Chance to Clinch Share of Ivy Title on Home Field

No. 11/12 DARTMOUTH (8-0, 5-0)
vs. CORNELL (2-6, 1-4)
Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019 | 1:30 PM | ESPN+
Memorial Field | Hanover, N.H.

Dartmouth, sitting atop the Ivy League standings all alone at 5-0, can clinch a share of the title on Saturday with a win over visiting Cornell, a team the Big Green have defeated in 10 straight meetings.

On a more personal note, a win would also be the school-record 105th at Dartmouth for Buddy Teevens, the Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach, moving him ahead of Blackman himself for the top spot. And the graduating class is looking for its 30th victory over the last four years, a total achieved only by last year's seniors since freshmen football players became eligible in the Ancient Eight in 1993 (the most wins over a four-year span is 32, 1969-72).

The Big Green will have to be wary of an emotional letdown after one of the team's biggest victories last Saturday at Yankee Stadium against undefeated and ninth-ranked Princeton, 27-10. The win extended Dartmouth's win streak to 10 games (second longest in the FCS) while simultaneously ending the Tigers's 17-game streak (which began after losing to the Green to end the 2017 season).

The recipe for success last week once again included a smothering defense to go with a methodical running game. DE Niko Lalos was selected as the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week for his 22-yard pick-six that started the scoring in the game, sack, two pass breakups and two QB hurries.

The rest of the defense made life miserable for Princeton QB Kevin Davidson, the Ivy leader in passing yardage, TDs and accuracy. LB Ross Andreasik had the best game of his career, sacking Davidson twice among his four tackles, and cornerbacks Isiah Swann and Darren Stanley broke up a combined six passes and intercepted another (Swann's school-record-extending 15th of his career).

The offense controlled the clock, running for 225 yards on 52 carries, led by QB Jared Gerbino who collected 97 rushing yards — the most by any Big Green player this year — and two touchdown runs. As usual, it was a collective effort with three others amassing at least 40 yards in RB Caylin Parker (63 on 17 carries), WR Drew Estrada (43 on five) and RB Dakari Falconer (41 on nine). Dartmouth averages a league-best 182.4 yards on the ground, but not one player averages even 50 per game.

With the ground game working so effectively, the Big Green ended up posting season lows in completions (5), attempts (11) and yards (68) through the air. Dartmouth had at least 150 yards in every game prior and had topped 200 in each of the previous four. But Gerbino and Derek Kyler have teamed up to make the Big Green passing game the most efficient in the Ivy League (173.36) and sixth ranked in the FCS.

Let's not overlook the kicking game with PK Connor Davis earning his second Ivy Special Teams Player of the Week honor. His field goals from 33 and 42 yards bridged the two halves, and he extended his streak of consecutive makes on PATs to 40 dating back to last year.

Scouting the Big Red
• Although Cornell enters this game just 2-6 overall and in seventh place in the Ivy League at 1-4, don't let those records fool you. This is a Big Red team that has lost a pair of games by one point, including last week's 21-20 defeat at Penn when Cornell failed to convert a two-point conversion in the final minute. And every one of its six losses have been by no more than 14 points.
• The Big Red defense has been the driving force of this team, ranking fourth in the league in points allowed at 22.6 per game. Safety Jelani Taylor leads the team with 58 tackles, three interceptions and nine pass breakups, and freshman linebacker Jake Stebbins is a disruptive force with 4.5 sacks, helping him be named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week three straight weeks.
• The offense, on the other hand, ranks last in the conference at 18.9 points per outing. Quarterback Richie Kenney has completed 115-of-207 passes (55.6 percent) for 1,558 yards and eight touchdowns, but with 10 interceptions as well.
• Cornell doesn't rely on Kenney to run the ball, instead going with one of the better running backs in the league in Harold Coles, who has nearly 600 yards at a clip of 5.8 per carry. His biggest game this season came against second-place Yale with 141 yards on only 17 rushes. If he needs a spell, S.K. Howard can fill in nicely with over five yards every time he takes the handoff.
• Kenney's favorite targets are Phazione McClurge and Owen Peters, with the former hauling in 32 passes for 541 yards and three touchdowns, all of which lead the Big Red. Opposing defenses can't simply focus on those two, however, as five other players have at least 14 catches, including Coles out of the backfield with 17.
• Special teams have been made special by Nickolas Null who handles both the place-kicking and punting duties. He averages over 40 yards per punt with six of at least 50 yards (leading the Ivy League), and he is 4-of-5 on field goals with a long of 49.
• Cornell is led by The Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Football David Archer, a 2005 graduate of the university. The former Big Red captain was the youngest Division I head coach in the country when hired before the 2013 season and has led the team to a 17-51 record in six-plus seasons.

