A Physical Chess Match Awaits With Harvard

 CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig completed more than 70 percent of his passes in his first three games this fall.

He’s completed less than 60 percent in each of the last three games.

Craig had nine touchdown passes and no interceptions in the first three games.

He’s had as many interceptions as touchdown passes in the last three games, tossing three of each.

While Craig’s production has leveled off since his red-hot start, Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle knows what his team will be up against Saturday when it visits 12^th/15^th-ranked Harvard (6-0, 3-0 Ivy League). He got a taste of it last year when Craig engineered critical back-to-back touchdown drives of 94 and 73 yards to rally the Crimson – which trailed by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter – to a 31-27 win on Memorial Field.

Craig completed a clutch 15-yard throw on fourth-and-14 to keep the 94-yard march alive, and an eight-yarder on fourth-and-three to keep the winning drive going. He finished his afternoon with 311 yards through the air.

Asked if there’s a quarterback he coached against who Craig reminds him of, McCorkle went all the way back to his days as an assistant at the University of Tennessee at Martin almost a quarter of a century ago.

“Tony Romo when he was at Eastern Illinois and I coached against him,” said McCorkle, whose UT Martin teams gave up 42, 56 and 55 points in three meetings with the future Dallas Cowboys QB.

Unlike Romo, who went undrafted by the NFL, Craig is widely considered a potential draft choice. McCorkle’s scouting report is an indication why.

“He's got a live arm, a strong arm,” the third-year Dartmouth head coach said. “He’s got a quick release and can throw it anywhere on the field. Field-side flat is easy for him. He does a good job of finding holes so you can't – you better be in the right spot because if you don't, he'll punish you.

“What really makes him special is his composure. He’s a confident, composed guy back there who can really throw the ball. He’s a guy that is going to be a huge challenge for us.”

Craig is hardly the only challenge facing Dartmouth as it seeks to end a three-game losing streak against the Crimson. The Harvard offense doesn’t necessarily have players putting up the kind of numbers they’ve had in recent years, but part of that is a change in the Crimson’s approach since Andrew Aurich replaced Tim Murphy as head coach after the 2023 season.

“They are doing a good job of spreading the offense out,” said McCorkle. “They are using more multiple formations and there’s probably less predictability. They are spreading the ball around a little more, but they are still Harvard guys. They’ve got good players and they get the ball in good players’ hands. They maximize their weapons at every position.”

With Cooper Barkate ninth in the nation in receiving yards per game this as a grad transfer at Duke, 6-foot-4 junior Seamus Gilmartin – the latest in a long line out outstanding tight ends – and Saskatchewan product Brady Blackburn are Craig’s leading targets with 22 catches apiece. Blackburn averages a healthy 19.6 yards per reception. Four different receivers have caught two touchdown passes this fall and five others have one.

“They actually gave a couple of ‘Harvard’ tight ends,” said McCorkle. “(Gilmartin) is athletic and great in space so we have to really be aware of where he is at all times. He does a good job blocking on the perimeter, and all their tight ends bring something to the table.

“The skill guys have good speed. They’re 10.7, 10.8 guys over 100 meters. They can fly, so it’s going to be a challenge.”

The Crimson also spreads the workload in the backfield with five running backs having 30 or more carries. Leading the way is junior Xaviah Bascon, with 65 attempts for 325 yards and three touchdowns after running for 101 yards against Princeton. He’s averaging 54.2 yards per game. DJ Gordon, who ran eight times for 104 yards against Merrimack, has carried 48 times for 278 yards, a team-high five touchdowns and 46.3 yards per game.

Notable are Jordan Harris’s 278 yards and 8.0 yards per carry – a number helped by a 75-yard touchdown run against Holy Cross – and 240-pound Isaiah Bullock’s four TD runs.

“Those are physical running backs, all of them,” said McCorkle. “They are all hard runners you are not going to be able to arm tackle. We've got to get a lot of Dartmouth helmets around the ball as much as we possibly can.”

Up front, Harvard graduated three starters on the offensive line but has allowed an Ivy League-low two sacks this fall while leading the nation with just 2.83 tackles for loss per game.

Defensively, at least in part to a less-than-rigorous schedule to date, the Crimson is ranked second in the nation in scoring (11.5 points allowed per game) and second in total defense (255.5 yards per game).

Notable is Harvard’s ability to take the ball away. The Crimson has 10 interceptions this fall to go with four fumble recoveries, good for a plus 1.33 turnover margin, fifth in the country.

“They do a good job of forcing you to make bad decisions,” explained McCorkle. “They're very disciplined. They're in the right spots. And they really force you to have to work it down the field.

