HANOVER – Dartmouth’s first game of the first season in which the Ivy League can go to the FCS playoffs was against a nationally ranked team that has been to the postseason many times.
And the Big Green beat that team.
Ricky Santos quarterbacked New Hampshire in the postseason and led the Wildcats there last year as head coach. After Dartmouth dealt his 23rd-ranked team a 27-20 loss, he shared his opinion on how the Ivy League champion might fare come November and why.
“The top three or four teams every single year in that conference can compete and make a run,” said Santos, who coached quarterbacks for three years himself in the Ivy League. “There's no doubt about it.
“They recruit nationally. They all have a really elite brand. Obviously, a great academic pedigree, and there's a draw. There's a buzz about those schools. So being at Columbia for three years, (I know) certainly it's a great league.”
That’s just one of the reasons why Santos hopes the Granite Bowl series between Dartmouth and New Hampshire includes more than just the next two meetings, in 2027 at Durham and in 2028 back at Buddy Teevens Stadium.
“I think it's great for the state and for the region,” he said. “It's always highly contested. A lot of times it's a four-quarter tilt. I’ve been a part of it now as a student-athlete, assistant coach, and now as a head coach. It's a lot of fun.”
It’s also a great test, but as Santos made clear, not just for Dartmouth anymore.
“I think anytime you (play) out of conference games, you want to play top-25 caliber teams to prove that you have what it takes to play late in the year, and be a team in consideration to play in the playoffs,” he said. “And that's what Dartmouth is, every single year. There's a reason why they've won at least a share of six out of the last eight Ivy League championships. They're physical. They're well coached. They don't beat themselves. And they perennially find ways to win games like this.”
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Tailback DJ Crother’s 143 yards on 20 carries marked career highs for the Big Green senior in both categories. His previous best for yardage was 79 yards on nine carries, which came in last year’s opener against Fordham. His previous high for carries was 10 in his sophomore season. He also had three touchdowns. … Crowther also had four receptions for 32 yards.
Quarterback Grayson Saunier’s 22-for-30 passing worked out to a career-best 73.3 percent completion rate, topping his 71.4 percent mark (15-for-21) set last year against Central Connecticut in his first career start. His 244 yards through the air are second only to the 276 he had in the overtime win at Yale a year ago.
Grayson O’Bara had just two catches for 24 yards in the first half against UNH but caught four passes for 82 yards in the second. His 106 receiving yards marked the second game in a row topping the century mark. He had 124 yards on four catches in last year’s finale against Brown, his first time over 100 yards.
Tight end Chris Corbo had five catches for 40 yards, and Daniel Haughton had five receptions for 16 yards.
Nickel Tyson Grimm and corner Patrick Campbell led Dartmouth with seven tackles apiece, while linebackers Teddy Gianaris and Nico Schwikal each had six. . . . Gianaris had the lone sack and two of the Big Green’s three tackles for loss. Grimm had the other. . . . Safeties Harrison Keith and Sean Williams each had an interception and three tackles.
Dartmouth finished with a 21-17 advantage in first downs and 432 yards of total offense to New Hampshire’s 361. … The home team was much more successful on the ground than the visitors with a 188-88 advantage in rushing yardage.
Dartmouth was a healthy 8-of-12 on third downs and limited New Hampshire to a woeful 2-of-12. The Wildcats made things interesting down the stretch by converting back-to-back fourth downs, finishing the afternoon 3-of-5 in those situations.
The game was pretty much flag-free, with the Big Green whistled twice for 25 yards and the Wildcats once for five. … Dartmouth was 3-for-3 scoring in the red zone with all three being touchdowns. UNH was 2-for-3 with a touchdown and a field goal. … Per Dartmouth’s statistics package, 48 Big Green players got in the game.
Dartmouth drives (plays/yards/result): 8/47/interception; 9/35/downs; 9/75/TD; 3/8/punt; 6/35/punt; 2/6/halftime; 6/53/TD; 3/3/punt; 7/87/TD; 8/75/TD; 2/2/end of game.
New Hampshire drives: 5/13/TD; 7/46/FG; 3/3/punt; 5/21/punt; 6/49/interception; 5/28/interception; 12/41/FG; 6/50/downs; 4/68/TD; 13/52/downs.
They Said It
New Hampshire wide receiver Chase Wilson on the Wildcats' final drive: “We were marching down the field and it just came down to a couple misplays we’ve got to be better on. But I felt like the belief was there until the ball was taken out of our hands.”
New Hampshire free safety Duncan Moreland: “We did our job in the first half, but obviously we came out slow in the second half. We just weren't taking the extra step. I mean, we just can't have that happen again. We can't come out like that and just – we can't put that second half on film ever again.”
