Big Green Head to the Lions’ Den on Saturday

Saturday, October 22

New York, N.Y. / Wien Stadium

1:30 PM

Dartmouth College

Columbia

Photo by: Gil Talbot

Big Green Head to the Lions’ Den on Saturday

10/20/2022 10:28:00 AM | Football

Saturday, Oct. 22 ESPN+Audio Broadcast Live Stats Teevens Teleteaser @DartmouthFTBL Series History Dartmouth Notes

The football team will attempt to spoil Columbia's homecoming festivities

By: Rick Bender

Dartmouth (1-4, 0-2) at Columbia (3-2, 0-2)
Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022 | 1:30 PM
Baker Field at Wien Stadium | New York, N.Y.
ESPN+ — Lance Medow play-by-play, Ted Gregory analyst
Audio — Brett Franklin play-by-play, Matt Corsetti analyst

Big Green Back in the Big Apple
It has been three years since Dartmouth last played in New York City, but it wasn't against Columbia. The foe was rather Princeton at Yankee Stadium in a showdown of unbeatens, a game the Big Green emerged from as 27-10 victors. This game has a different sense of urgency to it as both Columbia and Dartmouth are searching for their first Ivy League victory of the season, and the one who comes up short will be eliminated from the title chase for all practical purposes.

The Big Green certainly will have last year's loss to the Lions on their minds, their lone defeat of an Ivy-title season, and a shutout on their home field, no less. And after this past week's 14-0 loss to in-state rival New Hampshire, Dartmouth has two shutouts it would like to avenge this week.

Getting the offense back in sync is imperative in snapping the team's first four-game slide in 11 years after a return to the two-quarterback system sputtered out of the gate. Nick Howard, back in action after a week off due to an injury, found little room to run with a mere nine yards on six carries, though he did manage to complete 6-of-7 passes for 54 yards. Dylan Cadwallader, on the other hand, struggled with his throws, connecting on just 8-of-20 for 86 yards along with an interception on a Hail Mary at the end of the half.

The ground game that was so dominating in the opening games this season was missing in action for a second straight week, though Noah Roper and Q Jones both averaged over six yards a carry. But their opportunities were limited with just five carries apiece, thanks largely to a lack of sustained drives. The Big Green had the ball for barely 21 minutes, their lowest figure in 13 years.

But it's not like the offense didn't move the ball at all. In fact, it averaged 5.8 yards per play, by far the highest in any of the 19 shutouts Dartmouth has suffered over the last 50 years. But by going 2-for-10 on third down, the Big Green simply could not sustain drives to keep the football.

While the defense was on the field for nearly 40 minutes, it held pretty firm in its "bend-don't-break" philosophy, surrendering just the 14 points, even with injuries during the game to LB Macklin Ayers (second-leading tackler in the FCS) and DL Luca Di Leo. Joe Heffernan stepped up to make 10 tackles while Ayers had nine before he departed, as did CB Tyron Herring. Robert Crockett III had the defensive highlight, making his first career interception, denying a touchdown in the end zone. Dartmouth is looking for more of those big plays on offense as it ranks among the bottom 25 in the country in turnover margin (-0.8).

The Big Green would rather forget last year's showdown with the Lions, suffering their first shutout in 10 years. Columbia focused on stoppint the run, yielding just 60 yards, and the passing game wasn't crisp with 25-of-45 completions for 202 yards and an interception. Paxton Scott led the receiving corps with seven catches for 78 yards.

Scouting the Lions
Columbia has fared quite well in non-conference games, winning all three by a combined score of 108-16. But that success has not translated to league action, falling by scores of 24-6 to Princeton and 34-14 at Penn.

The Quakers were never threatened in the game last week, building up a 34-0 lead before the end of the third quarter. QB Joe Green had a rough day, going 5-of-21 throwing the ball for 159 yards with two interceptions before being replaced by Caden Bell behind center. Seeing his first extended action, Bell went 13-of-18 for 196 yards and two touchdowns, albeit against a defense that was guarding a 34-point lead. For the season, Green has completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 947 yards and seven scores, but also with six picks.

The Lions' offense has been pretty balanced, averaging a total of 384 yards a game, nearly 150 of which have come on the ground. Three players have had between 40-50 carries, led by Joe Giorgi with 209 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Ryan Young had a big game against Wagner with 117 yards on eight attempts, but Penn held Columbia to only 73 rushing yards.

Bryson Canty has been the star receiver, ranking third in the league with 28 catches and 450 yards while topping the loop with four TDs. But J.J. Jenkins (23 catches for 264 yards, 1 TD) and Marcus Libman (19-166, 2 TDs) give the Lions a few good targets to keep the defense on its toes.

The Columbia defense has been stout against the run this year, leading the FCS at just 42 yards allowed on the ground per game. While the Lions have also surrendered more than 280 yards a game through the air, their passing efficiency defense ranks among the top 15 in the country.

Linebacker Scott Valentas is the team's leading tackler (38) followed closely by DB Fara'ad McCombs (36). Watch out for DE Justin Townsend, who leads the Lions with 7.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks, and seven different players have recorded an interception.

Columbia is in its eighth season under the guidance of the dean of Ivy League coaches, Al Bagnoli (CCSU '75), who spent 23 seasons crafting a legacy at Penn by winning nine Ivy League titles. Now in his 39th season as a head coach, Bagnoli sports an overall record of 267-131 with a mark of 32-33 since joining the Lions.

Granite Bowl Gone
Entering the showdown with in-state rival New Hampshire on Oct. 15, the two teams were deadlocked in 40 previous meetings at 19-19-2. Dartmouth had won the last two games, ending a 20-game winless streak in the series (the Big Green won the first 16). But UNH handed Dartmouth a 14-0 shutout, its first against the Big Green, to reclaim the Granite Bowl Trophy and the lead in the all-time series.

First Four-Game Skid in 11 Years
With the 14-0 home loss to New Hampshire, Dartmouth has dropped four straight games for the first time since the 2011 campaign. The Big Green won their season opener that year, then lost four in a row before righting the ship and finishing with a .500 record at 5-5. Oddly enough, the first three losses were to the same teams Dartmouth lost to this year — Sacred Heart, Penn and Yale.

Strange Shutout
For the second season in a row, the Big Green were held without a point in a game after going 10 years without being shut out. But the 14-0 loss to New Hampshire was odd in the fact that Dartmouth averaged 5.8 yards per play, more than any of its previous 18 shutouts (by a wide margin) in the past 50 years. The fewest points the Green had scored when averaging that many yards per play? Twelve, in a loss in 1986 against … UNH.

Go Long Golick
Sophomore punter Davis Golick put together the most productive game of his career against UNH, booting six punts for a personal-best 43.3-yard average, three of which ended inside the 20 (and two inside the 5). While Coach Teevens has pointed out you never want your best performer in a game to be your punter, his work helped give long fields for the Wildcats to navigate, which in turn was a factor in them scoring just 14 points.

Robert "Rocket" Crockett
I only used that headline for this note because it sounds really good, not because it has any relation to what comes next. Well, aside from the name of Robert Crockett III. In the third quarter against New Hampshire on Oct. 15, the Dartmouth defense needed a stop with the Big Green already trailing 14-0 and UNH knocking on the door of the end zone. That's where Crockett stepped up, intercepting a pass in the end zone to keep Dartmouth within striking distance. It was the fifth-year senior's first career pick.