Saturday, the Dartmouth football team showed that playing roughly even on first, second and third downs against a good football team cannot always guarantee even a close game. In a 26-9 thumping from Ivy League powerhouse Penn, the Big Green (1-2, 0-1 Ivy) squandered several opportunities to put points on the board, missing two field goals and an extra point. Two blocked punts and a bad snap on another, meanwhile, helped set up two Penn field goals.
The special teams blunders, along with inconsistent production from the offense, spoiled an impressive defensive performance by the men in green, who often had to defend a shortened field against Penn's multi-faceted attack. Dartmouth held the Quakers (2-1, 1-0 Ivy) to just 59 yards rushing and 12 first downs for the contest, while intercepting senior quarterback Pat McDermott twice.
"Defensively we were very strong and played very tough and physical," head coach Buddy Teevens said in a press release. "They're a very multiple offense, but we stopped the run early."
With both teams unable to find the end zone, the first half turned into a field goal contest that the Quakers won convincingly. Penn sophomore kicker Derek Zoch drilled two 37-yard field goals and a 24-yarder while Dartmouth kicker Erik Hinterbichler '06 missed field goal tries of 32 and 24 yards, resulting in a 9-0 halftime score.
The Big Green's first points of the game did not come until three minutes into the second quarter after Penn reached the Dartmouth 17 yard-line on a 27-yard strike on the right sideline from McDermott to wide receiver Nick Okoro on a hitch-and-go pattern.
Dartmouth went three-and-out on the ensuing possession and gave the Quakers a first down at the Dartmouth 19-yard-line when a poor snap sailed over the head of punter Brian Scullin '09, setting up Penn's second field goal in a three-minute stretch.
Penn completed their first half scoring with just over three minutes left on a field goal set up by a 30-yard flee-flicker from McDermott to wide receiver Dan McDonald.
In the third quarter Penn was able to break the game open, capitalizing fully on both of its trips inside the red zone.
After an interception by Dartmouth defensive tackle Brian Osimiri '06 on a tipped pass led to a 33-yard field goal by Hinterbichler, Penn came storming back on its next possession. McDermott completed four of five passes, including two conversions on third down and more than ten yards on an 82-yard drive capped by a seven-yard touchdown toss to tight end Chris Mizell.
Down 16-3 the Big Green offense, which had strung together drives of 11 and nine plays in the first half, had trouble simply advancing the ball beyond the line of scrimmage. After two three-play possessions that resulted in a net loss of 18 yards, Teevens pulled starting quarterback Charlie Rittgers '06 out of the game in favor of backup Josh Cohen '09 in an attempt to ignite the struggling unit. "We had a lot of three-and-outs, and it was time to make a change," Teevens told reporters.
Rittgers completed 13 of 24 passes in the game for 124 yards, including a 56-yard completion on a flanker screen to wide out Jason Raiti '06. Raiti led Dartmouth receivers with six receptions for 115 yards.
Unfortunately for Dartmouth, Cohen fumbled the second snap he received, giving Penn a first down at the Dartmouth 20-yard-line. As the third quarter wound down McDermott found wide receiver Billy May in the right corner of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown on third and goal, giving Penn a commanding 23-3 lead.
On Dartmouth's first two possessions in the fourth quarter, Cohen was able to lead the Big Green deep within Penn territory. A deliberate 15-play, 58-yard drive came to an end as Cohen was dropped for a sack on fourth and goal from the 10-yard-line with nine minutes left. Undeterred, however, Cohen again got the Big Green into the red zone on its next drive. Soon enough, Cohen found himself rolling to his left and firing a strike to tight end Mark Brogna '08 on the left side of the end zone for Dartmouth's only touchdown of the game.
Despite Cohen's fumble and an interception later in the fourth quarter, Teevens said he was pleased with the performance of his rookie quarterback, who completed nine of 17 passes for 100 yards. "I thought Josh responded well," Teevens told reporters. "He showed poise and accuracy, and some grit after getting knocked down a couple times."
And knocked down Dartmouth quarterbacks were. The Quakers managed seven sacks against the Big Green, putting the offense in numerous second-and-long and third-and-long situations. The constant pressure on both Cohen and Rittgers also forced them to regularly get rid of the ball before Dartmouth receivers could break open.
Dartmouth did manage to advance the ball well on the ground at times, especially early in the game. The combination of Ikechi Ogbonna '06 and Jason Bash '06 accounted for 97 yards on 22 carries.
But a huge problem for the Big Green throughout the game was converting red zone opportunities. While Penn scored on all six of their trips inside the Dartmouth 20-yard-line, Dartmouth could only muster a touchdown and a field goal in five trips to the red zone.
After Brogna's score with just under eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, a low snap resulted in a missed extra point in the play that perhaps best encapsulated the entire Big Green performance.
"We had some breakdowns in the kicking game and to beat a good team you just can't have that," said linebacker Josh Dooley '06, who led the Dartmouth defense with 11 total tackles. He noted that the special teams woes and untimely turnovers "made it hard to maintain and control the momentum of the game."
Zoch hit his fourth field goal of the game in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter after Penn forced and recovered its second blocked punt of the game at the Dartmouth 11-yard-line. The 24-yard boot made the score 26-9, where it would remain.
While the loss has to be frustrating for the Dartmouth players, they can take solace in the physical play of the defense that stifled the explosive Quaker offense throughout much of the game. Having opened against what may be the best the Ivy League has to offer, moreover, Dartmouth can see exactly where they will need to improve to become an Ivy contender.
"We know what it is going to take to win games in the Ivy League," Dooley said. "Penn is as good or better than everyone we have left on our schedule. We know the importance of special teams and we have to improve in this area. And the offense started moving the ball late in the game. We have to carry this over into future games."
Dartmouth next takes on Yale (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) in New Haven at 1 p.m. next Saturday. Until then the men in green will have a week to think about what could have been this weekend. "Erase just a few mistakes today and you have a totally different ball game," said reigning All-Ivy defensive end Anthony Gargiulo '06, who had seven tackles and the Green's only sack of the day.
Unfortunately for the Big Green, those mistakes are permanent.