“Offenses at time, quarterbacks at times, get impatient against them and don't want to take what they give you. They're trying to get the big play, trying to force it in, and Harvard does a good job of capitalizing when teams make those mistakes.”

Heading up the defense is safety and preseason All-America safety Ty Bartum, who is tied for the team lead with 37 tackles to go with one interception, one forced fumble and two pass breakups.

“There's a reason why he's All-Ivy and why he's a captain,” said McCorkle. “He's just he's a very, very good football player. Their entire secondary is solid and he's the leader of that group. They don't give you many windows. They make you earn everything. And that's the one thing we've got to do. We've got to be very patient and take what they give us. Don't force it.”

Linebacker Sean Line is tied for the team lead with 37 tackles while fellow linebacker Dorsey Benefield has 27 and Jaeden Kinlock, still another linebacker, has 25. Defensive back Xaden Benson has two interceptions.

Where this Harvard team is a little different from some of the recent past is on the defensive front where there is no Truman Jones (now with the Tennessee Titans) or Thor Griffith, who grad transferred to Louisville last year and signed with the Seattle Seahawks.

The most productive player on the D-line to date has been end Alex DeGrieck, who has four sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.

None of Harvard’s first six opponents currently has a winning record, but McCorkle – whose team’s first four opponents are all above .500 – doesn’t think the jury is out on the Crimson.

“They are a good team,” he said. “It’s going to be a physical game won in the trenches, but also a chess match. We’ve got to be prepared to go toe-to-toe with them on every single play. It’s going to be a big crowd and a great opportunity for our guys. They’ve earned the chance to play in a game like this and we are looking forward to it.”

Fearful Forecast Week Seven

HANOVER – Ivy-Ivy games and bye weeks always cut into the Fearful Forecast’s chances to rack up the wins. They also limit the chances for piling up losses, but don’t tell anyone.

Predicting William & Mary would knock off New Hampshire on Homecoming at UNH last week wasn’t smart, but the Forecast wasn’t going to pick against W&M Athletic Director Brian Mann, the former Dartmouth quarterback who spent the first quarter-plus of the game sitting with Team BGA over in Durham.

There are no old friends to root for this week, so there’s a chance to rack up the wins, right? OK, maybe not.

Here we go:

Brown (3-3, 0-3) at Penn (4-2, 2-1)

It sounds disgusting but the Brown bubble probably burst when the Bears surrendered an 11-point lead late in last week’s double-overtime loss to Cornell. Penn 28-17

Columbia (1-5, 0-3) at Yale 4-2, 2-1

The Bullydogs do a good job of picking on the downtrodden. That pretty much sums up both teams. Yale 35-10

Princeton (3-3, 2-1) at Cornell (2-4, 1-2)

I should know better than to pick upsets. Notice the word “should.” Cornell 21-17

LIU (3-5, 1-2 NEC) at Central Connecticut (5-3, 3-0)

Long Island University teams are called the Sharks. Now you know as much about LIU as I do. Central Connecticut 35-14

Fordham (1-7, 1-3) at Richmond (4-4, 1-3)

There’s a temptation to pick the upset. Temptation avoided this time. Richmond 28-14

New Hampshire Bye

LAST WEEK

This BGA Guy Is A Genius

Predicted: Harvard 24, Princeton 10

Actual: Harvard 35, Princeton 14

Comment: The 14-point difference looked good for much of the game. 

Predicted: Yale 28, Penn 24

Actual: Yale 35, Penn 13

Comment: As expected, Elis put Dartmouth behind them.

Predicted: Lehigh 35, Fordham 14

Actual: Lehigh 27, Fordham 6

Comment: Nailed the delta.

This BGA Guy is a Dolt

Predicted: Brown 35, Cornell 28

Actual: Cornell 30, Brown 24 2 ot

Comment: Late comeback foiled the Fearless Forecast.

Predicted: William & Mary 21, UNH 17

Actual: UNH 34, William & Mary 24

Comment: Still would pick Brian Mann’s team. ;-)

Last Week: 3-2

Season to Date: 31-12 (.721)

The Thrill Of Victory And The Agony Of Defeat

HANOVER – While Dartmouth’s 6-4 record in 2010 marked its first winning record in 13 years, Harvard continued to run roughshod over the Big Green until 2013.

Since then, all but two Dartmouth-Harvard games have finished as one-score contests, and in one of those two seasons, it was heading that way until the final five minutes. 

The only thing missing since the series became ultra-competitive in 2013 is Jim McKay intoning, "The human drama of athletic competition."

Here's a capsule look at each Dartmouth-Harvard game since 2013.

2013 – at HARVARD 24, DARTMOUTH 21

Big Green safety Steve Dazzo took a scoop-and-score back 35 yards to give Dartmouth a 14-13 lead in the third quarter of a back-and-forth game. Harvard answered with an option pass later in the quarter and added a two-point conversion to go up 21-14, only to have the Big Green tie it on a seven-yard Kyle Bramble run with 13 seconds to go in the third quarter.

