The Big Green rushed for 379 yards overall, its highest total since 1991. Quarterback Conner Kempe '12 also passed for a season-high 161 yards, and Dartmouth's 540 total yards were its most in a game since 2001.
Schwieger made Nov. 5 a day to remember as he exceeded the 243-yard record set by Greg Patton '13 a record also set in a game against Cornell in 2009. Patton and Schwieger have proven to be a powerhouse team for the Big Green, as Patton was the playing quarterback during Schwieger's record-breaking carry, a 40-yard dash that helped seal the game late in the fourth quarter.
Schwieger's 1,016 rushing yards in just eight games now lead the League by a healthy margin.
Schwieger said he was happy to take back a record that he had previously held for two weeks in 2009 before Patton outran him by one yard.
"All the offensive linemen really wanted to get it," Schwieger said. "[Center] Austen Fletcher ['12] was telling our guys on the last drive, let's get it."
Saturday was a tale of two halves for the Big Green. Dartmouth's defense came alive in the first half, forcing four turnovers and holding the Big Red's (3-5, 1-4 Ivy) explosive offense, led by sophomore quarterback Jeff Mathews, to just seven points.
Cornell managed to get its offense working in the second half, but so did Dartmouth, registering 296 rushing yards after the break. The Big Green achieved this number despite losing All-Ivy left guard Ryan O'Neill '12 to an ankle sprain early in the third quarter.
"Ryan is the guy on our offensive line," Schwieger said. "He's a great player. Lucky for us, we have some guards with some experience. Rob Bathe ['13] and Cohle Fowler ['14] had to step up and they did."
Despite the offensive fireworks, Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens was subdued after the victory. He said Dartmouth missed multiple opportunities to pull away early and nab the lead.
"We've been pushing guys all week long to play perfect," Teevens said. "I'm excited but not satisfied. The push this week was to play a complete game."
Teevens knows that the Big Green will have to play all 60 minutes at a high level if it wants to come away with a road win on Saturday against second-place Brown (7-1, 4-1 Ivy), which has won six games in a row.
"We have the capability to play with anybody, but you have to win a big ballgame, and we haven't done that yet," Teevens said. "We've got to go away on a grass field and play flawless football against a good football team."
Teevens said many individual players rallied to help Dartmouth win on Saturday. He singled out safety Joey Casey '12, who registered an end-zone interception on the game's first drive to keep Cornell off the scoresheet. Casey added a second interception later in the half to go along with nine tackles.
The Big Green first scored on its second possession, as Kempe hit a wide-open Garrett Babb '12 for a 47-yard touchdown catch.
"The play was a nice scheme [quarterbacks coach] Chris Rorke put together with [offensive coordinator] Keith Clark," Teevens said. "The cornerback bit on the post and we stuck him with the corner route."
Thanks to the well-executed play, there was no one near Babb by the time he hauled in Kempe's pass on the left sideline.
It looked like Dartmouth would enter the locker room on a sour note when Kempe threw an interception that Cornell senior defensive end Zack Imhoff returned for a touchdown late in the first half. Kempe proved his ability to bounce back on the very next possession, however.
Taking over at Dartmouth's 30-yard line with 1:36 to play in the half, Kempe hit Bo Patterson '15 for 43 yards on the second play of the drive, taking the Big Green to the Cornell 23-yard line. After two completions to Kirby Schoenthaler '15, Kempe found tight end John Gallagher '12 in the end zone for a touchdown with just 13 seconds remaining in the half. Although the extra point attempt by Foley Schmidt '12 was blocked, the Big Green still led at the half, 16-7. Schmidt had made 49 straight conversions by this point.
After the break, Dartmouth's offensive line wore down Cornell's defensive front, creating huge holes for Schwieger and Patton, who added 83 yards on 12 carries as the wildcat quarterback.
"They blocked us up," Cornell head coach Kent Austin said. "Schwieger ran right through the line of scrimmage and outran our secondary. I didn't feel like we could get them off the field on defense."
Schwieger ripped off gains of 53, 65 and 40 yards in the second half, and were it not for some late, touchdown-saving tackles, a couple of those runs could have been much longer.
Schwieger's 65-yarder, his only touchdown of the day, was particularly impressive. After taking a handoff from Patton, Schwieger made a spin move at the scrimmage line that provided him all the room he would need on the play. From there, the 5' 10" runningback had nothing but green turf in front of him, punctuating the run with a front flip as he crossed the plane of the end zone.
The flip which Schwieger said he'll never do again cost the Big Green. The 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that accompanied it gave the Big Red excellent field position on its next possession, which Cornell converted into a touchdown. In the end, however, the Big Green defense held on for the win, ensuring that, when Big Green fans recollect Schwieger's 257-yard game years from now, the flip will be nothing more than a footnote.
