The Big Green defense forced an astounding seven turnovers, including five recovered fumbles (six forced) and two timely interceptions. Justin Cottrell '08 continued to be a dominant force at linebacker, accruing nine tackles and picking off a pass to set up one of the Big Green's first-half touchdowns.
Peter Pidermann '10 added to the Big Green D's big play resume, getting Dartmouth football's first "pick-six" in nearly a decade. The Big Green offense lost just one of its two fumbles, and senior signal caller Tom Bennewitz '08 had a career day, completing 16 of his 21 attempts for four touchdowns.
Brian Evans '08 and Tim McManus '11 are also coming off career days. Evans scored on two explosive plays of 60 yards or longer, finishing with five catches for 191 yards and two TDs. McManus, who had been productive all season but had not yet scored a touchdown before Saturday's contest, finished with six catches for 125 yards and his first two scores of the season, including a 75-yard strike that put the Big Green up 17 near the end of the first half.
Evans is averaging 24.6 yards per reception on the season, an astounding number that speaks to the fact that he's become one of the league's premier deep threats, combining blazing speed with top-notch ball skills that were on display on more than a couple occasions on Saturday.
With games remaining against Brown this coming weekend and Princeton the next, Dartmouth football remains primed in its surge to achieve the critical breakthrough the program so desperately needs. Big Green football stands alone at third in the Ivy League standing, but, despite this lead, which team ends up there at the end of the season will depend solely on which squad wins out the remainder of the season. Brown is coming off a 17-7 defeat at the hands of Yale, so momentum will certainly be on Dartmouth's side come Saturday, despite the fact that the game will be played on the Bears' home field. If the Big Green can jump out of the gates with the same level of intensity on both sides of the ball, the game should be well in hand for Dartmouth football.
Fortunately for the Big Green, Dartmouth's opponent two weeks from now, Princeton, faces off against Yale, so the likelihood of the Tigers even being in the race for third place by the last week of the season is slim.
The Big Green's win on Saturday, as detailed above, was propelled by a number of big plays on both sides of the ball. In the race for third place, Dartmouth football is unquestionably the hottest team and the favorite to win out. With a victory this Saturday in a tough but manageable game against Brown, the race for third place in the Ivy League will be all but over with the Big Green returning to play its final game in front of a raucous home crowd two weeks from now.
