The Big Green may have to work extremely hard to ward off the attacking Bulldogs at the showdown this Saturday.
Last year Dartmouth defeated Yale in a decisive 31-14 outing.
But Yale has shown several flashes of brilliance in its 3-1 start. The Big Green has a two-game winning streak of their own. This game could be the most exciting Dartmouth vs. Yale match-up in recent years.
Yale's running game looked fabulous in their first four games of the regular season. Led by Keith Price and Bob Nelson, the Bulldogs have compiled an astounding 700-plus rushing yards.
This outstanding duo has been the backbone of the Yale offense. Stopping, or more realistically containing the Yale ground game just may be the key to success for the Big Green.
The Yale offense has struggled, but at times it has looked extremely potent. Quarterback Chris Hetherington is quick and has a strong arm, which could spell trouble for the Dartmouth secondary.
Yale's defensive unit looked very strong until it gave up 34 points to a mediocre Lehigh team last Saturday.
The defense has been damaged by injuries to starters Mark Wallrapp and David Lockwood. But Yale has been very consistent with a take away/giveaway ratio of plus six.
The defensive leader is their captain, senior Carl Ricci who leads the team in tackles and interceptions.
Ricci leads all of Division I-AA in pickoffs per game. Look for Yale to blitz on every down and to try getting to the Dartmouth quarterback early and often.
Dartmouth, on the other hand, is looking for its first Ivy League victory.
Unfortunately, the team will have to do it without starting quarterback Ren Riley '96, who was injured during last weekend's 20-15 victory over Lafayette.
Riley is out for the season, having fractured his wrist in three places on a linebacker's helmet.
This weekend the Big Green will have to count on the arms of Jon Alijancic '97 and Jerry Singleton '96. Alijancic, who will be making his first career start, said he feels the team needs to be more focused this week.
"I think we have to improve our consistency this week," he said. "Last week we made too many mental errors."
One workhorse on the offense has been running back Pete Oberle '96.
Oberle is coming off one of his best games ever, having rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns against Lafayette. With a new quarterback at the helm against Yale, Dartmouth will need to rely on its leading rusher Oberle more than ever.
"We expect them to be solid," Oberle said. "We are expecting them to come out hard. We have to come out harder and be more consistent."
Oberle will be the focus of the Dartmouth's offense and if he can put up the kind of numbers he has been producing lately, Dartmouth's offense could be very effective.
Defensively, the Big Green has been plagued by injuries.
Saturday Dartmouth will be without two starters: free safety Adam Scheier '95 and Brian Larson '97.
This omission will certainly hurt the defense, which has been the team's strength this season.
Once again, the linebacker tandem of Josh Bloom '95 and Hunter Buckner '95 will have to play extremely well in order to limit Yale's rushing success.
"We always put pressure on ourselves to win. Now that we're 0-1 and its homecoming there'll be more pressure," Bloom said. "Our backs are against the wall and we have to win the rest of our games to have a chance at the Ivy League title."
Bloom said the team will have to focus on Yale's quarterback this weekend.
"He is big, fast and dangerous, and he has a good arm and they run the option," he said. "They also have two good running backs." Both teams have a bit of momentum coming into tomorrow's contest. The home crowd could be an exciting factor because the Homecoming attendance should be high.
Head coach John Lyons said he hopes he will have support from the crowd.
"My experience here is that Homecoming is a game where our players come out real strong," Lyons said. "I hope this is the case and we can use the crowd as our 12th man. Dartmouth has a great opportunity to get its first Ivy win, but Yale will undoubtedly present quite a challenge."
