Since I have been at Dartmouth, our football team is 5-27. That's a .156 winning percentage, or bad enough that if you pooled all of the wins into one season, it still would not be enough to win the Ivy League. In contrast, my father, a member of the Class of 1973, saw the Big Green go 32-3-1. But those days are in the past, and now Dartmouth is in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Even though the Big Green is 0-2 this season, it is certainly showing signs of progress. The product on the field is much more entertaining, and more talented than the one I saw three years ago. John Lyons' offense, which featured the old Woody Hayes style of "three yards and a cloud of dust," otherwise known as run the ball on first down, run it again on second down, and for the most part, run the ball on third down. Buddy Teevens came back for his second go-around at Dartmouth with a reputation for offensive excellence, and with 59 points through the first two games, the Big Green are putting numbers on the scoreboard at a rate unmatched in recent memory.
The two games Dartmouth football has played this season tell two very different stories. Mostly, this is because Dartmouth played two very different teams. Colgate is a good team that the Big Green has played very competitively over the last few years, while UNH, coming off a shocking win over Bowl Championship Subdivision (Division 1A) team Marshall, is at a different level in terms of football talent and success. While losing to Colgate after leading 28-0 is heartbreaking, the fact is that no other recent team would even have held a 28-0 lead.
Dartmouth is accomplishing its offensive explosion in a balanced fashion. Coach Teevens' offense is gaining 187.5 yards per game on the ground and another 190.5 through the air. They are averaging 4.9 yards per carry, a stellar average indicative of a dominant rushing attack. The offensive line has also given plenty of protection to Dartmouth quarterbacks, with only one sack in the first two games. The one area where the Big Green offense has been lackluster, however, is in terms of third down conversions. Dartmouth is only converting 29 percent of their third downs, while Colgate and UNH so far have converted 63 percent of third downs against the Dartmouth defense.
While it is still early, it appears Dartmouth is having most of its trouble on the defensive end (though its numbers defensively certainly are not helped by having to play offensive juggernaut UNH). Opponents are rushing for an average of 238 yards per game against the men in green, an unacceptable total if the Big Green wants to finish 2007 with a better record than 2006.
On the positive side, Milan Williams '09 has turned into the feature back Dartmouth has been missing over the last couple years, with 250 yards in his first two games. Williams has a shot at being Dartmouth's first 1,000-yard rusher in recent memory, and will be particularly important in controlling possession throughout the Ivy League season, which starts this week at home against the mighty Penn Quakers.
Defensively, the Big Green has three interceptions in just two games, and has recovered four fumbles, for a total of seven takeaways. This is a phenomenal total for two games, and if Dartmouth can cut down on its own turnovers, it should be at worst competitive in most games for the rest of the season.
Another problem for the Big Green early in the season has been converting in the red zone, at least relative to its opponents. Dartmouth has had 11 trips to the red zone this year, compared to its opponents' 10, but Dartmouth's defense has given up nine red zone touchdowns and one field goal, while the Big Green only have seven touchdowns and a field goal to show despite more trips within the opponents' 20-yard line.
Overall, things appear to be moving in the right direction for the Big Green everywhere but in the win column. However, if Dartmouth plays Penn this Saturday the way it played Colgate in the first half a week and a half ago, then the Big Green could give the perennial Ivy League powerhouse more than it bargained for.
I personally plan to be in attendance.
