by NB Kyran McKinney-Crudden with 30.

The kickers haven't been called upon much of late with freshman PK Connor Davis attempting just two field goals in the last three games. And punter Davis Brief averages just three punts a game. The return game has been solid with two of the best punt returners in the league in senior Dylan Mellor (16.7 yards per return) and Hagdorn (11.5).

Scouting the Crimson
The Harvard offense is a balanced one, gaining more than 200 yards per game on the ground and through the air. But the star of the offense is speedster Aaron Shampklin who leads the Ivy League and ranks sixth nationally with nearly 130 yards rushing per game. His 7.3-yard average also puts him among the top 10 in the FCS, and he also has seven of the team's 10 rushing touchdowns.

Lining up behind center of late has been Tom Stewart, who has a stellar touchdown-to-interception ratio of 6-0, but has completed just 48.0 percent (47-of-98) of his throws. He has replaced Jake Smith, who led the Crimson to the win over Dartmouth last year and was connecting on over 60 percent of his throws. But the sophomore struggled in losses to Rhode Island and Cornell, and has not been seen since the middle of the 28-24 loss at Cornell on Oct. 6.

Harvard lost even more against the Big Red when receiver and return man Justice Shelton-Mosley was injured; he is not expected to return this season. He was the Crimson's leading receiver at the time with 24 catches for 299 yards, but Adam Scott (25 catches, 334 yards, 2 TDs) and Henry Taylor (15-196, 3 TDs) are solid targets.

The Harvard defense is always tough, ranking among the top 25 nationally in total defense. It will be strength versus strength when the Crimson unit is on the field as Dartmouth is 13th among FCS schools in rushing, while Harvard is 13th in fewest rushing yards allowed.

Sophomore linebacker Jordan Hill leads the team with 41 tackles, but the pass rush could come from anywhere with a dozen different players having contributed to at least one sack this season, led by defensive tackle Richie Ryan with 3.5. Another defensive tackle, Stone Hart, has been a disruptive force against the run with 6.5 tackles for a loss, second in the league to the Big Green's Rocco Di Leo (8.5). Wesley Ogsbury is the top cover man with three interceptions and four breakups, which ranks second in passes defended among Ivy players, trailing only Dartmouth corner Isiah Swann, who has 14.

Jake McIntyre has been very reliable as a place kicker, converting all 15 of his PATs and 10-of-12 field goals, including all nine inside of 40 yards. Jon Sot handles the punting duties with a 40.1-yard average with five of his 31 boots going at least 50 yards and 11 ending up inside the 20.

Harvard is coached by Tim Murphy, now in his 25th year in Cambridge and 32nd overall as a collegiate head coach. The boyhood friend of Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens is 171-74 during his Crimson tenure with nine Ivy championships to his credit, and 203-119-1 in a career that included stints at Maine and Cincinnati. Murphy was a four-year starter at Springfield College, earning All-New England honors for small colleges as a linebacker before graduating in 1978. In 2007, he was inducted into his alma mater's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Last Year's Meeting
Dartmouth jumped out to a 14-0 lead by the middle of the second quarter and still had a two-point lead when the fourth quarter started, 14-12. But Harvard, after missing a chip-shot field goal in the third quarter, continued its comeback with two more touchdowns to take an 11-point lead with 7:21 to play. Jack Heneghan led the Big Green 80 yards for a touchdown and the team's first 2-point conversion in 10 years to close the gap to three. But the last-gasp drive in the final 1:36 ended prematurely with the second interception and third Dartmouth turnover of the game, leaving the Green on the wrong end of a 25-22 score for their 14th consecutive loss against the Crimson, the last three of which were by a combined six points.

Nationally Ranked
One of the last four undefeated FCS teams left this season, Dartmouth became the last of the four to find its way into the national rankings, debuting at No. 24 on Oct. 15 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll. This week, the Big Green rose up to No. 20, but still find themselves on the outside looking in at the STATS FCS poll as the first of the other teams receiving votes. This is the first time the Big Green have been among the top 25 since the conclusion of the 2015 campaign when they were 23rd in the STATS FCS poll and 24th in the coaches' poll.

King of the Urban Jungle
Dartmouth ended a rare personal two-game skid against Columbia on Oct. 20 by defeating the Lions in their homecoming game, 28-12, in New York City. In the series that dates back to 1899, the Big Green have suffered two or more consecutive losses just four times, the longest being four (1998-2001). With the victory, Dartmouth improved to 32-14 against the Lions in the Big Apple and 69-19-1 all-time versus Columbia, a winning percentage of .781.