It was still 21-21 when Harvard took over at its own 38 with 5:46 left. The Crimson proceeded to pull together a 13-play drive, converting four first downs, and advancing the ball to the Dartmouth six before Andrew Flesher came on and booted the 23-yard game-winner with 48 seconds left. A Harvard interception at its 35 with 19 seconds showing then sealed the deal.

2014 – HARVARD 23, at DARTMOUTH 12

Alex Gakenheimer’s second field goal of the day cut Harvard’s lead to 20-12 early in the third quarter, and it was still a one-possession game early in the fourth quarter when Dartmouth quarterback Dalyn Williams took a finger to the eye and, after returning for one play, had to leave the game for good.

The Crimson tacked on a field goal with six minutes remaining to get a little breathing room. The loss was Dartmouth’s 11th in a row to Harvard, and the Big Green’s first Ivy loss since falling to the Crimson a year earlier.

2015 – at HARVARD 14, DARTMOUTH 13

A Dartmouth goal line stand for the ages seemed to promise a different ending only to see Harvard break Big Green hearts one more time.

With the Big Green leading 13-0 in the fourth quarter, the Crimson earned a first down at the Big Green one. But five times Harvard ran into the Dartmouth line and five times the Dartmouth front held firm. (A penalty had given Harvard an extra shot.)

Harvard scored for the first time and pulled within 13-7 Dartmouth on a touchdown with 6:38 remaining. Then the bottom fell for the Big Green. A fumbled option pitch with 2:54 turned the ball over to Harvard at the Big Green 49. The Crimson then held the ball for 11 plays, the last given them the lead on a five-yard TD pass with 38 seconds remaining.

Trailing for the first time, Dartmouth's hurry-up offense advanced the ball to the Harvard 29 only to have a last-gasp pass sail over a receiver’s hands in the end zone. Or apparent last-gasp pass.

After a review showed one second left on the clock, Harvard blocked a 46-yard field goal to lock up the win.

2016 – HARVARD 23, at DARTMOUTH 21

After watching from the sidelines while Harvard built a 14-0 first-quarter lead, Jack Heneghan came off the bench to engineer touchdown drives of 79, 81, and 88 yards, the last making it a two-point game on his nine-yard touchdown run with 2:32 remaining.

Dartmouth still needed one more stop and a field goal to pull out the win, but could get neither. Instead, it was the Harvard quarterback scrambling for a critical first down on third-and-five at his own 25 with 1:51 left. When the Big Green defense allowed just a one-yard and a two-yard run on the next two plays, the Crimson faced a third-and-seven from its own 35 with 48 seconds left.

At that point, Harvard coach Tim Murphy pulled a surprise and called a pass play that would have stopped the clock if it had fallen incomplete. Instead, future NFL tight end Anony Firkser caught the throw for a first down, and one kneel later, the Crimson had the win.

2017 – at HARVARD 25, DARTMOUTH 22

 After seeing a 14-12 lead erased by a pair of fourth-quarter Harvard touchdowns, a Dartmouth team that already had come from behind three times in six games seemed primed to do it again.

With his team trailing, 25-14, Jack Heneghan drove the Big Green 80 yards in 10 plays, finally running in from the six and adding a two-point conversion pass to pull Dartmouth within a field goal with 4:18 left.

After giving up a Harvard first down, the Big Green got the third-down stop it needed, and when the Crimson punt rolled into the end zone, Dartmouth had the ball at its 20 with 1:36 remaining. Two first downs later, the Big Green had the ball one yard short of midfield with 1:18 still to play.

But a second-and-10 pass to a diving receiver was tipped and intercepted by Harvard, allowing it to escape with its 14th consecutive win over Dartmouth before 11,143 at Harvard Stadium. 

2018 – at DARTMOUTH 24, HARVARD 17

Dartmouth vaulted out to a 21-0 halftime lead and led by 17-point after a third-quarter Harvard touchdown and a 28-yard Big Green field goal.

Things were a lot less comfortable for Dartmouth after a Harvard touchdown with 6:44 remaining cut the lead to 10. Things got even more exciting when the Crimson booted a field goal with 1:36 on the clock made it a seven-point game.

But there was joy in Hanover when Harvard’s onside kick try went out of bounds. After converting a third-and-four at the Crimson 47, Dartmouth went into victory formation against Harvard for the first time since 2003. And, astonishingly, for the first time on Memorial Field in a quarter-century.

2019 – DARTMOUTH 9, at HARVARD 6

You almost had to be there to believe it.

