Ivy Opener Clash of Dominating Defenses

Saturday, September 29

Hanover, N.H.

1:30 PM

Dartmouth College

Penn

Tickets

Captains Matt Kaskey, Jack Traynor, Kyran McKinney-Crudden

Photo by: Brian Foley

9/27/2018 2:14:00 PM | Football

Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018 Memorial Field ESPN+ Broadcast 94 ESPN Radio Teevens Teleteaser Live Stats Tickets @DartFootball Dartmouth Notes Penn Notes

The Dartmouth and Penn defenses have been two of the best at the FCS level this season

By: Rick Bender

DARTMOUTH (2-0, 0-0)
vs. Penn (2-0, 0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018 | 1:30 PM
Memorial Field | Hanover, N.H.

On paper, the Ivy League opener for Dartmouth and Penn should be a defensive struggle. Both teams rank among the top 11 nationally in fewest yards and points allowed per game, and top five in fewest rushing yards allowed as well. Whichever team emerges on top today will have the inside track at the conference crown.

Last year, the Big Green needed all 60 minutes to knock off the Quakers in Philadelphia, 16-13, as QB Jared Gerbino burrowed into the end zone from a yard out on the game's final play to cap a 15-play, 80-yard drive that lasted over five and a half minutes. Neither team turned the ball over in a game that featured just 15 combined possessions, but Dartmouth held a distinct advantage on offense, piling up 414 yards to just 243 for Penn. Penalties held the Green back, however, as they were flagged 11 times for a whopping 105 yards.

The Big Green flexed their muscle last week at Holy Cross, one week after the Crusaders knocked off the defending Ivy League champ, Yale. The Dartmouth defense barely let the hosts breathe, not allowing a point or even a first down until the fourth quarter after the Green had built up a 34-0 lead.

Junior CB Isiah Swann led the defensive effort, intercepting three passes in the first half to tie a Dartmouth single-game record not equaled in 28 years. That performance not only earned Swann Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors, but the national FCS award from STATS as well.

Senior LB Jack Traynor boasted a team-high nine tackles, two for a loss, while fellow LB David Emanuels made eight stops. As a team, Dartmouth had 10 TFLs, including four sacks, two of which were provided by junior DE Niko Lalos in his first action of the year. Sophomore CB DeWayne Terry Jr. added an interception to the mix late in the fourth quarter.

The offense, meanwhile, consistently moved the ball down the field all afternoon, but struggled to put points on the board early as the first four possessions ended in field goal attempts, only two of which were converted. But a 25-yard TD run by sophomore RB Caylin Parker and a 17-yard TD catch by junior WR Drew Estrada with three seconds left in the half allowed the Big Green to take a 20-0 lead into the locker room.

Estrada, who missed the season opener, led Dartmouth with seven catches for 70 yards, while junior TE Connor Rempel added two scoring grabs in the second half from 32 and 13 yards out for the team's final points.

Guiding the offense was QB Derek Kyler, looking more and more comfortable behind center as the game progressed. The sophomore completed 25-of-35 throws for 258 yards and three TDs in his second start, plus ran for 31 yards on eight carries without being sacked once.

The running game churned out 190 hard-earned yards on 47 carries with four players amassing between 30 and 50 yards. Parker led the group with 49 yards and his TD on 11 rushes, senior RB Rashaad Cooper contributed 45 yards on nine carries and senior RB Miles Smith added 34 more on 13 attempts with Kyler pitching in his 31.

Scouting the Quakers
Penn dispatched of Lehigh handily last week in a 30-10 victory on their home field. But the outcome of the game was in doubt when halftime rolled around as Penn was clinging to a 13-10 edge before pulling away in the second half.

Karekin Brooks ran all over the Mountain Hawk defense, amassing 163 yards and three scores on 16 carries, a 10.2-yard average. The Quakers piled up 294 yards on 39 carries (7.5 per rush) as sophomore quarterback Ryan Glover picked up 77 yards of his own with a touchdown in just 12 tries.

