Dartmouth 'Gearing Up' Per Usual For Columbia
HANOVER – The last time Dartmouth hosted Columbia under the lights for a nationally televised Friday night game, the signature double-striped, “block D” helmet design had been replaced by a Lone Pine on either side of the headgear.
Fear not. That unusual look won’t be making another appearance this year, and not just because the tree was way too big the last time.
No, the infamous and oversized Lone Pine was banished permanently after its debut game saw the visiting Lions not just beat the Big Green, but do it convincingly.
Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle was there that ill-fated night in 2021 and did not need to be reminded about the fashion statement Big Green made in a 19-0 disappointment that would prove to be the team’s only loss that fall.
Asked with a wink this week if there was any chance the infamous Lone Pine would make another Friday night appearance, McCorkle answered swiftly and emphatically.
“That will not happen during my time here,” he said firmly. “I remember that game like it was yesterday. It’s not going to happen.”
Most Dartmouth players have probably never seen the alternate helmet design, and only fifth-year offensive lineman Konstantin Spörk wore it as a freshman in the 2021 Columbia game.
McCorkle wasn’t interested in revisiting either the design or that result with his team this week.
“Nope, I don't bring up stuff when we won and I don't bring it up when we lost,” he said. “These guys had nothing to do with that, and they’d probably wonder what the heck I'm talking about if I did bring it up. I remember it, but I really don't want them thinking about things like that. To me, it's about what we had to do this week. What we have to do on Friday night. That’s all that matters. What we did in the past does not matter.
"It's a good lesson for us as coaches though, to make sure we prepare them the right way, the best we can.”
The 2021 Columbia team brought a 4-1 record to Hanover, and this year’s team is limping along – literally you'll see – at 1-4, but McCorkle isn’t fooled by the record. Per the Sagarin ratings, the Lions have played the toughest schedule in the league to date, and while repeating as Ivy League co-champions will be difficult after an 0-2 conference start, they will still be a tough out.
“They’ve had a difficult schedule, and they’ve been close,” McCorkle said. “They’re a very good football team. You can’t look at the record. That’s not it. You look at their film and see the way they play. They are an aggressive, well-disciplined team.
“They are well-coached. They are going to be in the right spots. They are going to try to force you to make mistakes, and they aren’t going to make many mistakes themselves.”
Who will be running the show for Columbia is uncertain. Chase Goodwin, who missed the rest of the season after being hurt in Dartmouth’s 24-21 win over the Lions last year in New York, opened the year as the starting quarterback. But he and primary backup Caleb Sanchez have both battled injury this fall. Goodwin started the first three games and hasn’t played since. Sanchez missed contests against Princeton and Lehigh before returning last week and throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns last week against Penn.
Starting one game while the other two quarterbacks were out was junior Zander Menapace, who previously had been the designated running quarterback.
Columbia’s depth chart this week reads Sanchez “or” Goodwin, but given that Dartmouth’s own depth chart against Yale showed a starter who was out after surgery, McCorkle knows better than to believe in those things.
“I would imagine Sanchez will start, but who knows?” The Dartmouth coach said. “Whoever comes trotting out there, we have to be ready to play. We watch them all and have to prepare for all of them. Sanchez is more of a drop-back guy who can see the field really well. Goodwin is athletic and brings the threat to run.
“They both have their own kind of thing, but regardless of who is out there, we've got to be disciplined and we've got to be in the right spots. We’ve got to make sure we keep that quarterback in the pocket, and do what we can to get after them.”
Michael Walters, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound freshman, leads the Columbia run game with 172 yards in three games. He carried 11 times for 61 yards and a touchdown against Penn last week after missing two games with an injury. Griffin Johnson has 79 yards in three games. The Lions are averaging 86.2 yards per game on the ground, less than half of Dartmouth’s 175.6.
Titus Evans is the top receiver with 27 catches for 389 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown from Menapace in a 31-7 loss to No. 7 Lehigh two weeks ago.
Given injuries and a challenging early schedule, Columbia has struggled to score this fall. They put up a season-high point total in last week’s 35-21 loss to Penn.
“They spread the ball around,” said McCorkle. “They’ve got weapons, and those guys are playing more now. They’re starting to get more of a feel of what they’re doing offensively.”
Linebacker Jack Smiechowski leads the Columbia defense with a league-high three interceptions and is among the leaders in tackles with 43. The team’s second-leading tackler a year ago had 15 stops in the Lions’ 17-10 loss at Princeton in their Ivy League opener. He was part of a defense that turned Penn over three times a week ago in a game that was tied until the final two minutes of the third quarter.
Columbia’s best defensive showings came in a win over Georgetown (19-10) and the loss to Princeton. Opponents scored in the 30s in each of the other three games, although McCorkle likes what he’s seen of the Lions’ defense.
“It’s always good,” he said, “and they’re good at all three levels. The linebackers play downhill, and it’s a disciplined defense. They are a group that’s going to be in the right spots, and they’re going to try to control the line of scrimmage.”
Dartmouth will counter with an offense that has struggled in the early going the last two weeks. In the Homecoming win against Yale, the Big Green was scoreless until the fourth quarter, and last week at Fordham, Dartmouth managed just six points in the first half of a 30-13 win.
“Obviously, we want to start quick and get the momentum,” McCorkle said. “When you score early, it helps your offense roll and allows you to do some different things defensively.
“What has happened is we’ve moved the ball, but when we get down there (close to the goal line), things get condensed, and if one guy out of 11 doesn’t do his responsibility or is a little slow off the ball, it costs you. We’ve got to clean that up, play a good game, and not hurt ourselves this week.”
NOTES
Dartmouth is averaging 26.6 points per game to Columbia’s 14.2, and is allowing 22.6 points per game to the Lions’ 26.2. … Dartmouth is converting third downs at a terrific 55.0 percent rate while Columbia is at 31.4 percent. … Both teams have done well in the turnover department with the Big Green at plus-seven on the season and Columbia at plus-eight. … The Lions have been hurt by penalties with 34 flags for 256 yards while Dartmouth has been whistled 20 times for 179 yards.
Jack Smiechowski, the standout Columbia linebacker, is a team captain this year after helping the Lions win a share of the Ivy League title in 2024. His grandfather, Tom O’Connor, was a running back on the Ivy League championship 1961 Columbia team and served as a captain the next fall.
This is the second of three Columbia games on ESPNU this fall. It is Dartmouth’s only appearance. . . . Columbia offensive coordinator Seitu Smith was an offensive quality control coach and then recruiting assistant at Dartmouth in 2018. . . . Big Green offensive line coach Keith Clark served in the same capacity at Columbia from 1991-96.
