National Television Showdown at Defending Ivy Champ

Friday, October 5

New Haven, Conn.

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Yale

Photo by: Matt and John Risley (Risley Sports)

National Television Showdown at Defending Ivy Champ

10/3/2018 2:12:00 PM | Football

Friday, October 5, 2018 Yale Bowl ESPN3 Broadcast 94 ESPN Radio Live Stats @DartFootball Dartmouth Notes Yale Notes

Dartmouth plays at Yale on Friday night in a game televised by ESPNU

By: Rick Bender

DARTMOUTH (3-0, 1-0)
at YALE (2-1, 1-0)
Friday, Oct. 5, 2018 | 6 PM | ESPNU
Yale Bowl | New Haven, Conn.

The Dartmouth Big Green have disposed of their first three opponents in convincing fashion, but this week face their toughest test yet against last year's Ivy League champion, Yale. And the Bulldogs are sure to be thinking about their one loss last year at the hands of Dartmouth after holding a 21-0 lead in Hanover, only to lose by a single point, 28-27.

The Big Green have not trailed at any point in their first three games, simply dominating the action, particularly in the first three quarters. Dartmouth has outscored the opposition by a 95-7 margin and surrendered just eight first downs prior to the fourth quarter. Of the 565 total yards gained against the Big Green defense this season, 348 (over 60 percent) have come in the final stanza after Dartmouth already had a lead of at least 30 points.

Series vs. Yale 41-54-6
Oct. 25, 1884	H	0	113	L
Oct. 14, 1893	A	0	28	L
Oct. 8, 1894	S	0	34	L
Oct. 16, 1895	H	0	26	L
Nov. 9, 1895	H	0	32	L
Oct. 17, 1896	P	0	42	L
Oct. 14, 1899	N	0	16	L
Oct. 14, 1900	N	0	17	L
Oct. 18, 1924	A	14	14	T
Oct. 16, 1926	A	7	14	L
Oct. 29, 1927	A	0	19	L
Nov. 3, 1928	A	0	18	L
Nov. 2, 1929	A	12	16	L
Nov. 1, 1930	A	0	0	T
Oct. 31, 1931	A	33	33	T
Oct. 29, 1932	A	0	6	L
Nov. 4, 1933	A	13	14	L
Nov. 3, 1934	A	2	7	L
Nov. 2, 1935	A	14	6	W
Oct. 31, 1936	A	11	7	W
Oct. 30, 1937	A	9	9	T
Oct. 29, 1938	A	24	6	W
Nov. 4, 1939	A	33	0	W
Oct. 19, 1940	A	7	13	L
Oct. 25, 1941	A	7	0	W
Oct. 24, 1942	A	7	17	L
Oct. 30, 1943	A	20	6	W
Nov. 4, 1944	A	0	6	L
Nov. 3, 1945	A	0	6	L
Nov. 2, 1946	A	2	33	L
Nov. 1, 1947	A	14	23	L
Oct. 30, 1948	A	41	14	W
Oct. 29, 1949	A	34	13	W
Nov. 4, 1950	A	7	0	W
Nov. 3, 1951	A	14	10	W
Nov. 1, 1952	A	7	21	L
Oct. 31, 1953	A	32	0	W
Oct. 30, 1954	A	7	13	L
Oct. 29, 1955	A	0	20	L
Nov. 3, 1956	A	0	19	L
Nov. 2, 1957	A	14	14	T
Nov. 1, 1958	A	22	14	W
Oct. 31, 1959	A	12	8	W
Oct. 29, 1960	A	0	29	L
Nov. 4, 1961	A	24	8	W
Nov. 3, 1962	A	9	0	W
Nov. 2, 1963	A	6	10	L
Oct. 31, 1964	A	15	24	L
Oct. 30, 1965	A	20	17	W
Oct. 29, 1966	A	28	13	W
Nov. 4, 1967	A	15	56	L
Nov. 2, 1968	A	27	47	L
Nov. 1, 1969	A	42	21	W
Oct. 31, 1970	A	10	0	W
Oct. 30, 1971	H	17	15	W
Nov. 4, 1972	A	14	45	L
Nov. 3, 1973	H	24	13	W
Nov. 2, 1974	A	9	14	L
Nov. 1, 1975	A	14	16	L
Oct. 9, 1976	A	14	18	L
Oct. 8, 1977	A	3	0	W
Oct. 14, 1978	H	10	3	W
Oct. 13, 1979	A	0	3	L
Nov. 1, 1980	H	7	35	L
Oct. 31, 1981	A	3	24	L
Oct. 30, 1982	H	21	22	L
Oct. 29, 1983	A	24	21	W
Oct. 13, 1984	A	18	28	L
Nov. 2, 1985	H	17	17	T
Nov. 1, 1986	A	39	13	W
Oct. 31, 1987	H	7	17	L
Oct. 29, 1988	A	13	22	L
Oct. 14, 1989	H	19	24	L
Oct. 13, 1990	H	27	17	W
Oct. 19, 1991	A	28	24	W
Oct. 17, 1992	H	39	27	W
Oct. 16, 1993	A	31	14	W
Oct. 15, 1994	H	14	13	W
Oct. 14, 1995	A	22	7	W
Oct. 19, 1996	H	40	6	W
Oct. 18, 1997	A	21	7	W
Oct. 17, 1998	H	22	19	W
Oct. 16, 1999	A	3	44	L
Oct. 7, 2000	H	14	24	L
Oct. 7, 2001	A	32	27	W
Oct. 12, 2002	H	20	17	W
Oct. 11, 2003	A	17	40	L
Oct. 9, 2004	H	14	24	L
Oct. 8, 2005	A	0	13	L
Oct. 7, 2006	H	14	26	L
Oct. 6, 2007	A	10	50	L
Oct. 11, 2008	H	7	34	L
Oct. 10, 2009	A	7	38	L
Oct. 9, 2010	H	20	23	L
Oct. 8, 2011	A	0	30	L
Oct. 6, 2012	A	34	14	W
Oct. 12, 2013	H	20	13	W
Oct. 11, 2014	A	38	31	W
Oct. 10, 2015	H	35	3	W
Oct. 8, 2016	A	13	21	L
Oct. 7, 2017	H	28	27	W
Average score		14	19
Total points: Dartmouth 1455, Yale 1900 S-Springfield, Mass. ~ P-Providence, R.I. ~ N-Newton, Mass.