Look What Dartmouth Drew Up
Dartmouth dug into its bag of tricks at Columbia to tame the Lions, scoring a pair of touchdowns on trick plays using their Drews — receivers Drew Estrada and Drew Hunnicutt. The first came in the third quarter on a reverse to Estrada for an 8-yard scoring scamper, boosting the Big Green lead to 14-6. Then on the first play of the fourth quarter, a handoff to RB Miles Smith was given to Hunnicutt, who tossed a 21-yard strike to QB Derek Kyler in the end zone for another touchdown. It was the first TD pass by someone other than a quarterback since Abrm McQuarters struck gold on a 23-yard toss in a 20-17 win over Towson on Oct. 15, 2016.

Six and Oh My
With the 28-12 win over Columbia, Dartmouth has won its first six games for the 14th time ever and just eighth time since the Ivy League formed in 1956. Every season in which the Big Green won their first six games since the conference started formal play has led to at least a share of the league title.

Gold Helmet Award
Thanks to recording seven tackles with a career-high three sacks in the 28-12 win at Columbia, DE Rocco Di Leo was named the Gold Helmet Award winner as the top Division I player in New England that week. The fifth-year senior enters this game leading the Ivy League in both sacks (6.0) and tackles for a loss (8.5). Di Leo was also honored by the Ivy League as its Defensive Player of the Week, as well as STATS by listing him as an honorable mention FCS National Defensive Player of the Week. This is the 12th Gold Helmet Award earned by a Big Green player in the last decade and third by a defender.

Passing Perfection
Sophomore Derek Kyler was on target for each of his nine passes against Columbia on Oct. 20, becoming the first Dartmouth QB this millennium to throw more than four passes in a game without an incompletion. As a team, the Big Green completed their first 11 throws, but on Dartmouth's next-to-last play from scrimmage, Jared Gerbino threw the ball away to avoid risking an interception that ended the perfect day. Still, the 91.7 completion percentage is the highest for Dartmouth in the last 50 years. And the third best percentage came against Penn earlier this year (19-of-22, 86.4 percent).

Nobody Does It Better
Dartmouth is among the top FCS teams in a number of statistical categories this season, perhaps none more impressive than total defense. Opponents are averaging just 246.5 yards of offense against the Big Green defense, which has led to a mere 58 points. That works out to 9.7 points per game, which is second behind only one of the other three undefeated squads — Colgate (3.8).

TD Passes in 17 Straight
That Hunnicutt-to-Kyler hookup (not the other way around) extended Dartmouth's streak of at least one TD pass to 17 straight games, a new program record. The previous longest streak of 16 games was originally set during the 2000-02 seasons. Dartmouth has also had a TD throw in 28 of its last 29 contests, and, oddly enough, the one game without one was against Brown in 2016 when the Green amassed 440 passing yards, the team's second-most ever.

No Ugly Duckling Here
Junior Isiah Swann, already an accomplished defender in his first two seasons, has emerged as the premier cornerback in the FCS this year. With his two interceptions at Columbia, he has upped his season total to seven to tie the Dartmouth single-season record (set by former San Diego Charger Lloyd Lee '98) and lead the nation. He needs two more picks to match the program career record of 13 set by Scott Sims '89 and equaled by Lee, and he has another year to come.

10,000 at Home
I'm not talking attendance in this note, but rather points scored. During the 42-0 victory over Sacred Heart, Dartmouth quietly reached a milestone by scoring its 10,000th point at Memorial Field when Jared Gerbino ran for his second touchdown of the game late in the first quarter. Entering this game, the Big Green have scored 10,025 points while posting a 262-139-8 record (.650 win pct.) at their home venue, which opened in 1923.

Dartmouth Trails
Yes, the Appalachian Trail runs through the town of Hanover, but the Big Green are not making a habit of trailing in football games this year. Dartmouth has been behind just twice all season for a total of 9:25, and in both instances, scored on its very next possession to reclaim the lead.

Three Quarters
While coaches love to say that they have to play hard for all four quarters (or 60 minutes), Dartmouth has found a way to make that statement excessive. Through the first six games, the Big Green have led every game through three quarters, five times by 24 or more points. Of the 58 points allowed, 35 have come in the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand. If you take the combined stats from those first three quarters and extrapolate those out, opponents would average only 172 yards of offense and 10 first downs per game.

Dartmouth Takeaway
No team in the FCS has done a better job of taking away the football while also protecting it. Dartmouth has not turned over the ball at all in three of the first six games and has just four giveaways (one picks, three fumbles) in all. The Big Green have not even turned it over on downs, going a perfect 10-for-10 to lead the FCS. On the flip side, Dartmouth has forced 15 turnovers (12 INTs, three fumbles), giving the team a turnover margin of plus-1.83, which also leads the nation.