Brown Stands in the Way of the Ivy Crown

Saturday, November 23

Providence, R.I. / Brown Stadium

12:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Brown

Noah Roper carries the flag onto the field with his teammates in tow.

Photo by: Gil Talbot

11/21/2019 10:48:00 AM | Football

Saturday, November 23, 2019 Brown Stadium ESPN+ Broadcast Audio Broadcast Live Stats @DartFootball Dartmouth Notes Brown Notes

A win over the Bears would give Dartmouth at least a share of the league title

By: Rick Bender

No. 21/22 DARTMOUTH (8-1, 5-1)
at BROWN (2-7, 1-5)
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019 | Noon | ESPN+
Brown Stadium | Providence, R.I.

Although Dartmouth stumbled last week with an opportunity to clinch at least a tie for the Ivy League title, the Big Green get a second shot at the prize in the season finale at Brown. A victory would give Dartmouth at minimum a share of the conference crown — a record 19th — and possibly an outright championship should Yale come up short against Harvard.

Although Brown sits in the cellar of the Ivy League, don't assume this game is in the bag. The Bears have one of the most potent offensive attacks in the league, ranking second in scoring offense in league games while scoring at least 35 points in each of their last four games.

The Big Green, meanwhile, have struggled offensively the last three weeks, amassing less than 300 yards in each of those contests (granted, against the three top defenses in the conference after Dartmouth). One player who had a breakout game in the 20-17 defeat against Cornell, however, was RB Dakari Falconer, who galloped for 105 yards on 19 carries, his first career 100-yard game (and first by a Big Green player this year).

Meanwhile, QB Jared Gerbino was limited to less than a full game due to a lingering injury for a third straight week. He finished the game with four rushes for a career-low zero yards and completed just 1-of-3 passes for 17 yards before exiting midway through the second quarter.

The passing game has been off the past two weeks with a combined 12 completions in 29 attempts (41.4 percent) for 186 yards after hitting on over 70 percent through the first seven games. Going up against a Brown defense that ranks dead last in the FCS against the pass brings optimism that the two-week glitch will be a thing of the past.

Dartmouth certainly would like to get the ball into the hands of its senior wide receivers, Drew Estrada and Hunter Hagdorn. The duo has combined for 63 catches, nearly 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Estrada is the Big Green's fourth-leading rusher as well with 222 yards (7.7 per carry).

The defense remains the toughest to score against in the FCS, having allowed 11.2 points a game. But after two superb performances against Harvard and Princeton, Dartmouth surrendered a season-high 5.9 yards per play to the Big Red, so, expect the Big Green to put the clamps on, even against a high-powered Brown offense.

Isiah Swann demonstrated why he is the top cover man in the Ivy League and possibly the FCS against Cornell as he broke up five passes and picked off another, returning it 69 yards for a touchdown. That was the fourth pick-six of his career, setting a new Dartmouth record, and he currently leads the FCS in passes defended with 13, tying him with teammate Darren Stanley, but in three fewer games.

Should it come down to the kicking game, Connor Davis has been a steady presence this season, converting all 40 of his extra-point attempts, while booting 6-of-8 field goals. Twice he has split the uprights from 42 yards out, and his only misses are from 47 and 38.

Scouting the Bears
Brown picked up its first victory since the season opener last week, unloading a gorilla off its back by defeating Columbia, 48-24, which ended a 20-game losing streak in Ivy League play. Now the Bears are looking to play the spoiler to Dartmouth and possibly deny the Big Green a share of the conference crown.

Offense has rarely been a problem this season for Brown, averaging over 30 points a game in league play, second only to Yale (one total point ahead of Dartmouth). In each of their last four games, the Bears have put up at least 35 points.

The focal point of the Brown offense has been quarterback E.J. Perry, a transfer from Boston College and the nephew of head coach James Perry. He averages over 40 throws and 280 yards through the air, topping 300 yards in three of the last four contests. But he also is a running threat, ranking fourth in the league with 80.9 yards per game on the ground.

Perry isn't the only running threat with Allen Smith in the backfield. The 5-9, 185-pound sophomore picks up nearly five yards per carry and has amassed 522 yards and eight touchdowns.