Last week in the Ivy League opener, the Green handled previously undefeated Penn handily thanks to the play of the Ivy League Co-Offensive Player of the week, QB Derek Kyler. The sophomore completed 18-of-21 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns, all of which came in the third quarter to increase a 13-7 halftime lead to a 34-7 bulge. Kyler enters the Friday night tilt leading the FCS in completion percentage (75.3) and sixth in pass efficiency (174.29).

There have been numerous recipients of Kyler's throws, 14 to be exact, led by senior WR Drew Hunnicutt with 14 catches for 278 yards and a pair of scores this season, the most recent a 59-yard bomb at the start of the second half against Penn. Junior TE Connor Rempel has been a nice addition to the lineup, second on the squad with 11 catches for 132 yards and two TDs as well. Even OL Jake Guidone has gotten into the act, catching a 4-yard toss as a tackle-eligible receiver last week. And after missing the first game, both WR Drew Estrada and WR Hunter Hagdorn have combined for 16 catches, 167 yards and two scores.

Dartmouth is not all about the aerial attack, however, with nearly as many rushing yards (636) as via the pass (675). Again, it isn't one player doing the damage with senior Rashaad Cooper (194 yards, 5.9 avg.), sophomore Caylin Parker (121 yards, 5.0 avg.) and senior Miles Smith (120 yards, 3.5 avg.) handling the lion's share of the work. Kyler has shown his mobility with 70 yards (5.0 avg.) without being sacked, and wildcat QB Jared Gerbino returned to action last week and could see more chances to run.

While the offense has been excellent. the defense has been superb as noted. Senior LB Jack Traynor tops the team with 19 tackles and 3.5 TFL, and DL Jackson Perry heads up a formidable front line with 3.0 TFL and two sacks. The secondary features the nation's leader in interceptions per game (1.3) in junior CB Isiah Swann, twice named the Ivy Defensive Player of the Week this year, as the Green owns the top turnover margin in the FCS (+2.3).

Ivy Rookie of the Week Connor Davis has a big leg and showed it with a 44-yard field goal against Penn, the longest by a Dartmouth kicker in seven years. And don't let the punting numbers fool you, Davis Brief has been quite effective punting from the short side of midfield on six of his 10 boots with five landing inside the 20.

Scouting the Bulldogs
Yale was pegged by the media to repeat as the Ivy League champion this year, but stumbled a bit out of the gate when it let a 21-0 lead slip away at Holy Cross, much as it did last year in its lone loss that came against the Big Green. But the Bulldogs have rebounded with victories over Cornell (30-24) in their conference opener and 16th-ranked Maine (35-14).

The Bulldog offense has been similar to Dartmouth's, averaging about eight more yards per game. Quarterback Kurt Rawlings has been terrific, completing nearly 69 percent of his passes while averaging over 260 yards per game to go with four touchdowns and only one interception.

