A Lot On The Line As Dartmouth Hosts Harvard
(BGA Nov. 1) – Although the “We want to go 1-0 this week,” mantra has been spreading like wildfire across the landscape of college football over the past few years, the general concept has been embraced by coaches forever.
Do not look ahead, they have always warned their teams.
Let’s take it one game at a time.
Focus on the now.
Every game is a playoff game.
When his team had an important game in the second half of the season, former Big Green coach Buddy Teevens would always trot out those same truisms, although he’d often tack on an addendum that might go something like this:
These are smart kids. They know what’s at stake.
It’s no secret that Harvard (5-1 overall, 2-1 Ivy League) has smart players. And it’s hardly a secret what’s at stake for them coming into Saturday’s game at Dartmouth (6-0, 3-0) given the blemish already on their conference ledger courtesy of a last-second loss at Brown in their Ivy opener.
Should the Big Green hand Harvard a second Ivy League defeat, the Crimson’s only hope to scrape out another tie for the title would be to win out and Dartmouth team that has been undefeated to this point were to suddenly lose two of its final three games against disappointing Princeton (2-4, 1-2), equally struggling Cornell (2-4, 1-2), or Brown (3-3, 2-1), which has lost its last six games and nine of its last 10 against the Big Green.
Could Dartmouth lose one of those final three games? Absolutely. Almost unfathomable losses to second-division Columbia in 2019 and Cornell in 2021 are reminders that nothing is guaranteed.
But it’s not something Harvard can count on, which is why first-year Crimson coach Andrew Aurich was candid about the importance of the game.
“We’ve had our back against the wall since the Brown game, so the mindset for these guys is not any different than it was against Cornell, than Princeton,” he said.
No one has to tell Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle what the game means for the visitors, although he doesn’t think it will change anything.
“We never talk about what’s at stake,” he said. “I’m not going to worry about what Harvard thinks. We know we're going to get their ‘A’ game. It doesn't matter how their season's going, they’re always going to bring their best and be ready to play us.
“We need to be prepared for them to play their ‘A’ game. We have had a good week of practice. We're going to come out with confidence, ready to go out there and see what happens.”
Harvard comes into the contest off a convincing 45-13 win over Princeton, its first victory against the Tigers in seven tries.
Pacing the Crimson attack against the Tigers was junior quarterback Jaden Craig, who completed 26-of-33 passes for 345 yards and four touchdowns. Over his last three games, he’s completed 77.6 percent of his passes and stretched his touchdown-to-interception count to 17-to-2.
“He has a live arm and can put the ball on the money,” said McCorkle. “He can throw the ball on the run, which makes him really dangerous. He does a really good job of keeping the play alive. You have to be very disciplined in the back end and make sure you don’t take your eyes off the guy because that’s where he’ll hurt you.
“Up front, we have to keep putting pressure on him. We can’t allow him to run around back there and choose what he wants to do with the ball.”
But Craig isn’t the only weapon the Crimson has at quarterback. Charles DePrima, the starting quarterback until late last year, rotates in and can wreak havoc with his legs. One of the fastest – if not the fastest – players in the Ivy League, he had runs of 42, 48, 58, and 69 yards a year ago and is averaging 58 yards on his 29 carries this fall.
“We have to be aware of when he's in the game and understand where he's at,” said McCorkle. “We've got to make sure we put ourselves in the right position to contain him as much as we possibly can. We've got to be able to make plays in space when he has the ball. That's going to be critical.”
Hard-running Shane McLaughlin, a first-team All-Ivy League pick after leading the conference in rushing a year ago, was hurt early in the season and hasn’t played since making a one-carry cameo against Holy Cross two weeks ago. He ran for 156 yards on 24 carries in Crimson’s 17-9 win over Dartmouth last year. In his absence, Xaviah Bascon is leading Harvard with 58.2 yards per game and a 4.4-yard average carry.
McCorkle isn’t sure if McLaughlin will be back, but again, his focus is on his team.
“We’ve got to be prepared for whoever they have at that running back position,” he said. “They do a good job in the run game, so we’ve got to do a very good job at tackling. We’ve got to wrap up and run to the football. That’s the most important thing. We’ve got to have great pursuit.”
Interestingly, with McLaughlin out and DePrima being used relatively sparingly, Harvard’s average gain per run this fall is 3.3 yards. That’s the lowest for a Crimson team since 2007 when they averaged 3.1. Opponents are averaging 3.4 yards per carry. No Harvard team has given up more yards per attempt than it has gained in more than 20 years.
With the run game less productive than usual, Harvard has gotten terrific production from wideouts Cooper Brake and Scott Woods II in the pass game. Barkate has 33 catches for 17.3 yards per with eight touchdowns. Woods has caught 32 balls with a long of 65. Tight end Seamus Gilmartin had just nine catches but is averaging a whopping 26.6 yards per, with three touchdowns. And while DePrima has just four receptions, they have averaged out at 20.3 yards per.
“They have big-play type of receivers,” said McCorkle. “They are going to get their catches, but you can’t give them space to catch it and get yards after the catch. That’s key.”
Defensively, Harvard is led by senior defensive end Jacob Psyc, who had 2½ of the Crimson’s six sacks last week against Princeton. He has 4.5 sacks and 7.4 tackles for loss for a unit that has allowed the fewest yards in the league. The Crimson has seen opponents gain 314.3 yards per game with Dartmouth next at 325.5. Harvard is holding opponents to a league-low 34.1 percent conversions of their third-down opportunities.
Although there’s no athletic freak up front quite like Thor Griffith (now a grad transfer at Louisville) or Truman Jones (Kansas City Chiefs practice squad), McCorkle warns not to be fooled.
“Psyc is a heck of a football player,” he said. “He really does remind me of the guys they’ve had there. He can create chaos in the backfield. The group up front is very, very aggressive.
“You may not know a lot of their (defensive players’) names, but I’ve seen them on film and know what they can do. They do a very good job. The linebackers are very athletic and disciplined, and their secondary does a good job of run support.”
Harvard had the fewest penalties per game of any team in the nation last year and leads the country in that stat again this fall. By way of contrast, only 22 of the 122 FCS teams have been flagged fewer times per game than Dartmouth, which committed nine penalties for 82 yards last week and 11 penalties for 92 yards against Yale.
Cutting down on penalties, keeping the Harvard pass game in check, and playing mistake-free on the offensive end are points of emphasis as the Big Green looks to beat the Crimson for the first time since 2021.
“If you play a clean game, you give yourself a good chance,” said McCorkle. “If you don't play a clean game, you give the opponents opportunities, and that's something you can’t do against Harvard. They are a very good football team, and we’ll have to be at our best to beat them.”
