Completed Event: Football versus Merrimack on October 17, 2026 , Win , 27, to, 21
Final
Football
vs Merrimack
27
21
Friday, October 30
Hanover, N.H.
7:00 PM
Dartmouth College
vs
Harvard
10/28/2026 12:00:00 PM | Football
Game Six:Â Dartmouth (3-3) vs #16/#13 Harvard (6-0) - Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, 7 p.m.
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HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth football team returns to Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field on Friday, Oct. 30, to face #16/#13 Harvard in an Ivy League game. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
Setting the Scene
Dartmouth owns the most Ivy League championships of any program, with 22, and has won a title in four of the past six seasons. Harvard is second with 20. The two were picked second and third in the Ivy League preseason poll, with Harvard receiving 111 points and Dartmouth 94.
Dartmouth is 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the Ivy League, having won two straight. The Big Green opened with one-possession losses to No. 7 Lehigh (24-20) and (RV) Monmouth (31-28), beat Penn 14-10 in the Ivy opener on Oct. 3 and fell 28-7 at Yale on Oct. 10. They rallied past Merrimack, 27-21, on Oct. 17, then picked up their first road win of the season, 38-18 at Columbia, on Oct. 24.Â
Harvard is the only unbeaten team in the Ivy League, at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in league play. The Crimson, ranked No. 16 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and No. 13 in the AFCA Coaches Poll, beat Princeton, 35-7, on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Harvard Stadium. Harvard has outscored opponents 171-77 this season and has held four of them to 10 points or fewer.Â
Sammy McCorkle, the Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach, is in his fourth season at the helm in 2026 and is 24-12 overall and 16-8 in Ivy League play. The Big Green won Ivy League titles in 2023 and 2024 under McCorkle.
Core contributors return throughout the lineup:
Dartmouth built a 21-10 halftime lead and pulled away from Columbia, 38-18, on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium. Saunier rushed for three touchdowns, and the Big Green set season highs in points (38), total yards (419), rushing yards (247) and rushing touchdowns (five). They scored on all five red zone trips, did not commit a turnover and held the ball for 32:28.
Craddock scored on a 14-yard run to cap the opening drive, and Jacob Henry added a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Saunier scored from 1 yard out before halftime and again in the third quarter, then sealed the win with a 68-yard run with 1:42 left.
The defense forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter. Brown intercepted a pass on Columbia's first snap after a 57-yard punt by Luke Armistead pinned the Lions at their own 18, and Owen Zalc turned it into a 41-yard field goal. Harrison Keith and Maddox added interceptions later in the quarter. Dartmouth has seven takeaways this season, six of them in its last two games.
The win improved Dartmouth's all-time series lead over Columbia to 75-20-1 and extended its winning streak in the series to five games. It also improved Dartmouth to 1-2 on the road this season. Dartmouth is 16-3 at home over its past 19 games.
With a Win on Friday…
Harvard is 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Ivy League for the second straight season. The Crimson were picked second in the preseason poll and have won 20 Ivy League championships, most recently in 2025. They are one of three unbeaten teams in the FCS, along with Stephen F. Austin and Tarleton State.
Harvard beat Princeton, 35-7, on Saturday, Oct. 24, after opening with an 18-play, 74-yard drive that took 10:02 and ended in a 24-yard Kieran Corr field goal. The Crimson led 13-0 at halftime and 28-7 after Charlie Smith's 18-yard touchdown pass to Tafari Moe early in the fourth quarter. Dorsey Benefield sealed the win with a 32-yard fumble-recovery touchdown, Harvard's first defensive score of the season. The Crimson outgained the Tigers, 391-219, held the ball for 32:55 and did not commit a turnover while forcing two. They scored 35 points against a Princeton defense that had been allowing 10.2 per game.
Smith, a sophomore quarterback, completed 22 of 28 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. It was his fourth game this season with multiple touchdown passes. Through Oct. 10, he led the Ivy League in completion percentage (.713) and passing efficiency (151.1). First-year wide receiver Nathan Bailey caught eight passes for 43 yards against Princeton and led the league with 7.80 receptions per game through Oct. 10. Moe (three catches, 53 yards) and tight end Teigan Pelletier (four catches, 53 yards) each scored. Henry Shoemaker has caught a touchdown pass in three straight games. Corr made both of his field goal tries (24 and 32 yards) and led the league with 1.50 field goals per game through Oct. 10.
Harvard led the nation in team passing efficiency defense (91.79) through Oct. 10. Against Princeton, Benefield had a team-high eight tackles. Xaden Benson had six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and two pass breakups. Benson led the nation with 1.20 interceptions per game through Oct. 10, and the Crimson led the Ivy League with eight interceptions, 12 turnovers gained and a turnover margin of +1.20 (tied with Princeton). Dartmouth has committed just three turnovers all season and none at Columbia.
