Sports
This Saturday, the Dartmouth football team will open its home schedule against Cornell in hopes of setting the stage for a successful Ivy League season.
Besides all the tradition basked in this 112th home opener to Dartmouth football, the contest between the Big Green and The Big Red will be crucial in setting the season's tone for these two teams.
"Cornell is in a similar position to us in terms of their record,"Coach John Lyons said about the upcoming contest, in which both teams enter the grudge match 1-1 in the season and winless in the Ivy League.
For Dartmouth, this momentum-setting game is that much more important when stacked up against its play in the past.
Last year's 2-5 finish was the team's worst record since 1987, and the first time since the Ivy League of Football was born in 1956 that Dartmouth finish in last place [tied with Harvard]. For years, Dartmouth owned the Ivy's, compiling a total of 16 championship titles in the league's 39 year history, upping the ante for a Big Green resurgence.
Dartmouth may also have a score to settle with Cornell, who robbed victory from the Big Green last year with a touchdown in the last 49 seconds to give Cornell the 17-14 win.
Many of Cornell's weapons from that game return this year, including the top-rated rushing duo in the Ivy League, running backs Chad Levitt and Terry Smith.
"I think first of all we have to do a good job up front, stopping their run game," Lyons said.