No fewer than five players have at least 300 receiving yards with another over 200, and all six have hauled in at least 22 passes. Leading the way is Jakob Prall (37 rec., 508 yds., 4 TD) and Demitri Jackson (38 rec., 343 yds., 3 TD), while Scott Boylan has a team-best five scoring snares.

The defense, on the other hand, has struggled all year, ranking among the bottom five in the FCS in total defense, pass defense and scoring defense, as well as third- and fourth-down percentage defense. Linebacker Brendan Pyne leads the Bears with 48 tackles, while lineman Callum Flanders has three of the team's 12 sacks. Cooper DeVeau has been the busiest cover man with 11 pass breakups and an interception.

Dawons Goepferich handles all of the kicking duties, converting 31-of-35 PATs and 4-of-7 field goals while averaging 38.7 yards per punt.

Head coach James Perry (Brown '00), in his first year at the helm, began his coaching career at Dartmouth. He had stops as an assistant at Williams, Mayland, Brown and Princeton before serving as the head coach at Bryant for two years (2017-18). As a player, Perry quarterbacked the Bears to an Ivy title in 1999, earning the Bushnell Cup, and posted a 23-7 record as a three-year starter behind center.

19th Ivy Title Still in Play
The dream of a perfect season may have died with the 20-17 loss to Cornell last week, but Dartmouth would still earn at least a share of its 19th Ivy League crown with a victory over Brown. The Big Green are currently tied with Yale atop the standings with a 5-1 record, and even if the Bulldogs beat Harvard in The Game, the two teams would tie for the title. And for those noting that the Big Green beat Yale this year, the Ivy League only considers the record and not head-to-head results to determine champions.

Buddying Up to a Record
Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach Buddy Teevens tied the record for wins by a Dartmouth head coach with the 27-10 win over Princeton at Yankee Stadium with 104 in his 20 seasons guiding his alma mater. A victory against Brown would set a new standard, breaking the mark held by the namesake of his position, Bob Blackman. No other Big Green coach has more than 60 aside from Teevens and Blackman.

Last Year vs. Brown
What was a close game at the half with Dartmouth leading 13-7, quickly became a blowout after the break as the Big Green put 29 points on the board in the third quarter, leading to a 49-7 victory on Senior Day in Hanover. Dartmouth struck first with a touchdown on its first drive, but the Bears tied the score thanks to a muffed punt that they recovered in the end zone. Just before halftime, the Drew Hunnicutt caught a 5-yard TD toss to reclaim the lead. The third quarter featured four runs into the end zone, two by Miles Smith, as Dartmouth ran away with the win to finish with a 9-1 record and 6-1 mark in the Ivy League, settling for second place.

All Good Things Come to an End
• So much for a perfect 10. The 20-17 loss to Cornell ended Dartmouth's 10-game winning streak, 10-game personal winning streak against the Big Red and 10-game home winning streak.
• Even with the loss, the Big Green are still 25-4 over the last three seasons, and all four losses are by no more than five points.
• Cornell is one of just two teams to score 20 or more points against Dartmouth in the last two seasons, doing so twice (Columbia is the other).
• Cornell's Harold Coles had 111 yards rushing, just the second 100-yard game against Dartmouth since Princeton's Charlie Voelker had 111 in the 2016 season finale (both 100-yard efforts have been in the last three contests).
• Most of Coles' yards came on his 74-yard touchdown run, the longest by a Big Green opponent in eight years.
• And the 98 receiving yards for the Big Red's Eric Gallman are the most by an opponent since Yale's Reed Klubnik had 124 … last season.
• Dartmouth allowed 384 yards in the game, matching its most on the year (Yale). But the 5.9 yards allowed per play were the most since the wild 54-44 win over Princeton to end the 2017 season.
• I guess Bob Blackman did not want to have his record of 104 wins as the head coach at Dartmouth broken against the other Ivy League team he coached. The legend guided Cornell from 1977-81.

