When the Dartmouth football team began its season two months ago at Pennsylvania's Franklin Field, the 1993 campaign had been all but mapped out.
Jay Fiedler '94 would plaster his name in every available slot in the Dartmouth record books. The Big Green would dominate the league for their fourth straight Ivy League Title. Even the defense was billed as one of the league's best.
Then the Penn Quakers rolled up the map and tossed it in the trash with a surprising 10-6 win over the Big Green.
In retrospect, the weaknesses suddenly became apparent. For as much as the offense gave opposing defenses apoplexy, Fiedler was the only returning skill player. Pete Oberle '96, who would later emerge as one of the premier tailbacks in the Ivy League, was doing some pine surfing thanks to a shoulder injury. The offensive line, for all the talent it would display later, had not worked cohesively as a unit.
Sure, the defense exceeded all expectations -- especially in the first few weeks of the season -- but the offense was desperately out of sync.
Dartmouth struggled to a 1-3 record to begin the season, with a lone win over Patriot League non-power Bucknell to break the losing streak.
In Dartmouth's three losses, what was supposed to be a high-octane offense was acting like someone had poured sugar in its tank, managing no more than a single touchdown in each of the games.
Then came a breakthrough victory over Yale. Dartmouth established a running game for the first time, with Oberle piling up 142 yards, and Fiedler finally found his game.
The rest of the season simply can't be described without using the word "miracle." Dartmouth came from behind to win in the fourth quarter in four of its last five games. Three times -- against Cornell, Harvard and Princeton -- Dartmouth reversed deficits of 17, 17 and 14 points in the final minutes of games in an astounding series of comebacks.
The Big Green won its final six games and finished 7-3 overall, 6-1 in the Ivy League.
And -- let's get it out in the open -- the Big Green did not win the Ivy League title for the first time since 1989.
Penn took the momentum from its upset win and rolled to a series of huge victories, the most colossal of which was a 30-14 whopping of then-undefeated Princeton in the eighth week of the season. The Quakers finished their season undefeated to take sole possession of the Ivy League Championship.
Basically, Dartmouth lost the title by four points in the first game of the season.
But that should not obscure the accomplishments of this 1993 team. After four games, the team had lost three close games and could have very easily discarded the season into the Great Unfulfilled Expectations department.
That Dartmouth salvaged its season and turned it into one of the most remarkable campaigns in the storied history of Dartmouth football is the perfect expression of what separated this team from the eleven guys on the other side of the football at the end of the game.
"It was just a will that travels through this team," Fielder said. "The game is never over until we say it's over."
Fiedler personified that undying will to win with feats of ever-increasing wonder throughout the season, but he was not alone in carrying the will. The word "quit" just never entered the Big Green's vocabulary.
There were plenty of heroes other than Fiedler, but you almost have to start with the senior captain, who was named first team All-Ivy for the second year in a row.
Fiedler struggled at times throughout the season, and those struggles were always well documented -- the fame of being a future NFL quarterback had its price -- but he still led the league in passing yardage, established the all-time Ivy League mark for total yardage in a career and completed his sweep of the Dartmouth passing records.
And -- just so we can get this out in the open as well -- Princeton's Keith Elias won the Bushnell Cup given to the Ivy League Player of the Year.
Joining Fiedler on the All-Ivy team was his partner in crime, wideout John Hyland '94, who broke the school records for single season receptions and receiving yards with 62 catches for 1076 yards.
Dartmouth's other first-teamer on offense was Andy McDonald '94 who, along with John Bajus '94, Nat Cook '94, Chris Croker '94 and Gerry Murphy '95, made up one the league's most solid offensive lines.
Although second team and honorable mention selections haven't been announced yet, Oberle, who finished third in the league in average yards rushing per game, stands a good chance of being honored as well.
On defense, linebacker George Neos '94 was a unanimous selection for the second straight year. Defensive back Jim McGeehan '94, who had two interceptions and was Dartmouth's most consistent cover man all year, was also first team All-Ivy.
