Call them the Big Green Party Crashers.
Last October, with a winless Big Green team coming into the Yale Bowl to take on an undefeated Bulldog squad, the contest capping off Yale's Tercentennial Weekend looked to be a celebration on the field to match the celebration off of it.
That notion was, in time, put to rest, as Dartmouth quarterback Greg Smith '02 threw for 407 yards and tied a Yale Bowl record with five touchdown passes to lead the Big Green to a 32-27 victory, raining on the Bulldogs' Tercentennial parade in the process.
The Bulldogs never quite recovered from the loss, and finished the 2001 season with a 3-6 record, tying Dartmouth for last in the Ivy League with a 1-6 conference mark.
One year later, Dartmouth (0-3, 0-1 Ivy) is in a similar position, as the Green will once again take on an undefeated Yale squad (3-0, 1-0 Ivy).
This time, however, the men in Green will be playing within the friendly confines of Memorial Field, as they look once again to end Yale's undefeated streak, and put the first notch in their own win column.
For their part, the Bulldogs are likely still fuming from last year's loss, and will be looking for revenge as they roll into Hanover, fresh off of a 28-19 win over Holy Cross last Saturday at the Yale Bowl, their 11th consecutive non-conference win since 1998.
Despite their early season success, the Bulldogs come into Saturday's game with a glaring weakness: their passing game. Yale has averaged a paltry 117.7 yards per game over the first three weeks of the season, second worst in the Ancient Eight after Cornell.
The Elis more than make up for their poor passing, however, with a dynamic running offense that has averaged 328.3 yards per game and helped Yale produce an Ivy-best 42.3 points per contest in the first three games of the 2002 campaign.
Sophomore running back Robert Carr is the star of the Yale ground game, with a league-leading 6.8 yards-per-carry average to his credit.
If Dartmouth is to pull off a second consecutive victory over the Bulldogs, it will be to the Green's advantage to guard heavily against the run and force the Yale quarterbacks, junior Alvin Cowan and sophomore Jeff Mroz, to put the ball in the air, where Dartmouth linebacker Josh Dooley '06 and free safety Clayton Smith '05 will have the opportunity to add to their two interceptions apiece, which currently have them tied for second in the Ancient Eight.
On offense, the men in Green will be looking to jumpstart their own running game, which disappeared in last week's 49-14 loss to Penn, producing a measly 24 yards. For the most part, however, Dartmouth's offense will most likely look to the leadership of quarterback Brian Mann '02, whose 969 yards are second best in the Ivy League. Mann will likewise be looking to preseason All-American tight end Casey Cramer '04, whose 339 receiving yards make him No. 3 among Ivy League receivers (wide receiver Jay Barnard '04 is sixth with 258 yards).
Despite only producing one passing touchdown against Pennsylvania, the Big Green offense is potent with the ball in the air. Whether the high-flying Dartmouth offense will be enough to overcome Yale's powerful ground game, however, cannot be decided until Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Memorial Field.