When Dartmouth quarterback Derek Kyler’s fumble gave Harvard the ball at the Big Green nine with 1:19 to play and the Crimson leading, 6-3, the game was seemingly over. Until it wasn’t.

Two Dartmouth timeouts, a mental flub by a Harvard runner who stopped the clock by going out of bounds, and a big defensive stop when the Crimson went for it on fourth-and-goal at the two gave the ball back to the Big Green at its own four with exactly one minute remaining. Three Kyler completions punctuated by his four-yard run for a first down, and a time-preserving spike later, Dartmouth had the ball at the Harvard 43 with six seconds on the clock.

Facing a hard rush, Kyler deftly evaded four tacklers and lofted a Hail Mary pass to the end zone. Harvard defenders made the fatal mistake of tipping the ball, and it fell into the welcome arms of receiver Masaki Aerts, who held on for a touchdown and a miracle win before 20,112 at Harvard Stadium.

2021 – DARTMOUTH 20, at HARVARD 17

The Big Green seemed in line for its second last-minute win over the Crimson in as many meetings when Connor Davis capped a nine-play, 67-yard drive by kicking a 25-yard field goal with 49 seconds remaining.

But Harvard wasn't done. Hoping for payback for its 2019 Hail Mary loss, the Crimson returned the ensuing Dartmouth kickoff to its own 27, where it started the final drive of the game with 44 seconds showing. Harvard pushed the ball all the way to the Dartmouth 36 before a third-down pass that would have put it in excellent field goal position fall incomplete. That left Harvard to attempt a 53-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide left and probably a little short as the clock struck 0:00.

The win before 14,110 at Harvard Stadium was Dartmouth’s third in a row over the Crimson since halting a 14-game losing streak in the series.

2022 – HARVARD 28, at DARTMOUTH 13

For just the second time in 10 meetings, Dartmouth-Harvard was not a one-possession game at the end, although it appeared to be heading that way as the fourth quarter wound down in front of 8,745 in Hanover.

Aided by a blocked PAT, Harvard carried a 14-13 lead into the midway point of the third quarter before getting some breathing room with a 76-yard drive finished off by a 12-yard touchdown run that made it 21-13. After a hold, the Crimson put together an 86-yard march capped by a 21-yard touchdown run for a 15-point lead with 8:37 left.

With a chance to make it a one-possession game again, Dartmouth marched from its own 25 to the Harvard 30. The Green needed a touchdown, a stop, and another score to extend the game. But after both third-and-three, and fourth-and-three passes fell incomplete, the Crimson regained possession with 4:39 remaining. The Big Green would get the ball back with 1:19 left only to see an interception at the goal line with no time on the clock end the game.

2023 – at HARVARD 17, DARTMOUTH  9

Down 11 points with time running out, in desperate need of a touchdown, a two-point conversion, and a field goal to force overtime, Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle made the right call when his team reached the Harvard 17 with 15 seconds to play.

Although it was just second down, McCorkle sent kicker Owen Zalc out to try a 35-yard field goal. The Big Green couldn’t take the chance of using up the remaining time trying for a touchdown when it needed to score twice. Better to kick the field goal, then try for an onside kick and another Harvard Stadium Hail Mary.

After Zalc did his part by nailing his three-pointer from 35 yards out, Dartmouth tried a little trickeration with the onside kick. Zalc approached the ball, but a teammate kicked it. Unfortunately for Dartmouth, the Crimson recovered and then kneeled on the game’s final play to secure the win in front of 22,515 at Harvard.

2024 – HARVARD  31, at DARTMOUTH 27

A 72-yard touchdown pass gave the Big Green a 27-17 lead in the final minute of the third quarter, only to see the Crimson string together drives of 94 yards and 73 yards to win in the final minute before 7,711 at Buddy Teevens Stadium.

The end-game dramatics started after a Dartmouth punt on fourth-and-one at the Harvard 48 gave the ball to the Crimson with 12:41 remaining. QB Jaden Craig completed clutch first down passes of third-and-six, third-and-seven, fourth-and-14, and third-and-four to set up wildcat quarterback Charles DePrima’s six-yard touchdown run with 5:59 left that cut the Big Green's lead to 27-24.

Dartmouth went three-and-out on its ensuing possession, and Harvard took over at its 27 with 3:59 remaining. After two first downs and a third-down incompletion, Craig kept the Crimson hopes alive with a fourth-and-three completion to the Dartmouth 24 with 41 seconds left. A 10-yard completion to the nine and a completion for no gain later the speedy DePrima came in and ran left nine yards for a touchdown and the lead with 27 seconds showing.

Dartmouth made a strong bid to salvage a win, pushing the ball to the Harvard 32, but a pass breakup on the goal line on the final play ended the game.