This season, Memorial Field has seen its share of exciting action, as all of the Big Green football team's home games have been decided by eight or fewer points.
In fact, the action on the field has been rivaled only by the action in the stands, which has included the antics of a moose mascot, the screams of nine shirtless fans braving 30-degree Homecoming weather and the Dartmouth College Marching Band's new arrangement of the theme from "Back to the Future."
That music will be truly appropriate this week, as Dartmouth (3-5, 2-3 Ivy) will be looking to go "back to the future" and recapture the form the team had earlier in the season, as Dartmouth enjoyed its first three-game winning streak since 1997 and looked ready to close the door on the difficulties that plagued the team over the last four years.
According to defensive tackle Matt DeGutes '03, the key to a Dartmouth victory this Saturday over the Brown Bears (0-8, 0-5 Ivy) lies in the team's attitude.
"We came out last week [against Cornell] with a desire to not lose," DeGutes said. "We have to come out with an overwhelming desire to win."
An overwhelming desire to win shouldn't be hard to come by among the Dartmouth seniors, who will be looking to give Big Green fans something to remember them by as they prepare to play their final home game.
One senior who could quite easily leave a lasting impression among Dartmouth fans is quarterback Brian Mann '02. Mann, who is completing his NCAA eligibility after sitting out the 2001 season with a broken hand, has no regrets about remaining in Hanover for an extra year.
"I decided long before the season started that I had made the right decision in coming back to play a fifth season regardless of how this year went," Mann said.
"There is nothing on earth I care more about than football, and just the chance to be a part of the team was worth it. The fact that we are not playing for an Ivy League title is definitely disappointing, but I could never regret a decision that gave me the opportunity to play more football," he said.
"Play more football" seems like an understatement in light of Mann's accomplishments this season. Since September, the Canton, Mass. native has assembled a laundry list of accomplishments that includes Dartmouth's single-game records for total offense and pass attempts, the Coca-Cola Gold Helmet Award and Offensive Player of the Week honors from the Ivy League, the ECAC and Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette.
In addition, last week against Cornell, Mann became the first Dartmouth quarterback in school history to complete 200 passes in a season, and could very well write his name in the Big Green record books again before he's through.
In the first eight games of the season, Mann has tallied 2,381 passing yards, and is just 367 yards shy of Dartmouth's single-season record, currently held by Miami Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler '94.
While chasing Fiedler's record, Mann has also helped his favorite targets, wide receiver Jay Barnard '04 and tight end Casey Cramer '04, make history in their own right. Against Cornell, Barnard recorded his 64th catch of the season, breaking the Dartmouth single-season record for receptions.
Cramer, college football's most productive tight end, caught his 61st pass of the season against the Big Red, putting the dynamic duo within 15 catches of being the first pair of Ivy players since 1983 to catch 70 passes each in a season.
While the Dartmouth offense is making history with its aerial attack, the Bears come to Hanover with a powerful passing game of their own. Junior quarterback Kyle Slager has performed well for the Bears after transferring from the University of Arizona.
Slager, who has the second-highest quarterback rating in the Ivy League, has thrown for 2,016 yards this season, placing him third in the Ancient Eight behind Mann and Pennsylvania's Mike Mitchell.
Slager has an outstanding target in All-American wide receiver Chas Gessner. The captain of the Bears, Gessner had a history-making performance of his own earlier in the season. Against Rhode Island, Gessner caught 24 passes and now shares the NCAA's single-game reception record with Jerry Rice of the Oakland Raiders.
Despite the superlative efforts of Slager and Gessner, the Bears have fallen short in each of their eight games this season. When asked how playing against a winless team affects their game preparation, DeGutes responded, "If anything, the fact that [Brown is] winless would make us more expectant of a tough game, because we know how much losing hurts, and how it can drive a team beyond what you think it's capable of."
Fans will have a chance to see what both teams are capable of on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Memorial Field.
