HANOVER – It’s Monday, and that can mean only one thing. OK, it can mean a lot of things, but in this case, it means it is time for the weekly Six Pack Plus One.
1) How many of us were waiting for that fourth-quarter magic Saturday against Yale?
Dartmouth scored 21 points in the fourth quarter the last time it played in Yale Bowl to win in overtime, and 17 points against the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter on Memorial Field last year to win by a point. But outscoring Yale in the final 15 minutes figured to be a challenge this time around, with the Bulldogs tallying the most fourth-quarter points in the league so far and Dartmouth the fewest. Here’s the breakdown in fourth-quarter scoring this season:
Yale 59
Cornell 43
Columbia 37
Penn 28
Harvard 26
Brown 21
Princeton 21
Dartmouth 7
2) A significant part of Yale’s defensive plan Saturday was to put Dartmouth quarterback Grayson Saunier under pressure, and the Bulldogs did a great job of that. The final statistics missed at least one sack but list the Bulldogs with seven quarterback “hurries.” The stats don’t show QB “hits,” but there were a bunch. It’s going to be critical going forward for the Big Green to find ways to punish teams that bring extra pressure the way Yale did.
4) This is getting to be a regular fixture in this column, but what more can you say about what Luke Armistead has done this fall? You could spend a lot of time poring over box scores and probably not find another Big Green punter with 70-plus-yard punts in back-to-back games. Armistead had a 74-yarder against Penn and his punts at Yale read: 77, 56, 49, 47, 43, 37, and 36 yards. The 36-yarder and 49-yarder were “inside the 20” boots, and his two touchbacks came on the 77- and 59-yarders when instead of trying for an “inside the 20” kick, he had to be going for distance. Yale was able to return just two kicks for a grand total of two yards. And if you think the wind was a major factor in Armistead’s production, keep in mind the Yale punter averaged 37.0 yards. The Dartmouth punter’s 47.21-yard average would lead the country if he had one more attempt to make the rankings. The current leader is averaging 46.8 yards.
5) This may be a broken record as well, but with Reno going 28-for-37 passing, Dartmouth is now allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 74.8 percent of their attempts. Next highest in the Ivy is Brown at 68.9. For comparison, Yale is at 46.1 percent and Penn at 46.8. Two stats that are related: The Big Green is the only team in the Ivy still looking for its first interception, and it has just one sack, on the Hail Mary at the end of the Penn game. This week is a good chance to change a lot, with the Merrimack starter completing just 52.8 percent of his throws.
6) The Yale game marked the first time this fall and just the fourth time in 34 career games that placekicker Owen Zalc was not called on to try a field goal. In the first quarter, Coach Sammy McCorkle decided to go for it on a fourth-and-six at the Yale 30 instead of trying a long field goal, and Saunier made the decision look good with a TD pass to Ky’Dric Fisher to make it 14-7. The only other realistic opportunity for Zalc came on a fourth down at the Yale 15 in the final quarter, but by then it was too late. The Big Green needed touchdowns, not field goals.
And you knew it was coming . . .
7) The Bulldogs have a large new banner on the Yale Bowl wall visible from the home side that reads:
FCS Football
Playoff Appearances
2025 – Second Round
It leaves more than enough room to add a few more dates. Entering the season, the thought in this electronic precinct was that Yale's defense was suspect and that the run game and receiving corps took too big hits for the Bulldogs to be considered the favorite. Holding Dartmouth to seven points speaks to the defense. A running back going for 174 yards on Saturday, and receivers catching 13 and eight passes for 147 and 95 yards paint a different picture than expected of the offense. Time will tell, but against Dartmouth, Yale looked like a team that will be in the championship picture until the end. The Big Green? It’s early and there's still a lot of work to do, but this week would be a good time to start getting back on track.