From a statistical standpoint, the Big Green was a mediocre team last weekend. The Crimson bested Dartmouth in nearly every major statistical category on both sides of the ball.
Nonetheless, the contest was close throughout, and the Big Green had a clear-cut opportunity to tie up the football game late in the fourth quarter, forcing Harvard to punt with under two minutes remaining and getting the ball back with 104 ticks to go and timeouts to spare. The Big Green's hopes of sending the game into overtime were dashed when replacement QB Tom Bennewitz '08 tossed a pick to end the game.
It's certainly disappointing that the Big Green turned the ball over four times in one game and got dominated statistically. However, being able to hang with arguably the best team in the Ivy League despite the abovementioned shortcomings is encouraging. Though it's no consolation prize, if nothing else, it should provide Dartmouth football with a key boost of confidence in its remaining three games versus Cornell, Brown and Princeton.
The Big Green's remaining slate leaves us fans plenty of room for optimism. The "worst" of it is over, with Harvard and Yale checked off the list, albeit as losses. Two of Dartmouth's remaining opponents, Brown and Princeton, are in a three-way tie with Dartmouth for third place in the Ivy League.
The fight to be the "best of the rest" (see last week's column) seems to be a three horse race. So, at this point, who is the favorite? While I'd like to say the boys in Green are the clear-cut favorites, a closer look at each team, focusing on common opponents, reveals that this race is shaping up to be a close one. Brown, like the Big Green, lost to Harvard in a nail-biter and beat Penn. The Bears did fare much better than our boys against Holy Cross, racking up 37 points in an 11-point loss, compared to Dartmouth's 26-point drubbing at the hands of the Crusaders. Princeton has beaten Colombia, just as Dartmouth did, and also lost to Harvard in a game that was not nearly as exciting or close as the Crimson's games with Brown or the Big Green.
The Big Green squares off this Saturday against Cornell, clearly the weakest of its remaining three opponents. The Big Red, in a similar fashion to the Big Green, lost badly to Yale, and were trounced by Harvard.
As I stated last week, it appears that Dartmouth football is on the cusp of a breakthrough. Last Saturday's game, in conjunction with the Big Green's improved performance throughout the season, reinforces this notion strongly. If the Big Green is to continue on this path, an easy, decisive victory over a weak Cornell squad appears to be the next logical step. A setback, given our boys' gritty performance against Harvard last week and their standing in the Ivy League race, would be quite disheartening.