Last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year, RB Zane Dudek, ran roughshod in the first two games as he picked up 7.1 yards per carry en route to 125 yards per game and a pair of touchdowns. But he sat out last week and his status is unknown for this game, though he is listed in the Yale depth chart. If he can't go, the Bulldogs also have freshman Spencer Alston (4.4 yards per carry) and possibly junior Alan Lamar, who has played in just one game himself.

Juniors Reed Klubnik and J.P. Shohfi have been favorite targets of Rawlings this season. Klubnik leads the team with 20 grabs for 284 yards and four scores, while Shohfi has quickly made up for missing the season opener with 17 catches for 215 yards in the last two contests. TE J.J. Howland has seven receptions to his name, and Dudek has four catches out of the backfield.

Although the defense has not been as stout as Dartmouth's, it has done a solid job, yielding 343.7 yards per game (30th nationally). Linebackers Ryan Burke and John Dean lead the team with 17 and 16 tackles, respectively, while the latter has two sacks as part of his three tackles for a loss as well as the Bulldogs' lone interception. Up front, DE J. Hunter Roman is a force to be reckoned with as he leads the Ivy league with 5.5 TFL.

Senior Alex Galland handles all of the kicking duties, and has done them very well, booting 3-for-4 field goals with a long of 42 and all 12 PATs. He also has 12 punts with an average just under 40 yards and half of them ending up inside the 20. Melvin Rouse II is a threat on kick returns as he proved on his 100-yard kickoff return in the season opener.

Now in his seventh year as the Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of Football, Tony Reno owns a record of 35-28. Yale has been in the top half of the league standings each of the past five years, earning the outright title last year with a 6-1 record and 9-1 overall with Reno pegged as the coach of the year for the conference and all of New England. Reno, a 1997 graduate of Worcester State College, was hired at Yale as an assistant in 2003 after a successful five-year stint at his alma mater, then went to Harvard for three years before returning for the 2012 campaign.

Last Year's Meeting
As noted previously, Yale took command of last year's game in Hanover early, building up a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The tide started to turn, however, when Isiah Swann plucked a pass out of the air and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown with less than three minutes until the intermission. The Bulldogs added a field goal as time expired for the half, but the comeback continued in the third quarter on a 30-yard TD pass to Drew Hunnicutt. After another Yale field goal, Dartmouth trailed by 13 until Dylan Mellor hauled in a 40-yard scoring strike with 6:10 to play. The Big Green had one last chance to take the lead, and it did when Hunnicutt scored on 4th-and-5 play from 15 yards out. The PAT broke the deadlock with 34 seconds remaining, and Yale could not get past midfield before the clock expired.

Watch on ESPNU
The game against Yale will be televised nationally on ESPNU, Dartmouth's sixth appearance on an ESPN network (fifth live) but first in 28 years. The first appearance was a tape-delayed broadcast in 1979 against Brown, while the most recent four occurred during the 1988-90 seasons. The Big Green and Bulldogs have played 13 games on television with Yale holding an 8-5 advantage, though Dartmouth has won the last two. Fans with a cable or satellite subscription that includes ESPN will also be able to watch online at espn.com/watch with Chris Cotter and Jack Ford calling the action. The game will not be available to ESPN+ subscribers without that cable or satellite subscription.

The 700 Club
Two weeks after Dartmouth played in its 1,200th game, it picked up its 700th victory in program history by dispatching Penn in a 37-14 triumph on Sept. 29. The Big Green are just the sixth team in an exclusive group of FCS squads with 700 wins, four of which are from the Ivy League — Yale (903), Harvard (871), Penn (852), Princeton (824) — along with North Dakota State (713). Now in its 137th season of football, the Big Green sport an overall record of 700-456-46, which is a winning percentage of .601.

Ivy Players of the Week
The Ivy League recognized QB Derek Kyler and PK Connor Davis as the Co-Offensive and Rookie Players of the Week, respectively, for their performances in the 37-14 victory over Penn. Kyler completed 18-of-21 passes (85.7 pct.) for 221 yards and three TDs, and enters this game leading the country in completion percentage (75.3) while ranking sixth in passing efficiency (174.29). Davis, meanwhile, booted a 44-yard field goal — the longest by a Big Green kicker in seven years — and produced a total of seven points. It was the first time Dartmouth had more than one winner in the same week since Oct. 17, 2016 (Charlie Miller for special teams, Isiah Swann for defense and rookie).

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 three games, the Big Green have all but wrapped up each contest by building up a 30-point lead or greater by the time their opponent gets the ball in the fourth quarter. Of the 28 points allowed by Dartmouth, 21 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 less than 100 yards of offense and four first downs per game.

