Dartmouth football finds itself simultaneously in an enviable and pitiable position this weekend.
The 0-3 Big Green host 4-0 Lehigh, ranked tenth or twelfth in Division I-AA depending on whether you believe The Sports Network or CNN/USA Today. The Mountain Hawks, who bring a national best 16-game winning streak to Memorial Field, have absolutely demolished their competition this year, including two Ivy League teams.
In facing Lehigh, however, Dartmouth has the advantage of being such an absurd underdog that the Green can only surprise people by winning. They can go nowhere but up.
Besides, such an upset has precedent with these two teams. Two seasons ago, Dartmouth owned the nation's longest winning streak at 23 games. Lehigh came to Hanover and ended the streak with a 46-26 victory.
Now the roles are reversed.
The young Dartmouth squad has found little success in this early season, losing 17-6 at Penn, 35-3 to Colgate and 20-10 at Lafayette. While the Green have generally played solid defense and have put together several good offensive series of late, the team has displayed a knack for giving the ball away at crucial times and commiting harmful penalties.
"We did improve in a lot of areas last week, but we just broke down at times," Dartmouth head coach John Lyons said. "What we're trying to accomplish is playing consistently for four quarters."
Behind sophomore quarterback Brian Mann, Dartmouth's offense began to pick up last weekend. Nonetheless, the Green will face a tough Lehigh defense which has allowed 30 points in four games.
Defensively, Dartmouth has allowed an average of 24 points a game. If they can hold the Mountain Hawks to that number, it will be an accomplishment. Lehigh has averaged 50 points over its four games, though it only scored 94 points combined against Princeton and Columbia.
How good are they?Lehigh's offensive accomplishments through four games are staggering. Led by senior quarterback Phil Stambaugh, the Hawks have run up the score on every one of their opponents, beating Columbia in their most decisive victory 63-13 last Saturday in Bethlehem, Pa. The defeat was Columbia's worst since 1977.
Columbia "gave up big plays aganst Lehigh, and that's the thing you really have to try to limit," Lyons said. "That's how scary they are that they can put up that many points on you."
The Hawks' Stambaugh, a pre-season second team All-American and a candidate for the Walter Payton Award as Division I-AA's best player, was the Patriot League Player of the Year last season and is a pro prospect.
The quarterback boasts a remarkable 202.3 quarterback rating, easily the highest of the players the Green have faced thus far. While completing over 77 percent of his passes, Stambaugh has averaged 246.5 yards passing per game with 11 touchdowns against only two interceptions.
Lehigh's top receiver, Kody Fedorcha, averages more than 100 yards per game. He already has hauled in 29 passes. The Hawks have three other receivers who have 116 receiving yards or more.
"In addition to having a great quarterback their running back Ronald Jean is tenth in the country," Lyons said.
The starting tailback Jean is over halfway to 1,000 yards already this season, having rushed for over 100 yards in every game this season. By no means does Lehigh rely solely on their aerial attack.
The Mountain Hawks have three other backs -- Jamaal Burcher, Rick Moore and Phil Pleasant -- who are around 100 yards rushing in addition to Jean's 529 yards. As a team, Lehigh averages 5.3 yards per carry.
With such gaudy statistics, the Hawks have also put enormous numbers on the scoreboard. Jean's 11 touchdowns are tops on the Lehigh team that beat Monmouth 56-10, followed by a 49-7 victory at Fordham, 31-0 at Princeton and finally the win over Columbia.
Getting defensive
Against its stiffest competition thus far, Dartmouth's solid defense will definitely be tested. In all three games up to now the Green have held their opponents early, but ultimately could not keep up.
Two Saturdays ago, Dartmouth limited the powerful Colgate Red Raiders to three points with several minutes left in the first half. But an acrobatic dive into the end zone by a Colgate receiver and some bad luck cost the Green two touchdowns before intermission, and the game was lost from there.
"These guys are better [than Colgate]," Lyons said. "On the defensive side we have to eliminate the big plays, both against the run and the pass."
Last weekend the Green kept Lafayette's offense in check for almost the entire game, allowing only two field goals. However, a defensive touchdown on the second play from scrimmage and then a late 80-yard drive against a tired Green defense gave the Leopards a comfortable victory margin.
Dartmouth's defensive stars include quad-captain Kyle Schroeder '00, who is typically among the team's leaders in tackles. Defensive backs Brad Eissler '01, linebacker Marshall Hyzdu '00 and quad-captain Tom Reusser '00 have also filled their positions admirably.
Unfortunately for the Green, Lehigh's offense is a supercharged version of any of the others they have already faced. It will be up to the Green's offense to keep pace with the scoring.
Can it be done?
A week ago, it would have been difficult to believe the Green might be able to score 30 points -- the lowest amount they should need to win on Saturday. But after Brian Mann racked up 256 passing yards, completing 19 of 35 tosses, and running back Reggie Behomme '00 broke several big gainers -- both running the ball and catching it -- the Green look like they may have what it takes to put the ball in the end zone repeatedly.
"We improved last week rushing the ball," Lyons said. "Brian [Mann] did some good things in terms of throwing the ball."
Until the Lafayette game, Mann had been accurate but inconsistent though his offensive line gave him ample time. Belhomme too had shown solid moves but failed to rush for significant yardage on any play or throughout the game.
In the first half against the Leopards Belhomme ran well. He also caught two shovel passes from Mann for gains over 15 yards each.
Belhomme's rushing average is still a modest 2.8 yards per carry. But the Green's depth at running back has been hurt by injuries to Aaron Pumerantz '02 and Bob Bunn '01, so Dartmouth will continue to run Belhomme and reserve fullback Matt Dunning '01.
The Green's duo of sophomore receivers are also improving with every game. Matt DeLellis '02 and Damien Roomets '02 as well as tight end Lee Roach '01 seemed to be working much better with Mann last week than at any other time this season. Dartmouth's three top receivers have combined for 28 catches for 275 yards.
"We have to move the ball, we have to score points," Lyons explained. "We're going to try to mix it up a bit, to keep [Lehigh] off balance."
Stoppers
In addition to their strong offense, Lehigh has a ball-hawking defense that has kept every one of its opponents under 14 points.
The Mountain Hawks held Princeton to 175 total yards on offense in shutting them out. Coming into that game, the Tigers had averaged 147 rushing yards a game.
Senior lineman Ian Eason is one of the Hawks' defensive stars. He has started every game the team has played since his freshman year, and has recorded seven or more tackles in 22 of his last 28 contests.
"They're not giving up a lot of points," Lyons said. "They're an outstanding football team."
And the winner is
From just about any angle -- except special teams -- this game appears to be a mismatch. Lehigh is stronger offensively and defensively than the Green. By a lot.
Dartmouth has yet to win with its youthful team. The veteran Hawks have not lost in 16 contests. The Green have been outscored by a large margin, while Lehigh has outscored its foes by a still greater amount.
You get the idea.
Dartmouth's only chance is to play mistake-free football and keep its offense on the field for two thirds of the game. The team has yet to accomplish this against lesser competition.
"I hope we can continue to improve as a football team," Lyons said. "We're going to be really tested against a quality opponent. I think it [a win] would be tremendous."
A win most definitely be an accomplishment, while even a close game could help the Green's sagging confidence. With apologies to the team, however, I have difficulty seeing this happen.
Prediction: Lehigh 48, Green 12
