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 12th/15th-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.”