Last Time vs. Harvard
Harvard beat Dartmouth, 31-10, on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Harvard Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts. The Crimson led 14-0 after one quarter and 17-0 at halftime, and Dartmouth trailed 17-10 after three. Jaden Craig completed 21 of 32 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns, which gave him the school record for career touchdown passes. Brady Blackburn had 116 receiving yards, including a 74-yard touchdown, and Seamus Gilmartin caught two scoring passes. Kieran Corr kicked a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Dartmouth scored its 10 points in the third quarter on Grayson Saunier's 1-yard run and Owen Zalc's 46-yard field goal. Harvard answered with 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Saunier completed 18 of 32 passes for 200 yards, and Craig was intercepted twice. The win was Harvard's 300th in Ivy League play, and the Big Green fell to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Ivy League.
McCorkle Against Harvard
McCorkle is 0-3 against Harvard as Robert L. Blackman Head Coach:
Keith is a week seven recipient of the New England Football Writers Association Gold Helmet Award, presented by the Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation. Keith recorded nine tackles and a team-high five pass breakups in the Big Green's 27-21 win over Merrimack on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field. He also helped break up the pass that Steve Simpkins Jr. intercepted at the Merrimack 24 in the fourth quarter. That turnover set up an Owen Zalc field goal. Dartmouth finished the game with three takeaways in the second half and held Merrimack on downs at the Dartmouth 14 with 1:03 left to seal the win. Keith's five pass breakups are the second-most by an FCS player in 2026.
Elite Company for Saunier
Saunier now has 4,491 career total offense yards (ranked #28), and a career passing efficiency of 134.66 (ranked #30).Â
Weekly Honors for Stephens
Johnny Stephens was honored as the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Oct. 5.
Weekly Honors for Zalc
Zalc was named a semifinalist for the 2026 Campbell Trophy on Thursday, Sept. 24. He has been named Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week eight times in his career, most recently on Oct. 19. His eight weekly awards are tied for the second-most by an Ivy League player, behind only Brown's James Perry and Yale's Kurt Rawlings, who each earned nine.
Zalc in the Record Book
Zalc has 44 career field goals (tied second), 1.22 field goals per game (tied fourth), 106 extra points (eighth) and 238 career points (tenth).Â
Some of the Nation's Longest Punts
Luke Armistead's 77-yard punt against Yale was the second-longest punt in program history and the fifth-longest punt by an FCS player in 2026. Armistead owns two of the longest punts by an FCS player this season, with his 74-yarder against Penn currently tied for ninth. His 57-yarder at Columbia set up the fourth-quarter interception and field goal that restored a 13-point lead. He averages 45.1 yards per punt this season, which ranks ninth among FCS players.
Watch:Â ESPNUÂ |Â International Stream
Live Stats
Listen
Tickets
Game Notes
Program
X
HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth football team returns to Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field on Friday, Oct. 30, to face #16/#13 Harvard in an Ivy League game. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
Setting the Scene
Dartmouth owns the most Ivy League championships of any program, with 22, and has won a title in four of the past six seasons. Harvard is second with 20. The two were picked second and third in the Ivy League preseason poll, with Harvard receiving 111 points and Dartmouth 94.
Dartmouth is 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the Ivy League, having won two straight. The Big Green opened with one-possession losses to No. 7 Lehigh (24-20) and (RV) Monmouth (31-28), beat Penn 14-10 in the Ivy opener on Oct. 3 and fell 28-7 at Yale on Oct. 10. They rallied past Merrimack, 27-21, on Oct. 17, then picked up their first road win of the season, 38-18 at Columbia, on Oct. 24.Â
Harvard is the only unbeaten team in the Ivy League, at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in league play. The Crimson, ranked No. 16 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and No. 13 in the AFCA Coaches Poll, beat Princeton, 35-7, on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Harvard Stadium. Harvard has outscored opponents 171-77 this season and has held four of them to 10 points or fewer.Â
Sammy McCorkle, the Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach, is in his fourth season at the helm in 2026 and is 24-12 overall and 16-8 in Ivy League play. The Big Green won Ivy League titles in 2023 and 2024 under McCorkle.
Core contributors return throughout the lineup:
- Saunier:Â The quarterback threw for 2,143 yards and nine touchdowns last season and rushed for 413 yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns. Through six games in 2026, he has completed 69 of 127 passes for 951 yards and five touchdowns, and rushed for 220 yards and five touchdowns. He ran for three scores at Columbia, including a 68-yard touchdown, the longest by a Big Green player this season.
