To the casual observer, it would seem that this season's incarnation of the Big Green football team (0-2, 0-0 Ivy) is very similar to last season's, as the Dartmouth men have lost each of their first two games in the closing minutes.
However, according to several members of head coach John Lyons' squad, such an observer would be wrong on two counts, as this year's squad is hardly similar to last year's, and neither game, according to preseason All-American tight end Casey Cramer '04, was lost in the final minutes.
"I don't think that the first two games were lost in the last few minutes," Cramer said. "I think we lost those games in the earlier drives that would have enabled us to have a larger lead going into the final minutes.
"If we can learn to finish off the other team in the second or third quarter and not give them any hope in winning, then we will have won the game."
Team captain Kevin Noone '03, a first team All-Ivy offensive guard in 2001, agreed with Cramer regarding the Green's 29-26 loss to New Hampshire last Saturday.
"We need to make touchdowns inside the opponent's 20-yard line," Noone said. "Last week we started out with a touchdown and four consecutive field goals and ended the game with a turnover. We need to score more touchdowns in the red zone."
Indeed, while kicker Tyler Lavin '05 turned in a stellar performance against the Wildcats, tying a Dartmouth record with four field goals (including scores from 43 and 45 yards), his Big Green teammates would rather have him kicking extra points after touchdowns.
If there was ever a good time for the Big Green offense to increase its touchdown production, it would be in the Green's Ivy League opener against the University of Pennsylvania (2-0, 0-0 Ivy) on Saturday at Franklin Field.
Last year, after losing the first two games of the season by close margins, Dartmouth broke through in the season's third week, as the men in green picked up a win over Yale.
Unfortunately for Dartmouth, however, this season's Week 3 opponent is hardly the weak Bulldog squad that tied Dartmouth for last place in the Ivy League last season.
The Quakers are on a roll after a 24-21 win over Lehigh last Saturday (snapping the Mountain Hawks' 26-game regular season winning streak), and a 52-21 blowout against Lafayette in Penn's season opener.
Penn is led by senior quarterback Michael Mitchell, who has completed 54.2 percent of his passes this season for a total of 515 yards. He has a standout target in classmate Robert Milanese, who is averaging 14.2 yards per catch in the Quakers' first two games.
On the ground, senior running back Stephen Faulk has produced four touchdowns for Penn while averaging 3.5 yards per carry.
The Quakers will have a variety of weapons at their home field on Saturday to challenge the Dartmouth defense, and if Dartmouth is to be successful, the Green will need to remain aggressive for all 60 minutes.
According to Noone, "Penn is probably the toughest team in the Ivy League, so we'll have our work cut out for us. We have to be sure we're not depending on catching a break to win, as we have the past two weeks."
Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m. at Franklin Field.
