Most of the time when the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth rumble for Granite State bragging rights, it results in a game to remember.
But Saturday's contest at Memorial Field -- a 14-7 win for UNH (3-2 overall, 1-1 Yankee Conference) -- was definitely a game to forget.
Aside from four missed Dartmouth field goals, there were five interceptions, three fumbles and a total of 148 yards of penalties between the two teams.
Certainly, Dartmouth (1-3 overall, 0-1 Ivy League) took its fair share of the burden in the sloppy play department. Other than the kicking game, Dartmouth's offensive line was at times little more than a speed bump for blitzing UNH linebackers. Of Jay Fiedler's 28 passes on the day, only 10 were completed and that was largely because a half-dozen of them were thrown with Wildcat lineman hanging from his waist.
Fiedler threw for a season-low, 125-yards and tossed a season-high three interceptions as he was continually pressured and throwing into double coverage.
But nothing was more disturbing for Dartmouth coach John Lyons than the acute case of schizophrenia his team suffered on offense.
Outside the 20-yard line, Fiedler and crew moved the ball with relative ease all afternoon. But once in the red zone -- that torturous 20-yard chunk of real estate nearest to the end zone -- the Big Green offense all but moved.
Dartmouth drove inside the 20 six times and came up with one touchdown, one interception and four missed field goals.
Those missed opportunities kept the University of New Hampshire and an offense full of the best skilled players Dartmouth will see all year within striking distance.
The ax fell with one minute, 32 seconds to play when New Hampshire broke a 7-7 tie with its second touchdown of the day.
"When we looked on the other sideline, Dartmouth just didn't look quite as fresh," New Hampshire coach Bill Bowes said. "That's when you bring in your 250-pound fullback."
Not surprisingly, fullback Lee McClinton -- a veritable human Volkswagen at 5-foot-11, 250-pounds -- carried the ball 33-yards over the final three plays of New Hampshire's 57-yard scoring drive, including the 2-yard plunge that put the Wildcats on top.
The Wildcats other touchdown came in the second quarter when quarterback Jim Stayer dumped a screen pass to tailback Avrom Smith, who then eluded a few tacklers and raced over 55 yards of open turf.
Really, those were the only two breakdowns for Dartmouth in what was otherwise a tremendous defensive performance. Smith managed to gain only 83 yards on 23 carries -- well below his season average of five yards a carry.
By far the brightest spot for Dartmouth, both in terms of the day and the season, was the emergence of tailback Pete Oberle '96. After seeing limited action against Penn and missing the previous two games due to a shoulder injury, the Colorado State transfer ran for 87 yards on 14 carries -- the best performance of anyone from the Dartmouth backfield this season.
"It was nice to get my feet wet," Oberle admitted.