New Hampshire coach Ricky Santos on the UNH third-down issues and other struggles against the Big Green defense: “We need to be better up front on first down running the football. I think we ran for only 88 yards. I think that was a key to this game. If Dartmouth gets you in obvious passing situations, they win. For the last 20 years, they've been one of the best defensive pass units in all of FCS football.”
Dartmouth quarterback Grayson Saunier on the winning touchdown drive: “I think all game, (offensive coordinator Shane) Montgomery and the offense, everybody on the offense, put us in a great position to make plays and get the ball down the field. It was just a matter of putting it all together at the end of the game. We work on it every week. That two-minute (with) seven minutes left, fourth quarter. We’ve got to go down and win for our team and everybody stepped up. Grayson O'Bara (made) the catch, DJ on the blocks and the runs. It was awesome. But it's good, just because we practice it every week."
Running back DJ Crowther on his big day: “I think first and foremost it starts with the O-line. I wouldn't be able to do it without their blocks (and) receivers blocking downfield. And just trusting in the coaches. We rep it every day in practice.”
Safety Sean Williams on the play of the secondary: “I think we were just extremely locked in, extremely focused from the jump. We knew this was going to be a four-quarter game, and we wanted to make sure that (from) the start of the game, all the way to the finish, we were locked in and ready to go, ready to get to it. It was big to have guys on all levels making plays. The D-line. Teddy Gianaris just going crazy. You've got the linebackers making plays, the (nickels) with Tyson Grimm. So that makes it a lot easier for the secondary to really cover.”
Saunier on McCorkle’s message after the uneven start: “(He said) keep going at them. Keep going at them. Things are going to go your way. You know they're going to start getting tired, and that's when we take advantage. That's where we step up. It might not be the first or second quarter we would like for it to be, but that third or fourth quarter when we're wearing them down and DJ can get those big runs. (That) opens it up for the rest of us.”
Saunier on beating Dartmouth’s in-state rival: “We feel like it's an important game. They're right down the road from us. However, like Sean (Williams), said, it's the next game. You know, it's the most important game because it's the next game up for us. … We're going to sleep on it, have a great time, and celebrate it. But we've got to get ready for CCSU. UNH is a great program. We respect the hell out of them. They're awesome. But we got that 1-0 today, and it's already time to move on.”
Coach Sammy McCorkle on his respect for UNH quarterback Matt Vezza and what went into keeping him from winning the game by himself: “(He’s) a heck of a player. I mean, he's the real deal. He can hurt you with his feet (and) he can hurt you with his arm, and we just didn't want him to sit back there and have time and pick where he wanted to throw that ball. So we felt like, ‘Hey, let's put some pressure on him, make him make a perfect play.’ You could just tell our D-line (was ready). Our guys have done a phenomenal job in the preseason and in the offseason. They're in great shape and we were rotating guys in and you could just sense the energy. They were pinning their ears back and they were pretty much saying, hey, we want to win this game. . . . They did a heck of a job putting pressure on that quarterback."
McCorkle on the approach when New Hampshire went into a hurry-up offense at the end: “We tell guys all the time in a two-minute situation, the pressure is on the offense, not on us. And I think our guys have that mentality. When you have experience in your secondary like we have, and they've been in those battles before, they've been in those situations many times, it's comforting. I told those guys it's time to bow up and let's make a play. … We talk about wanting to make them work for everything. And that last drive, (UNH) had to work for every inch, use every down to get where they got. And like I said, we knew if we just make the plays it's going to turn out well for us.”
McCorkle on the running of Crowther and Dartmouth’s emphasis on both getting the run game going while stopping UNH’s ground attack: “I just know not many people knew about him, and he was behind a good running back last year. I was super excited for DJ for his first game. I had a really good feeling he was going to have a game like this. But I tell you, he does a very good job. He's got great vision. He does a very good job trusting his offensive line. I thought our offensive line and our tight ends did a good job of coming off the ball. And we said it: We’ve got to win in the trenches. We need to establish the run on offense and then on defense we can't allow them to run. And it felt like we were able to do that as the game went on.”
McCorkle on the Granite Bowl series, which has only two known renewals left on tap: “It’s great. The last few games have been really good games. Ricky Santos does a great job there. He's done a great job with that program. They're a very solid football team and we knew that going into the game. But, yeah, I think it's exciting. It's good. I think it's good to be able to go out there and match up, and years ago that wasn't the case. But I think the fact that we're able to go out there and go toe-to-toe for four quarters or plus makes it a much more exciting game. I don't want it to come down to that all the time, but we'll take a W, that's for sure.”