Up four points with only four seconds left on the clock, Dartmouth needed a stop to preserve its lead as the University of Pennsylvania set up for an improbable Hail Mary try.
With most of Dartmouth’s players lying deep downfield, it would have been reasonable for Uche Odimegwu ’29 — only one of three Dartmouth rushers on the line — to stand still. Instead, one-on-one against a hulking Penn tackle, Odimegwu went full steam ahead.
“I had two great defensive linemen who were containing the quarterback for me,” Odimegwu said after the game. “Which made it a lot easier on me.”
Odimegwu cut left, then jolted right, bouncing past the lineman. He zeroed in on Penn’s quarterback Miles Teodecki, who, sensing danger, bailed from the pocket.
But Odimegwu’s pursuit was relentless. He kept up the chase and tackled Teodecki from behind, sealing a Big Green victory. Rushing back to the sidelines, Odimegwu raised his arm in a closed fist, signaling the stop to the roar of the Dartmouth crowd.
“I think my mentality is just to be relentless and not give up,” Odimegwu said. “It is our last play, so we have to play like it.”
Odimegwu’s tackle for loss capped Dartmouth’s 14-10 victory over Penn on Homecoming, earning the Big Green a win in its first Ivy League game of the season.
“Super proud of these guys. Super proud of the way we battled,” Dartmouth head coach Sammy McCorkle said. “It was a 60-minute game, and our guys just kept battling. It always didn’t go our way. But happy with the outcome.”
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon for football. Buddy Teevens Memorial Stadium was packed with Dartmouth students and alumni, as well as fans from the greater Upper Valley.
“Shout out to the crowd,” defensive back Cameron Best-Alston ’27 said. “They brought us that extra energy that we really needed”
The crowd got going early as the Big Green opened up the game firing on all cylinders. Dartmouth got a quick stop and followed it up with a 13 play odyssey down the field. In the red zone, Grayson Saunier ’27 fooled the defense with a masterful pump-fake and found a streaking Ky’Dric Fisher ’28 to open the scoring with just over three minutes left in the first quarter.
Saunier was hyper-efficient through the air, completing 13 of his 15 passes for 173 yards and a passing touchdown. He also showcased his dual threat ability by adding 36 yards on the ground.
“He’s always making plays for us,” James Elliot ’27 said. “Keeping the run alive, keeping the pass alive. He’s able to escape and make some plays downfield.”
But Dartmouth couldn’t keep up the momentum, and the offense sputtered in the second and third quarters. A defensive battle ensued, with a lone Penn field goal near the end of the first half standing as the only new points until the fourth quarter.
It was especially painful for Dartmouth, who saw 2024 Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Year Owen Zalc ’27 miss three field goals to keep Penn within a score. Penn also missed a field goal attempt.
“You got to score points,” McCorkle said. “Missing three field goals — that’s not who we are, and that’s not Owen. He knows that, and he’ll get that fixed.”
The fourth quarter, however, saw the momentum begin to change, as Penn went on an arduous, eight-minute, 80-yard drive to finally break through into the endzone with a rushing TD to take the lead 10-7.
Needing to score, the Big Green offense stepped up. Saunier delivered a 34-yard pass to lead receiver Nick Lemon ’27 to jumpstart the Big Green offense. Saunier then found Fisher again to put them inside the red zone.
“That’s his [Saunier’s] composure, his resilience,” McCorkle said. “He went up and down that sideline there at the end and got the guys ready to roll.”
Running back Myles Craddock ’29 followed up the big completions and punched the ball into the end zone to take back the lead with only 5 minutes left.
The receiving corps of Lemon, Fisher and Elliot combined for 135 yards through the air, providing Saunier with a plethora of open targets and keeping the Penn secondary guessing.
“When the ball’s in the air — we talk about it all the time — it’s going to be ours. We’re going to come down with it,” Elliot said. “The play calling obviously leads to that.”
But it was the Dartmouth defense that came up clutch. With Penn inside the red zone on 3rd and four in the final two minutes, the secondary made back-to-back crucial stops to force a turnover on downs. Colter Vela ’29 broke up Teodecki’s pass to stop the Quakers on 4th and three, and after Dartmouth punted the ball away on its ensuing possession, Odimegwu’s TFL sealed the victory.
“We wanted to have them work down the field,” McCorkle said. “We didn’t give up any big plays, forced them to be consistent, and made big stops down the stretch, which was the difference in the game.”
After two difficult losses against No. 6 Lehigh University and Monmouth University, the win against Penn was a welcome result.
“Winning is tough, but anything that’s easy isn’t really worth it,” Best-Alston said. “This win felt amazing. The first two games didn’t go in our favor, but we know to be a good team, we have to learn how to win the close game.”
Regardless, Dartmouth will have to continue to work hard as it moves through its difficult Ivy League conference slate if it wants to potentially make the FCS playoffs.
Next week, the Big Green (1-2) travel to New Haven, C.T. to face the Yale University Bulldogs (2-1) in the Oct. 10 Yale Bowl.
