No. 25 Dartmouth Suffers First Loss of Season to Columbia, 19-0

Friday, October 22

Hanover, N.H.

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

5-1 , 2-1

Columbia

5-1 , 2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Columbia

Dartmouth

Marques White had a career-high nine tackles.

Photo by: Gil Talbot

No. 25 Dartmouth Suffers First Loss of Season to Columbia, 19-0

10/22/2021 9:21:00 PM | Football

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Big Green shut out for the first time in 10 years

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — As much as everything went right last week in a victory over then-ranked New Hampshire, the Nov. 25 Dartmouth football team saw just about everything go wrong on Friday night.

Columbia (5-1, 2-1 Ivy) stymied the Big Green all night and became the first team to shut out Dartmouth (5-1, 2-1 Ivy) in 10 years, leaving Memorial Field with a 19-0 victory. The Lions defense held the Green to a season-low 262 yards, twice denying Dartmouth inside the 5-yard line in the fourth quarter to preserve their first shutout since 2009 and win for just the fifth time against a ranked opponent, ending a 21-game losing streak to ranked foes.

"We were beaten in every aspect of the game," Buddy Teevens, the Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach at Dartmouth, said in the postgame press conference. "They outplayed us from the opening kickoff right on through. We didn't have an answer. I think we were outcoached and outperformed. We made too many mistakes in all facets — offense, defense and special teams. We were penalized more than we have been traditionally. I give them credit; they came in, they played hard and they won. They beat us."

Dartmouth struggled to move the ball, particularly in the first half as the Lions surrendered just 85 yards over the first 30 minutes. Nearly half of the Big Green's 262 yards came in the fourth quarter with Columbia surrendering mostly short gains to run the clock.

Columbia also found it difficult to move the ball most of the night with just 239 yards of offense, but the Lions managed three sustained drives that they turned into 16 points. The first came late in the first quarter, moving the ball 52 yards in 14 plays to the Big Green 15, though Columbia settled for a 32-yard field goal by Alex Felkins for a 3-0 lead.

After holding the Big Green without a first down, the Lions marched 67 yards in 11 plays, which ended when Gabriel Hollingsworth dragged a Dartmouth defender into the end zone after getting behind the line of scrimmage for a 1-yard touchdown and a 10-0 lead.

A Ben Mathiasmeier interception — the first thrown by Big Green quarterback Derek Kyler this season — set up a quick 41-yard field goal by Felkins, a season long.

Dartmouth's best chance to score in the opening half came on its final drive, advancing into Columbia territory for the first time before turning the ball over on downs at the 33 as the Lions took their 13-0 lead into the intermission.

Penalties in the second half undercut any progress the Big Green made in trying to cut into their deficit. Dartmouth got the ball to start the second half, and after an 11-yard pass on the first play, a clipping penalty put Dartmouth in a 1st-and-25. Even so, they covered the ground, but the third-down play was negated for an illegal formation, and the Green threw an incompletion on 3rd-and-8, leading to a punt that went just 22 yards.

Columbia then added to its lead, capping a 60-yard drive with a 25-yard pass from quarterback Joe Green to Mike Roussos in the corner of the end zone. The pass on a two-point try fell incomplete, however, leaving the score at 19-0 with 8:31 still to play in the third quarter.

The remainder of that third quarter featured just one first down for each team with four punts. In the fourth quarter, the Big Green enjoyed excellent field position and twice drove inside the Lions 10. But on both occasions, incompletions on third and fourth down kept Dartmouth from putting points on the board.

Big Green quarterback Derek Kyler, who entered the game second in the FCS in completion percentage (72.2), attempted a career-high 45 passes, connecting on just 24 for 194 yards and his first interception of the year. Sophomore Paxton Scott caught seven of those throws for 78 yards to lead the team. The running game, which was averaging 200 yards a game, managed just 60 with junior Nick Howard picking up 23.

Senior linebacker Jalen Mackie led all players with a career-high 13 tackles for the Green while sophomore Marques White also had a personal-best with nine stops, two for a loss.

Green finished the evening 14-of-22 passing for 98 yards and a touchdown. Dante Miller and Ryan Young led the Columbia ground game with 58 and 57 yards, respectively, and Roussos' 37 yards were the most for the receiving corps.

Dartmouth will look to rebound next Saturday at Harvard, which brings a 5-0 record into its game at undefeated Princeton tomorrow. The game will be televised regionally on NESN at noon and streamed live on ESPN+. Big Green fans can also listen to Brett Franklin and Matt Corsetti calling the action for free through the official website of Dartmouth Athletics, DartmouthSports.com.

Notes: Dartmouth lost for the first time in a game televised on ESPNU, falling to 6-1 all-time on the network … the Big Green had scored in 91 consecutive games … the last time Dartmouth was shut out at home was in 2006 against Harvard … the 19-point loss was the largest for the Green in an Ivy League game in 10 years … Dartmouth is now 70-20-1 against Columbia in the series that dates back to 1899.