- Craddock, Fisher and Lemon:Â Myles Craddock carried a season-high 23 times for 128 yards and a touchdown at Columbia and has 503 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season. Ky'Dric Fisher, the top returning pass catcher after posting 21 catches for 341 yards as a sophomore, has 18 catches for 286 yards and three touchdowns. Nick Lemon has 13 catches for 202 yards.
- Keith:Â Harrison Keith, a Third Team Associated Press (AP) All-American last season, led the team with four interceptions as a junior. He had six tackles and his first interception of the season at Columbia and leads the Big Green with 54 tackles.
- Linebackers and secondary:Â Matthew Boydell led the defense with seven tackles at Columbia, while Cameron Best-Alston and Johnny Stephens each added six. Stephens, the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 5, also had two pass breakups. Thai Brown and No'Koi Maddox each intercepted a pass.
- Defensive line:Â Chris Chol and Keoni Perkins each had a sack at Columbia. The Big Green had three sacks in their first five games.
Dartmouth built a 21-10 halftime lead and pulled away from Columbia, 38-18, on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium. Saunier rushed for three touchdowns, and the Big Green set season highs in points (38), total yards (419), rushing yards (247) and rushing touchdowns (five). They scored on all five red zone trips, did not commit a turnover and held the ball for 32:28.
Craddock scored on a 14-yard run to cap the opening drive, and Jacob Henry added a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Saunier scored from 1 yard out before halftime and again in the third quarter, then sealed the win with a 68-yard run with 1:42 left.
The defense forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter. Brown intercepted a pass on Columbia's first snap after a 57-yard punt by Luke Armistead pinned the Lions at their own 18, and Owen Zalc turned it into a 41-yard field goal. Harrison Keith and Maddox added interceptions later in the quarter. Dartmouth has seven takeaways this season, six of them in its last two games.
The win improved Dartmouth's all-time series lead over Columbia to 75-20-1 and extended its winning streak in the series to five games. It also improved Dartmouth to 1-2 on the road this season. Dartmouth is 16-3 at home over its past 19 games.
With a Win on Friday…
- Dartmouth would improve to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Ivy League and extend its winning streak to three games.
- The Big Green would hand Harvard its first loss of the season and its first in Ivy League play.
- McCorkle would earn his first win over Harvard as head coach, after going 0-3 against the Crimson.
Harvard is 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Ivy League for the second straight season. The Crimson were picked second in the preseason poll and have won 20 Ivy League championships, most recently in 2025. They are one of three unbeaten teams in the FCS, along with Stephen F. Austin and Tarleton State.
Harvard beat Princeton, 35-7, on Saturday, Oct. 24, after opening with an 18-play, 74-yard drive that took 10:02 and ended in a 24-yard Kieran Corr field goal. The Crimson led 13-0 at halftime and 28-7 after Charlie Smith's 18-yard touchdown pass to Tafari Moe early in the fourth quarter. Dorsey Benefield sealed the win with a 32-yard fumble-recovery touchdown, Harvard's first defensive score of the season. The Crimson outgained the Tigers, 391-219, held the ball for 32:55 and did not commit a turnover while forcing two. They scored 35 points against a Princeton defense that had been allowing 10.2 per game.
Smith, a sophomore quarterback, completed 22 of 28 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. It was his fourth game this season with multiple touchdown passes. Through Oct. 10, he led the Ivy League in completion percentage (.713) and passing efficiency (151.1). First-year wide receiver Nathan Bailey caught eight passes for 43 yards against Princeton and led the league with 7.80 receptions per game through Oct. 10. Moe (three catches, 53 yards) and tight end Teigan Pelletier (four catches, 53 yards) each scored. Henry Shoemaker has caught a touchdown pass in three straight games. Corr made both of his field goal tries (24 and 32 yards) and led the league with 1.50 field goals per game through Oct. 10.
Harvard led the nation in team passing efficiency defense (91.79) through Oct. 10. Against Princeton, Benefield had a team-high eight tackles. Xaden Benson had six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and two pass breakups. Benson led the nation with 1.20 interceptions per game through Oct. 10, and the Crimson led the Ivy League with eight interceptions, 12 turnovers gained and a turnover margin of +1.20 (tied with Princeton). Dartmouth has committed just three turnovers all season and none at Columbia.
Last Time vs. Harvard
Harvard beat Dartmouth, 31-10, on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Harvard Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts. The Crimson led 14-0 after one quarter and 17-0 at halftime, and Dartmouth trailed 17-10 after three. Jaden Craig completed 21 of 32 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns, which gave him the school record for career touchdown passes. Brady Blackburn had 116 receiving yards, including a 74-yard touchdown, and Seamus Gilmartin caught two scoring passes. Kieran Corr kicked a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Dartmouth scored its 10 points in the third quarter on Grayson Saunier's 1-yard run and Owen Zalc's 46-yard field goal. Harvard answered with 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Saunier completed 18 of 32 passes for 200 yards, and Craig was intercepted twice. The win was Harvard's 300th in Ivy League play, and the Big Green fell to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Ivy League.
