Bennewitz, back in the starting role, led Dartmouth's charged offense to a 59-31 rout of Cornell (4-4, 1-4 Ivy).
Fifty-nine points represents the highest Dartmouth scoring total since 1934.
The Big Green (3-5, 3-2 Ivy) wasted no time getting started. Bennewitz launched a 49-yard bomb to Brian Evans '08, setting up Bennewitz's two yard touchdown rush that gave Dartmouth the lead barely three minutes into the game.
That was just the beginning of Dartmouth's long ball strategy, as the Big Green offense picked apart Cornell's secondary. In fact, both teams combined for a total of 38 points in the second quarter alone.
In the period, Evans grabbed a 60-yard pass for a touchdown, making the score 14-0. Then, a Dartmouth field goal and a Cornell touchdown later, Tim McManus '11 snagged a 75-yard pass for the touchdown and a 24-7 advantage for the Big Green.
"Their approach, defensively, which we knew, was that they were going to pressure guys, and just keep sending them," Head Coach Buddy Teevens said after the game. "And they're going to give something up to gain something, and the running game we had today was limited because they were sending so many guys. And the response was we were putting the ball up. [Bennewitz] was very accurate, some of those deep balls were just pretty to watch."
Cornell responded with another score, marching down the field in a very different fashion than Dartmouth. Short passes and runs by Big Red quarterback Stephen Liuzza brought Cornell 75 yards down the field to bring the score to 24-14.
Nevertheless, on the second play of its next possession, the Big Green went deep again, this time with a 61-yard touchdown catch by Evans.
Evans finished the day with five catches for 191 yards, an average of nearly 40 yards. McManus had six catches for 124 yards. Both had two touchdowns.
Bennewitz applauded the offensive line's play in giving him time to throw the long ball.
"It's easy to throw to open guys when you have time," he said.
Bennewitz finished 16 for 21 for 339 yards and four passing touchdowns. He also ran one in himself.
While the first half was dominated by offense, the story was all defense in the second. The Big Green forced four turnovers in the second half, including a pick by Pete Piedermann '10 that he ran back 70 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time Dartmouth has returned an interception for a TD in nine years.
"It was great to see all the work that we did this week trying to take the ball away, it was a big focus for us all week in practice, to see that come to fruition in games is a great feeling," free safety John Pircon '08 said.
When the dust had settled, Dartmouth came away with seven turnovers.
Cornell's QB, Stephen Liuzza, had not taken snaps in practice since the preseason. He was 26-40 for 292 yards and a touchdown after replacing Ben Ganter in the second quarter.
"My job was to make plays," Liuzza said. "Sometimes I did, but often I didn't."
Cornell head coach Jim Knowles cited the lack of effective defense as just as important a factor in the loss as having an unprepared quarterback.
"We weren't properly prepared for the long ball," he said. "I've got to take that as a coaching issue."
As the clock was winding down on the Dartmouth win, Teevens received a Gatorade bath from his elated players.
"It took my breath away, I had no idea it was coming," he said of the cold drink on an already cold day. "I was kind of locked in saying, 'shut 'em down, shut 'em down,' and it came out of nowhere. Nobody said anything, usually you can hear people creeping up. I was just oblivious. And it's still cold."
The win over Cornell, along with Penn's 7-0 defeat of Princeton, and Brown's 17-7 loss at the hands of Yale puts the Big Green alone in third place in the Ivy League behind undefeated Harvard and Yale.
"It's important to finish off the season strong and make a statement to the league. You know, we were picked last, so a statement like this feels pretty good," Bennewitz said of the win.
The official preseason media poll had picked the Big Green to finish in the cellar of the Ivy League.
Dartmouth heads to Providence, R.I., next Saturday to take on the Brown Bears. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m.