Traynor Academic All-District
Linebacker Jack Traynor has received a number of academic and athletic awards in his career, but his selection for the CoSIDA Academic All-District I Team was a first for him. The fifth-year senior is an engineering major with a 3.68 GPA and twice has been named to each of the All-Ivy League First Team (unanimously), Division I All-New England Team, Academic All-Ivy League Fall Team and FCS Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star Team. Traynor enters the final game third in the Ivy League with 66 tackles, and he has both a pick-six and a scoop and score this season.

Swann Does It Again
Cornell did not shy away from throwing toward All-America cornerback Isiah Swann. That led to the senior having the biggest statistical day of his career with five pass breakups and a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown. The pick-six was the fourth of his career, breaking the record he shared with former LB Will McNamara '16. Swann is also the active FCS leader with 16 interceptions.

Big Green Remain in Polls
Since debuting at No. 21 in both the AFCA Coaches Poll and STATS FCS Poll after beating Yale in Week 4, Dartmouth climbed all the way up to 11th. But after the loss to Cornell, the Big Green are pretty much right back where they started — 21 by the AFCA, 22 by STATS.

First 100-Yard Rusher in a Year
The running game provided 180 yards against Cornell, almost exactly the Big Green's season average. But for just the second time this year, one player accounted for more than half of that total as junior Dakari Falconer posted a career-high 105 yards on 19 carries. He is the first Dartmouth player to hit triple digits on the ground since Jared Gerbino had 106 against Cornell last year. And the 19 rushing attempts are the most by a Big Green running back (i.e., not Gerbino) since Ryder Stone took the ball 28 times for 119 yards … against Cornell in 2017.

Receivers Eyeing Milestones
Both Drew Estrada and Hunter Hagdorn are approaching career milestones, though one is more likely to be reached than the other. Estrada enters the final game of the season with 96 catches to his credit. Four more and he would become the 14th player in Dartmouth history with 100 to his name (five of whom have come in the last decade). Hagdorn, meanwhile, needs to amass 137 receiving yards to become the sixth Big Green player with 2,000 in a career. Only once has he had that many yards in a game in his career, that coming against this week's opponent, Brown, during his freshman year (171).

Unfamiliar Third-Down Woes
Entering the Cornell game, ranked second in the FCS in third-down conversion percentage (55.6). But the Big Red did a number on the Green, holding them to just three successful third-down plays out of 14. Even with those struggles, Dartmouth is still fourth nationally at 51.0 percent, trailing only FCS powers, No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 2 James Madison and … Davidson.

Double-Digit Win Streak
Dartmouth's recently ended 10-game win streak was just the Big Green's ninth 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

Playing by the Rules
The Big Green have been one of the least penalized teams in the FCS this season, averaging 3.67 infractions and 29.22 penalty yards per game. Both of those totals ranks second nationally, only trailing the team that Dartmouth just beat, Princeton.

Quick Hitters
• Dartmouth has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 28 of its last 30 games with the lone exceptions coming in last year's 24-17 win over Harvard and the win at Yankee Stadium.
• In those 29 games, the Big Green have thrown 54 touchdowns and just 16 interceptions.
• The last 300-yard passer against the Green D? Princeton's Chad Kanoff in the 2017 finale.
• Drew Estrada is fifth in the FCS with 17.0 yards per punt return, plus is 18th in all-purpose yards (128.7).
• The defense is up there, too, ranking second in the FCS in red zone defense, fourth in passing efficiency defense and 10th in total defense.
• Sixteen of the Big Green's 41 touchdowns this year have traveled at least 30 yards with the longest being an 87-yard punt return by Drew Estrada.
• Gerbino has 1,494 yards rushing in his career, which is tied for 15th all-time at Dartmouth. The player he is tied with? Dalyn Williams '16, tying them for the most by a Big Green QB.
• Gerbino is also second all-time at Dartmouth with a rushing average of 5.45 yards per carry.
• Derek Kyler, on the other hand, has the highest career completion percentage in program history (minimum 1,500 yards) at 66.9 percent as well as the best career passing efficiency at 158.68 (minimum 5 completions, sorry Brian Scullin).
• Connor Davis has converted his last 42 PATs, nine shy of the school record held by 18-year NFL veteran Nick Lowery '78. And his 40 PATs this season are just one behind Dennis Durkin '93 for the single-season record.