Hunnicutt Hits 100 Again
For the second time this season, and fourth time in his career, senior WR Drew Hunnicutt hit the century mark in receiving yards by picking up exactly 100 in the 37-14 win over Penn. He needed just five catches to hit the mark, essentially maintaining his season average of 19.9 yards per catch (tops in the Ivy League). One of those catches was a 59-yard touchdown bomb that boosted Dartmouth's 13-7 halftime lead to 20-7 four plays into the second half. It was the second-longest reception of his career, beaten only by a 78-yard grab (ninth longest in Big Green history) last year at Sacred Heart.

Defense! Defense!
With exceptional defensive performances in the first three games, it comes as no surprise that Dartmouth ranks at the top or near it in several FCS statistical categories. No team has allowed fewer total yards (188.3) or passing yards (132.0) per game, while also yielding the third-fewest rushing yards (56.3). The Big Green also have the best turnover margin (+2.3) and the lowest successful third-down percentage against them (19.4), while the scoring defense ranks fifth (9.3 ppg). All that great defense has helped Dartmouth have the ball for an average of 38:22, the best in the nation.

Offensive Lineman Go on Offensive
It is pretty rare for an offensive lineman to score a touchdown. So I would imagine the odds for two linemen to score in the same game would be astronomical. Yet that happened for the Big Green against Penn. First, Dartmouth fumbled the ball at the goal line in the second quarter, but senior Phil Berton pounced on the loose ball in the end zone to get credit for the six points and a 13-0 lead. The Big Green then surprised the Penn defense late in the third quarter, lining up OL Jake Guidone as a tackle-eligible receiver who proceeded to catch a 4-yard TD toss. Not only was it his first collegiate catch, but also the first time he had ever scored a touchdown at any level of football. Because of that, he can be forgiven for picking up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for spiking the ball …

Bun in the Breadbasket
As in Bun (BOON) Straton. The senior safety provided the lone interception (and only turnover of the game) against Penn shortly after Dartmouth had taken a 27-7 lead in the third quarter. After returning the ball 13 yards to the Quaker 26, the offense took care of the rest and boosted the advantage to 34-7 six plays later. It was the seventh interception for the Big Green this year, which leads the league and ranks ninth nationally.

Bombs Away
Freshman PK Connor Davis has attempted some long field goals this year with a 51-yard try against Georgetown and a 49-yard attempt in the first half against Penn. Neither were converted, but head coach Buddy Teevens did not keep that from sending the rookie out there in the fourth quarter against the Quakers to give a 44-yarder a shot. Davis was on target, banging the ball off the left upright and through for the longest field goal by a Dartmouth kicker since Foley Schmidt hit a 46-yarder back in 2011, coincidentally also against Penn.

TD Passes in 14 Straight
When Derek Kyler connected with Drew Hunnicutt on a 59-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter against Penn, it extended Dartmouth's streak of at least one TD pass to 14 straight games. The only longer streak in program history is a 16-game stretch during the 2000-02 seasons. Dartmouth has also had a TD throw in 25 of the last 26 and 34 of the last 36 contests.

Passing Penn
Speaking of passes, Derek Kyler continued the recent trend of excellent passing games against the Quakers. His 85.7 percent completion rate in the game is the second best in Dartmouth history (minimum 15 completions), trailing only Dalyn Williams' 23-of-25 performance (92.0 pct.) against Penn in 2015. Over the last four years, the Big Green have completed 92-of-123 passes (74.8 pct.) for 1,048 yards, 10 TDs and just two INTs versus the Quakers.

Slowing the Running Game
The Dartmouth defense has been particularly effective against the run game since the start of last year. Only three opposing players have rushed for even 50 yards in a game in that span (13 games), and the highest total by one rusher was 86 by Harvard's Charlie Booker. Yale did have one of the other two over 50 by Deshawn Salter with 73; Zane Dudek was held to 43 on 10 carries while Kurt Rawlings also had 43 on six rushes. The 41 yards by Penn's Karekin Brooks last week was the most in the last six games, though the Quakers did have 116 as a team after Dartmouth had not surrendered more than 52 in the previous five contests.

Sharing the Load
Dartmouth doesn't have a running back posting gaudy numbers this season, but as a team, the Big Green have done quite well on the ground. Against Penn, they picked up 186 yards on a workman-like 50 carries, yet no one player had more than 37 yards rushing (both Rashaad Cooper and Jared Gerbino). Cooper, Caylin Parker and Miles Smith each have between 120 and 200 yards thus far, and only Cooper has a 100-yard game (112 vs. Georgetown). For the season, Dartmouth has 636 rushing yards on 143 attempts (4.4 per carry), and has a nice balance with the air attack gaining 675.