Dartmouth looks for its third consecutive win over Patriot League opponents when Holy Cross comes to town tomorrow in the Big Green's final non-conference tune-up before recommencing Ivy League competition next week. A win over the 1-3 Crusaders tomorrow afternoon at Memorial Field would extend the Big Green's unbeaten streak to 11 games spanning back to last season.
Although they compete in the Patriot League, Holy Cross will face its third straight Ivy League opponent, as the Crusaders have already lost to Princeton and Columbia.
The Crusaders showed signs of life against Princeton, rallying from 30-3 in the fourth quarter to make it a game before eventually falling 37-30 in the final seconds of the game. However, that effort was nullified by a 42-16 drubbing in front of their home crowd at the hands of Columbia last weekend.
"Columbia came up with a couple of turnovers and had some momentum which hurt Holy Cross, and they played really well at Princeton and showed in the second half what kind of team they can be," Dartmouth Head Coach John Lyons said.
One reason for the inconsistent play is the inexperience of the starters at the offensive skill positions. While the offensive line of Holy Cross boasts four seniors, all of the skill position players are either juniors or sophomores, leading to the type of streaky play against opponents the Crusaders have displayed all season.
The offense, a run and shoot attack led by quarterback Brian Strapp, hasn't been a problem for Holy Cross, as it has been able to score points all season. The Crusaders will line up three or four receivers on every play to try and spread out the field. Three receivers on their squad have already caught 20 passes this year, whereas in comparison, Zach Ellis '98, the Big Green's leading receiver, has 12 catches.
"They are challenging because they run a wide open offense and they are going to put the ball in the air," Lyons said. "We need to make sure we don't give the big play and make them work the ball down the field."
The issue for the Crusaders is a defense that has been riddled by all four opponents, giving up an average of 32 points a game. In fact, their best performance came against Colgate, an effort where they yielded 21 points.
Furthermore, opposing offenses have run at will against the Crusader defense, averaging right around 240 yards per game on the ground, while putting up 400 yards overall.
A statistic that jumps out is the fact that Holy Cross' two leading tacklers on the season are from the secondary, indicating a propensity towards giving up big plays and missed tackles.
A team with defensive troubles such as the Crusaders gives the Big Green an opportunity to continue the offensive mastery they displayed in last week's victory over Fordham. The 543 yard performance against the Rams was the largest offensive output during the unbeaten streak.
The most impressive aspect was the balance of the Big Green displayed rushing for 263 yards while quarterback Jon Aljancic '97 put up 280 yards in the air.
A question mark for the Big Green was their inability to put the ball in the end zone, but that is a problem that has been addressed all week during practice.
"Our goal is to control the clock by mixing it up offensively," Lyons said. "If we do that we can keep their offense off of the field. We have also put in some new twists to our offense that we think will be effective against them."
Lyons has told the team not to think of this as a warm-up for Yale and the rest of the Ivy League.
"Our goal is to go out and play with consistency for four quarters and iron out the mistakes we have made," he said. "I just want the guys to play hard and keep improving."
Kickoff is 1:00 p.m. At Memorial Field.