19th Ivy Title in Play
With the 27-10 win over No. 9 Princeton at Yankee Stadium last week, Dartmouth needs just one win to clinch at least a tie for its 19th Ivy League title, more than any other team. The Big Green are currently tied with Penn for the most in league history with 18. And if Dartmouth can win its last two games, it will complete just the 14th unbeaten campaign in Ivy League history.

Buddying Up to a Record
The victory over Princeton also allowed Buddy Teevens to tie the record for wins by a Dartmouth head coach. A victory against Cornell would set a new standard at 105 wins, breaking the mark held by the legendary Bob Blackman. In 20 seasons spanning two stints at the Big Green helm, Teevens owns a record of 104-92-2 in Hanover. No other Big Green coach has more than 60 aside from Teevens and Blackman.

Last Year vs. Cornell
Coming off a crushing 14-9 loss at Princeton the week before, Dartmouth took out its frustration on the Big Red in the first quarter by scoring three unanswered touchdowns for a 21-0 lead. But Cornell answered in the second quarter with 17 points of its own to close the gap to four at the intermission. In the third quarter, the Big Green took control on a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs by Jared Gerbino, and the home team could only come up with a late touchdown as Dartmouth beat the Big Red for the 10th straight time, 35-24. Gerbino finished the game with 106 yards on the ground, the last time a Big Green player topped 100 rushing yards in a game.

Dartmouth Wins Anniversary Battle
Princeton had its 150th anniversary of playing in the first college football game. Dartmouth had the 250th anniversary of its founding. The two undefeated teams met in Yankee Stadium to settle which team had the better anniversary, and the Big Green made their point with a resounding 27-10 triumph over the ninth-ranked Tigers. Okay, it was truly about the battle for first place in the Ivy League, and Dartmouth got to claim that as well, beating a ranked team for the third time in the last four seasons (No. 22 UNH in 2016, No. 25 Holy Cross last year).

A Perfect Rematch
Just like last year, the Big Green and Tigers were both 7-0 when they met in Princeton for an epic battle. This year's clash was just the seventh time in Ivy League history that two teams met after seven or more games without a loss (and third time between these two). This time, Dartmouth avenged last year's 14-9 defeat with the 27-10 victory. Now the Big Green would like to finish off a perfect 10-0 campaign, just as Princeton did last season.

1964 — Princeton (7-0) def. Yale (6-0-1), 35-14
1965 — Dartmouth (8-0) def. Princeton (8-0), 28-14
1968 — Harvard (8-0) and Yale (8-0) tied, 29-29
1993 — Penn (7-0) def. Princeton (7-0), 30-14
2001 — Harvard (7-0) def. Penn (7-0), 28-21
2018 — Princeton (7-0) def. Dartmouth (7-0), 14-9
2019 — Dartmouth (7-0) def. Princeton (7-0), 27-10

Streak at 10, Princeton's Ends at 17
Princeton came into the game at Yankee Stadium riding a 17-game winning streak and had not lost since a 54-44 shootout here at Memorial Field to end the 2017 season. Dartmouth figured it should bookend the streak with Big Green losses and handed the Tigers the 27-10 defeat. The win also extended Dartmouth's winning streak to 10, the second longest in the FCS (well behind No. 1 North Dakota State at 31).

Déjà Vu
This was not the first time Dartmouth ended a Princeton 17-game winning streak. In 1965 when Dartmouth and Princeton met with 8-0 records, the Big Green emerged victorious, 28-14, to win the Ivy League championship. The Tigers had won 17 straight games with their last loss coming against … you guessed it, Dartmouth.

Big Green at Pro Stadiums
With the 27-10 win over No. 9 Princeton at Yankee Stadium, Dartmouth enjoyed its second win at an MLB park in the last three season having beaten Brown, 33-10, two years ago at Fenway Park. The Big Green are now 16-12-3 in pro (not just baseball) stadiums, and 2-0-1 since World War II (17-17 tie with Columbia at Giants Stadium in 1983).