McCorkle Against Harvard
McCorkle is 0-3 against Harvard as Robert L. Blackman Head Coach:
- lost to Harvard, 31-10: Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Harvard Stadium
- lost to Harvard, 31-27: Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field
- lost to Harvard, 17-9: Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, at Harvard Stadium
Keith is a week seven recipient of the New England Football Writers Association Gold Helmet Award, presented by the Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation. Keith recorded nine tackles and a team-high five pass breakups in the Big Green's 27-21 win over Merrimack on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field. He also helped break up the pass that Steve Simpkins Jr. intercepted at the Merrimack 24 in the fourth quarter. That turnover set up an Owen Zalc field goal. Dartmouth finished the game with three takeaways in the second half and held Merrimack on downs at the Dartmouth 14 with 1:03 left to seal the win. Keith's five pass breakups are the second-most by an FCS player in 2026.
Elite Company for Saunier
- Career passing yards:Â 3,627, ninth in program history. He needs 783 to pass Derek Kyler '21 (4,409) for eighth. Dalyn Williams '16 holds the record at 7,458.
- Career completions:Â 299, ninth. He needs 64 to pass Kyler for eighth. Williams holds the record at 620.
- Career completion percentage:Â .623 (299-for-480), third behind Kyler's .693 and Williams' .627, and just ahead of Alex Park '14 (.622).
- Career total offense:Â 4,491 yards, sixth in program history after passing Conner Kempe '12, Charlie Rittgers '06 and Mark Johnson '90 at Columbia. He needs 299 to pass Kyler (4,789) for fifth. Williams holds the record at 8,952.
- Single-game passing yards:Â 407 vs. CCSU (2025), tied for fifth in program history.
- Season passing yards:Â 2,143 (2025), eighth all-time.
- Season completions:Â 183 (2025), seventh all-time.
- Season rushing touchdowns:Â 11 (2025), tied for ninth all-time.
- Career rushing touchdowns:Â 24, sixth all-time.
- Points in a season:Â 60 (2025), tied with Yale's Josh Pitsenberger for the Ivy League lead that year.
- Against Columbia:Â he matched his career high with three rushing touchdowns. His 96 rushing yards and 68-yard touchdown run were also career bests.
Saunier now has 4,491 career total offense yards (ranked #28), and a career passing efficiency of 134.66 (ranked #30).Â
Weekly Honors for Stephens
Johnny Stephens was honored as the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Oct. 5.
Weekly Honors for Zalc
Zalc was named a semifinalist for the 2026 Campbell Trophy on Thursday, Sept. 24. He has been named Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week eight times in his career, most recently on Oct. 19. His eight weekly awards are tied for the second-most by an Ivy League player, behind only Brown's James Perry and Yale's Kurt Rawlings, who each earned nine.
Zalc in the Record Book
- Single-season field goals:Â 17 made on 21 attempts (2023), a program record. The Ivy League record is 19, by Princeton's Chris Lutz in 1988. Zalc's 17 ranks fourth in league history.
- Single-season field goals in league play:Â 14 in 2023, the Ivy League record. Penn's Andrew Samson had 13 in 2008.
- Career field goals:Â 44 made on 67 attempts, a Dartmouth record. That is tied for third in Ivy League history with Brown's Alexander Norocea after his 41-yarder at Columbia. He needs 2 to pass Princeton's Derek Javarone (45) for second. He needs 8 to tie and 9 to pass Brown's Steve Morgan (2004-07), the conference record holder with 52.
- Career points-kicking:Â 238, first on Dartmouth's career points-kicking chart, with 106 of 108 extra points and 44 field goals. That ties him with Samson for fourth in Ivy history. He needs 9 to tie and 10 to pass Harvard's David Mothander (247) for third.
- Career points:Â 238, second all-time in program history behind Myles Lane '28 (307).
- Longest field goal:Â 54 yards vs. Harvard (2024), tied for the Ivy League record.
Zalc has 44 career field goals (tied second), 1.22 field goals per game (tied fourth), 106 extra points (eighth) and 238 career points (tenth).Â
Some of the Nation's Longest Punts
Luke Armistead's 77-yard punt against Yale was the second-longest punt in program history and the fifth-longest punt by an FCS player in 2026. Armistead owns two of the longest punts by an FCS player this season, with his 74-yarder against Penn currently tied for ninth. His 57-yarder at Columbia set up the fourth-quarter interception and field goal that restored a 13-point lead. He averages 45.1 yards per punt this season, which ranks ninth among FCS players.
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