The 500 yards of offense was a stark contrast to opening day when Penn managed just 274 against a winless Bucknell squad. But thanks to four of six scoring drives starting in Bison territory, the Quakers doubled up Bucknell on the scoreboard, 34-17.

Glover is the only Penn quarterback to attempt a pass thus far, completing 28-of-52 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns, but throwing a pair of picks as well. He has proved to be elusive, however, having not been sacked even once while piling up 125 yards on 21 rushes.

Brooks is the team's workhouse in the backfield, taking the handoff 38 times for 235 yards (6.2-yard avg.) and five scores. The junior is also the team's third-leading receiver with four catches for 32 yards.

The graduation of Justin Watson, who made the opening-day roster for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, left a void on the receiving corps. The leading receiver is RB Abe Willows with nine catches for 81 yards. The top wide receiver thus far is Steve Farrell with five grabs for 82 yards, while Kolton Huber and Tyler Herrick each have hauled in a touchdown.

The Penn strength has truly been its defense. The preseason favorite for the Bushnell Cup on defense is linebacker Nick Miller, who leads the Quakers with 20 tackles. The Big Green will have their hands full with the pass rush as Penn leads the FCS with 8.5 sacks per game, four being credited to lineman Cooper Gardner. Jacob Martin is the top cover man with two of the team's three interceptions.

On special teams, Jack Soslow has shown a big leg, converting all three field goal attempts, two from at least 48 yards. Punter Drew Brennan has averaged 38.6 yards on 14 punts, dropping five inside the 20-yard line. And Isaiah Malcolme is a threat to bring back a punt, averaging 12 yards on six returns.

Ray Priore, in his fourth year at the helm of the Quakers, had the unenviable task last year of replacing the legendary Al Bagnoli, who had merely set the Ivy League record as its winningest football coach. Priore has been up to the challenge, however, earning the Ivy League Coach of the Year award in his first season and leading the Quakers to a share of the conference crown in each of his first two years. This is his 32nd season on the Penn staff, helping secure 10 Ivy titles in 28 seasons as an assistant, including his last 16 as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach.

On the Verge of 700 Wins
While the win over Georgetown was the 1,200th game in the history of Dartmouth football, the Big Green are attempting to hit a more impressive milestone — 700 victories. A win over Penn would make Dartmouth 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) and North Dakota State (713). Other teams closing in on 700 are Lehigh (692) and Delaware (691). Now in its 137th season of football, the Big Green sport an overall record of 699-456-46, which is a winning percentage of .601.

ESPN+
Last spring, the Ivy League announced it had signed a 10-year agreement with ESPN to have the schools of the Ancient Eight stream live athletics events through the network's new subscription streaming service, ESPN+. For just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 a year), fans can get all of the content they received for the previous five years on the Ivy League Network, plus events from numerous other conferences and professional leagues. Eight of the 10 football games this fall will be available on ESPN+, and the game at Yale on Oct. 5 will be televised on ESPNU. Go to watchespn.com to subscribe to the service and sign up for the package you prefer.

Another Defensive Domination
After shutting out Georgetown in the season opener while yielding just three first downs, Dartmouth provided an encore of sorts by having its way with Holy Cross in a 34-14 triumph on the road. The Big Green went into the fourth quarter having not yielded a point, nor even a first down, to the Crusaders while building up a 34-0 advantage. By the time Holy Cross got the ball back with less than 12 minutes to play, it had a paltry total of 34 yards of offense. By limiting the Crusaders to eight first downs, Dartmouth had held back-to-back opponents to less than 10 for the first time since 1976. The Green also had 10 tackles for a loss, just the fourth time in the last decade hitting double digits in that category.

