For the second straight week, the Big Green's first win since 2008 was within reach and at some points even looked likely. Dartmouth, however, ultimately fell to the University of Pennsylvania, 30-24 in the nationally televised contest.
Although fans of Dartmouth football had originally planned a "whiteout" for Saturday's game, the stands were a sea of umbrellas for the Big Green's Ivy League opener on a very wet Memorial Field.
With five seconds to go in the fourth quarter, Garrett Babb '12 capitalized on a well-placed pass from Alex Jenny '10 for a touchdown, and the extra point from Foley Schmidt '12 brought the score to 30-24. Although Dartmouth (0-3, 0-1 Ivy) fought for one last chance with an onside kick, the ball was easily recovered by Penn (1-2, 1-0 Ivy), and the last-minute heroics added up to another loss for the Big Green.
Dartmouth's three-and-out habit caught up with them as early as the game's first quarter. As the Big Green resorted to a punt on fourth and two, the snap went over the head of punter Matthew Kelly '11, and Penn's Jim McGoldrick blocked the attempt, returning it for a touchdown just two minutes into the game.
Offense was a strong point for the Big Green on Saturday, as the team scored more points on Penn's tough defense than it has against any other team this season. The defense, however, still needs to improve, head coach Buddy Teevens said.
"A couple of big plays stemmed from mistakes, and we've got to correct those," he said. "I think pressure on the passer has increased, and we've had more guys going to the quarterback. We've got more guys making tackles as linemen, which is important for us, but we need to continue to improve that linebacker play."
Jenny was strong at quarterback, completing 23 of 38 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns he looked especially effective on a second-quarter touchdown pass to Niles Murphy '10 in the end zone. Jenny also had one interception, although there was controversy as to whether there was defensive pass interference on the play. The official even apologized for the call to coach Teevens later in the game, according to several players.
Jenny's interception, which came in the fourth-quarter interception, was snagged by Quaker senior Jonathan Moore and marked the beginning of a big drive for Penn that ended with a fieldgoal that cemented the win.
Dartmouth cannot blame the loss on one play, however, Jenny said.
"It's always tough when you have a controversial call not go your way," he said. "We also should put ourselves in the position where those kinds of calls don't really affect us too much."
On Thursday night, Penn's starting quarterback Keiffer Garton learned that what he thought was simply bursitis in his elbow was really a chipped bone, a discovery that put him out of commission for Saturday's game. Then, backup Kyle Olson hurt his shoulder in the second quarter, and third-string quarterback Billy Ragone incurred a likely broken collarbone not long after, according to Penn head coach Al Bagnoli.
Due to these offensive shakeups, Penn's passers completed 10 of 20 passes for just 69 yards, and relied heavily on its running game. The team rushed for 288 yards on 46 carries, averaging 6.3 yards per carry.
Dartmouth, meanwhile, took advantage of its healthy quarterback, and finished the game with only 71 rushing yards over 24 carries, averaging about three yards per carry.
Despite the loss, Dartmouth showed distinct signs of life on Saturday.
Perhaps the brightest spot in Dartmouth's loss came as the clock ran down in the fourth quarter. Nick Schwieger '12 drove 19 yards into the end zone, breaking tackles on the way and to bring the score to 20-17, well within reach of a Big Green win.
The weather did not do any favors for Dartmouth, as the wet ball made it hard for receivers to grab any high passes.
Overall, however, the Big Green made Penn work hard for the win, and Bagnoli said that Dartmouth has improved even since last week's game against the University of New Hampshire.
"I think they're going to cause some problems down the road," he said. "They're becoming more efficient."
Dartmouth put together its longest drive of the season in the second quarter, a string of 13 plays over 74 yards that ended in a touchdown while eating up more than six minutes yet another piece of evidence that problems with maintaining possession may be in the past.
The Big Green will face Yale (1-2, 0-1 Ivy) on Saturday in the team's next chance to beat an Ivy League foe.
Defensive end Charles Bay '11 said that the team knows what to change, citing the defensive line as an area to work on.
"We have the athletic talent, and we have all the attributes that we need," he said. "We just have to put it all together for the whole game."
Dartmouth faces off against the Bulldogs at noon on Saturday in New Haven, Conn.