Big Green Continue Climb in Polls
Since debuting at No. 21 in both the AFCA Coaches Poll and STATS FCS Poll after beating Yale in Week 4, Dartmouth has made a slow and steady ascent in the polls. Four wins later, the last over a top-10 team, and the Big Green find themselves at No. 11 by STATS and No. 12 by the coaches, whereas two weeks ago, the coaches' poll had Dartmouth higher at No. 14 with STATS listing the Green at No. 15. Go figure.

Weekly Honors Go to Lalos, Davis
For the first time since Oct. 1 of last year, Dartmouth had two players named Ivy League Players of the Week in the same week; DE Niko Lalos took home the award for defense and PK Connor Davis for special teams for their performances in the 27-10 win over Princeton. Lalos picked off a pass and returned it 22 yards for his first career touchdown, giving Dartmouth an early 7-0 lead, plus recorded a sack, two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries as he tormented the Princeton QB all night. Davis booted a pair of field goals, the second from 42 yards to start the second half, plus converted all three of his PATs to contribute to the win.

20,000 Leagues (Fans, Really)
For the second straight week, the Dartmouth football team played in front of a crowd of more than 20,000 fans, winning both games (9-6 at Harvard with 20,112 the listed attendance, 27-10 vs. Princeton with 21,506 at Yankee Stadium). You have to go back to 1984 to find the last time that happened. One of those games was at the Yale Bowl (25,372), the other was right here in Hanover against Harvard (20,080).

Win If By Land
• Dartmouth ran for 225 yards against Princeton, improving to 100-7 (.935) over the last 50 years when posting at least 225 yards on the ground.
• Up the threshold to 227 yards and the record is 99-4 (.961).
• Those 225 yards came on 52 rushes, so what is the record when the Big Green run at least 50 times in that span? Glad you asked. Try 121-11-2 (.910).
• And when Dartmouth minimizes the air attack? When throwing 11 or fewer passes in a game, the team has gone 18-2 (.900), including three wins in the last two years. Prior to those three contests, you have to go back to 1995 for the last time the Green had no more than 11 pass attempts.
• And when throwing for fewer than 70 yards, the record isn't quite as impressive in 36 such games, but still a terrific 26-9-1 (.736).

Double-Digit Win Streak
Dartmouth has won 10 straight games dating back to last season. This is just the Big Green's ninth win streak of at least 10 games in their history (not simply unbeaten streaks):

• 15 (4 times) — 1924-26, 1961-63, 1970-71, 1996-97
• 11 (once) — 1964-66
• 10 (4 times) — 1907-08, 1920-21, 2017-18, 2018-19

Third Down? No Problem
Dartmouth faced 12 third-down situations against No. 9 Princeton and converted seven of them for first downs. This is not a new trend for the Big Green as they have moved the sticks 50 times on 90 third-down plays (55.6 percent) this season, a figure that ranks second in the FCS behind only Davidson. Some of you now know why I wrote this note …

Playing by the Rules
The Big Green have been one of the least penalized teams in the FCS this season, averaging 3.63 infractions and 30.38 penalty yards per game. Both of those totals ranks second nationally, only trailing the team that Dartmouth just beat, Princeton.

Getting the Points Across
• Dartmouth continues to lead the FCS in scoring defense at 10.1 points per game, one year after finishing second in the category.
• The six points allowed to Harvard matched the Crimson's fewest at home since a 6-3 Big Green victory in Cambridge in 1996.
• The Big Green have held six of their eight opponents to 10 or fewer points this year.
• On the flip side, Dartmouth had not won a game when scoring in single digits since that 6-3 win at Harvard in 1996.
• The last time Buddy Teevens was part of a Big Green team that won when scoring fewer than 10 points was a 3-0 win over Yale … in 1977 when he was a junior on the team.
• Since the Ivy League started formal play in 1956, Dartmouth has nine wins when scoring in single digits, five coming between 1956-62.
• The Big Green entered the Harvard game leading the FCS in scoring, but now ranks 13th (35.9).
• Dartmouth has outscored the opposition 94-6 in the first quarter and 194-30 in the first half.

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