Defense! Defense!
With exceptional defensive performances in the first two games, it comes as no surprise that Dartmouth ranks at the top or near it in several FCSS statistics categories. No team has allowed fewer rushing yards per game (26.5) or total yards (160.5), and Dartmouth also has the best turnover margin (+3.0) and the lowest successful third-down percentage against them (16.7). The pass defense ranks sixth (134.0) and scoring defense third (7.0 points per game) as well.

12 Straight Non-League Wins
Dartmouth extended his streak of victories over teams from outside the Ivy League to 12 with the 34-14 win at Holy Cross on Sept. 22, the longest such streak since for Dartmouth since the Ivy League formed in 1956. Over the last 100 years, the Green have had only one other streak that was longer versus teams that didn't become members of the Ancient Eight — 26 from 1922-28.

Swann Song
Turns out when junior Isiah Swann intercepted a pass against Georgetown, he was merely warming up. The cornerback picked off three passes at Holy Cross — all in the first half — to help him earn not only the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week Award for a second-straight week, but also the STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Week. Other fun facts on his performance:

His three INTs tied a Dartmouth record held by 11 others.
The last player to turn the trick was Sal Sciretto in an Ivy title-clinching win over Princeton in 1990.
Swann is the fourth Big Green player to earn the league's defensive weekly honor in consecutive weeks, joining LB Zack Walz (1995), S Lloyd Lee (1996) and LB Michael Runger (2013).
DeWayne Terry Jr. also picked off a pass in the fourth quarter, giving Dartmouth four INTs in one game for the first time since playing Brown in 2015.

Kyler the Compiler
Sophomore QB Derek Kyler looked right at home in the 34-14 win at Holy Cross, deftly guiding the offense up and down the field all afternoon. He finished the day with 258 passing yards by completing 25-of-35 passes, and now leads the Ivy League at 71.4 percent on the season (and fifth nationally). And his three TD tosses extended the team's streak with at least one scoring strike to 13 games, second only to a 16-game stretch during the 2000-02 seasons. Dartmouth has also had a TD throw in 24 of the last 25 and 33 of the last 35 contests.

Rempel Propels the Victory
Junior TE Connor Rempel saw his first varsity action in the season opener against Georgetown and tied for the team lead with four catches. Although he only had three receptions at Holy Cross, two finished up in the end zone on scoring throws of 32 and 13 yards. His first two career touchdowns came in the second half, turning a 20-0 advantage into an insurmountable 34-0 lead in the fourth quarter.

Sharing the Load
Dartmouth has several running backs capable of carrying the load on the ground, so they are all getting opportunities early in the year. At Holy Cross, sophomore Caylin Parker led the Green with 49 yards on 11 carries, including a 25-yard touchdown trot. Seniors Rashaad Cooper added 45 and 34 yards, respectively, while freshman Zack Bair got into the act late with four runs for 19 yards. Add in the QB rushing yardage and Dartmouth ended the day with 190 on the ground. On the season, it is hard to have a better balance between rushing and passing than the Big Green have — 450 on the ground and 451 through the air.

Taking Things in Estrada
Last year, WR Drew Estrada was second on the team with 32 receptions, but only one of those took him to the end zone. The junior matched his 2017 TD total at Holy Cross right before halftime, breaking one tackle at the 5 before bullying his way across the goal line for a 20-0 lead at the intermission.

Lalos Got Him to His Knees
Trying to evoke a little Derek and the Dominoes with this note title. Let me know if it worked. Junior DE Niko Lalos saw his first action of the season at Holy Cross and made himself known, sacking the Crusader QB twice. He was joined in the sack parade by fellow linemen Jackson Perry and Rocco Di Leo. One more sack and Lalos will surpass last year's Big Green leader, the now-graduated Ian Hanselman who had 2.5.

Campbell Trophy Semifinalist
The National Football Foundation announced its Campbell Trophy semifinalists on Sept. 26, and Big Green WR Drew Hunnicutt was among the 179 players across all divisions of the NCAA and NAIA. The senior government major boasts a 3.49 GPA and has 58 catches for 880 yards and six touchdowns in his career.