Following a close 20-17 win over the Princeton Tigers last weekend, Dartmouth football will stay in the woods to host the red-hot Cornell Big Red.
The Big Green and Cornell are currently tied for third in the Ivy League, each with a 3-2 record in the conference. The Big Red are riding a four-game win streak after a huge 39-17 win at the University of Pennsylvania, and will work to carry that momentum when they travel to Hanover on Saturday.
A strong ground game and key defensive plays paved the way for Dartmouth’s win over Princeton, both of which are factors they will need to replicate to fend off the Big Red. Running back D.J. Crowther ’26 had a few big runs in the second half to keep the chains moving, including a 36-yard scamper to begin the half, building on an impressive season where he has totaled 692 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Crowther said he credits the team for his success.
“First and foremost, I think it’s just having trust in my O-line,” Crowther said. “Another thing is that physicality, I’m a physical runner, but I also have that speed to break away.”
Head coach Sammy McCorkle added that the offense needs to keep the ball moving and minimize chances for the opponent to cut the lead. After establishing a 17-point lead, the Tigers scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to bring the game back in reach.
“Making sure we close the deal,” McCorkle said. “We’ve got to get them off the field. In that second half, we had opportunities on third down, fourth down, to get them off the field. We got to do that.”
A player to watch for Cornell is junior quarterback Garrett Bass-Sulpizio. His playmaking skills, both through the air and in the run game, have been the difference for the Big Red, and limiting his explosiveness will be key for Dartmouth on Saturday.
“He’s mobile, he’s a tall guy, he’s a great athlete,” linebacker Nico Schwikal ’26 said. “I think for us it just comes down to gap integrity, the defensive line gets vertical up front and will force him to bounce.”
McCorkle added that the defensive scheme will focus on containing Bass-Sulpizio’s playmaking.
“We got to keep him and contain as much as we possibly can,” McCorkle said. “We’re going to have to make sure we have a defensive scheme that doesn’t allow him to know what we’re doing and try to keep him thinking every snap.”
Bass-Sulpizio is one of many talented runners on Cornell’s offense, which has found a lot of success on the ground. However, Dartmouth is currently ranked third in the Ivy League in run defense, giving up only six rushing touchdowns so far this year. Whichever side prevails in the run game will have an upper hand in winning the game.
Dartmouth’s recent increase in quarterback pressure will also be an important factor in this game. The Big Green defensive line and edge rushers did a better job speeding up the Harvard and Princeton offenses, according to Schwikal, which has made it easier for the linebackers and secondary to make plays. He noted the contributions of linebacker Thaddeus Gianaris ’26 in particular.
“We have our dudes up front,” Schwikal said, “We have Teddy G. Me and him have been best friends since freshman year. It’s so great to see him have an outstanding season getting after those quarterbacks and forcing the balls to come out quick … that definitely gives us more confidence in the back end because we don’t have to hold our coverage, man or zone.”
For the older guys on the team, this game is personal. Cornell defeated Dartmouth 39-22 at home last year, which the players have kept in mind when preparing this week.
“It’s definitely personal,” Crowther said. “We didn’t forget what happened last year, that long bus ride home, so we’re definitely gonna have that in the back of our minds, preparing each day this week … We just have to go out there and get that W.”
The sentimentality is also starting to creep in for this team’s seniors, as the Big Red are likely the second-to-last team they will play as members of Dartmouth football, should Dartmouth fail to reach the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. That being said, the senior leaders are still as locked in as they’ve ever been on making sure everything gets left on the field.
“It’s definitely sad that the time is slowly coming to an end,” Schwikal said. “But we have two more games to go and we’re gonna make the most of it.”
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. in Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field on Saturday afternoon, and the stage is set for a tight matchup between two historic Ivy League rivals.
