Battling both unseasonably wintry weather and 23rd-ranked Harvard University on Saturday, the Dartmouth football team dropped its third Ivy League game of the season with a 41-10 loss in Cambridge, Mass. Electing to keep the ball on the ground due to constant snow, the Crimson (6-1, 4-0 Ivy) exploded for 395 rushing yards while scoring touchdowns on its first six possessions.
"Weather did not affect them, and I'm impressed with their execution offensively," Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens said. "They mixed their play selection very well. Their quarterback was very difficult to contain. We knew we had to keep him in the pocket and we didn't do it."
Saturday's contest marked just the second night game Dartmouth has played in its history. Both games have featured miserable weather the first, against the University of Pennsylvania four weeks ago in Hanover, was played in a steady cold rain.
Dartmouth (2-5, 1-3 Ivy) now needs wins in its final three League contests if it is to finish with a winning conference record for the first time since 2003.
Linebacker Bronson Green '14 bared his emotions in the post-game press conference, passionately stating that players in the senior class have worked too hard to end their careers with another string of League losses.
"They've been through it all and they deserve much better than this," Green said. "It's the job of our entire team freshmen all the way up to seniors to rally and to win games. That's it. We have nothing to lose now."
Harvard began the game auspiciously, forcing a Dartmouth punt on the Big Green's first possession before marching down the field for an 84-yard touchdown drive. Even though Harvard had just 31 minutes of possession, Dartmouth seemed helpless without the ball in players' hands. The Big Green surrendered four drives of at least 77 yards, including two of 95 yards or more.
Dartmouth managed to respond on its second possession. Quarterback Conner Kempe '12 starting his second consecutive game since being taken off the starting squad and replaced by Dan Rooney '12 completed all six of his passes on the drive to lead the Big Green to the Crimson two-yard line. A sack on second down left Dartmouth facing third and goal at the 13, and Kempe could only complete a three-yard pass to Kirby Schoenthaler '15. Despite the effort, the Big Green was forced to settle for a field goal by Foley Schmidt '12.
The Crimson dominated from then on, as Harvard wore out the Big Green with consistent gains. The three-headed attack of junior running back Treavor Scales, freshman running back Zach Boden and senior quarterback Collier Winters led the Crimson, with each of rushing for over 100 yards and recording two touchdowns.
Winters was also efficient through the air, completing 10 of his 13 passes for 116 yards.
Kempe played a relatively good game given the conditions, but several key drops plagued the passing game.
"I thought Kempe was fairly accurate putting the ball there in critical situations, but we've got to come up with a play," Teevens said.
Kempe's line of 13-of-22 for 98 yards does not inspire much confidence. Although Teevens has not yet said whether Kempe will start next week's game against Cornell, it is clear that in regards to the quarterback position, Dartmouth has one eye on the future. Alex Park '15 became the fourth Big Green passer to see action so far this season and made the most of his opportunity against Harvard, completing four of six passes and leading the Big Green's only touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter.
Dartmouth's normally solid offensive line struggled to generate movement against the Crimson, limiting Nick Schwieger '12 to just 51 yards, well below his season average.
"Their front four is tough and they're very physical," Teevens said. "They forced us to bounce [outside] repeatedly."
With Brown University snapping Penn's 18-game conference winning streak with a 6-0 victory in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, Harvard now holds sole possession of first place in the League. Penn, Brown and Yale University sit in a three-way tie for second place, while Dartmouth is tied for fifth with Princeton University and Cornell.
Dartmouth plays at home against the Big Red (3-4, 1-3 Ivy) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
