We have all been here before
We have all been here before
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young /Déjà Vu
BGA (Nov. 22) – Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle can be excused if the CSNY anthem popped into his head at some point in the run-up to The Tussle against Brown.
Even if it didn't, it's a fitting theme for Saturday's game, and not just because for the second year in a row the season-ending contest has championship implications.
It's also fitting because the Bears (3-6, 2-4 Ivy League) have several striking similarities to the Cornell team that dealt the Big Green’s title hopes a damaging blow just last week.
Brown, like Cornell, has a strong-armed, veteran quarterback who not only can cause headaches with his arm, but is adept at keeping plays alive with his feet. In fact, fifth-year senior Jake Willcox leads the Ivy League in passing yards (2,384) and completions (232) and is just ahead of Big Red standout Jameson Wang in both categories. Among the full-time Ivy League quarterbacks Willcox trails only Wang in yards rushing.
For the second week in a row Dartmouth will face a red-hot receiver in Brown’s Mark Mahoney. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound fifth-year senior is fifth in the league in catches, and while he doesn’t have as many receptions as Cornell’s Samuel Musungu, he’s averaging more yards per grab. In last week's loss to Columbia he caught 12 passes for 120 yards, and on the season he has 44 catches for 539 yards and five touchdowns.
Like Cornell, Brown has a precocious young running back. Big Red soph Ean Pope ran for 111 yards against Dartmouth last week to boost his season total to 480 yards. Brown’s Matt Childs is the leading rusher among Ivy League freshmen with 361 yards this fall, twice earning Ivy rookie of the week honors.
So does McCorkle really see offensive similarities between Cornell and Brown?
“Oh yeah,” said the second-year head coach, whose Big Green (7-2, 4-2) needs a victory over the Bears and Yale to win at Harvard to grab a share of the Ivy League title. “Brown’s dangerous. They do a lot of good things. The quarterback can throw the ball and he does a heck of a job getting around, keeping plays alive. Teams that can do that are dangerous.
“They’ve got a big target outside in (Mahoney). He’s a mismatch. He’s so big it’s hard to get a body on him. He’s definitely a guy where they can put the ball in the air and he’ll go get it.”
While Willcox has completed 70.2 percent of his passes over the last four games, not all of his numbers this year are good. Surprisingly for a fifth-year senior, he has thrown one more interception this fall (12) than touchdown passes (11).
McCorkle would like to see that trend continue.
“Even if we are assignment sound and in the right position, he’s going to make some plays,” the coach admitted. “But if we are in the right position and he happens to be off a little, we have to make the most of that opportunity. We’ve got to jump all over that.”
The Bears have suffered 14 turnovers in their last five games after having just four giveaways in the first four games. They are 110th nationally in turnover margin.
Brown’s running game hasn’t been as prolific as its pass game, but its 138.3 yard average isn’t all that dissimilar to the 141.5 Cornell was averaging before outrushing Dartmouth, 175-60 last week.
In addition to the first-year back Childs, the Bears rely on Stockton Owen (323 yards), Willcox (299 yards) Jordan Delucia (158 yards) to move the ball on the ground.
“They do it by committee, but they can run the ball,” said McCorkle. “And they are big up front. Their offensive line does a good job.”
While the Brown offense under coach James Perry continues to be effective, the defense has faced challenges this fall, as it has most seasons since he returned to Providence in 2019. But after Dartmouth's uneven offensive performance last week – notwithstanding having three interceptions – McCorkle is wary of Brown's defense.
“They're sound,” he said. “I know they do a good job of being in the right spots and they force you to have to really earn it. They force you to try to find the open spots and they do a good job of doing their responsibilities. You've got to be assignment sound against them and you've got to make sure you're in the right spots because they're going to force you to be perfect.”
A Dartmouth team that had largely avoided turnovers before last week suffered three interceptions and a fumble that turned into a scoop-and-score against Cornell. That’s one of the areas McCorkle wants to see improve against Brown.
“We can't hurt ourselves,” he said. “We can't turn the ball over. We can't have negative yards. We can't allow big plays. We can’t have penalties and help them with field position. All those are the things that we have to control. Don't give anything to them and make them earn it.
Given last week’s 39-22 loss to a Cornell team not all that dissimilar to Brown, McCorkle was looking for the Big Green to have a strong week of practice, and to hear him tell it, that’s what he's seen.
“It might have been the best Sunday practice we had all year,” he said. “The energy, the focus, the ‘want to get out here and get going’ was great. I was very impressed. It’s been a good week.”
Is it possible last week's loss to a Cornell team not all that different from Brown might actually have paid dividends heading into the season finale?
“Oh yeah. No doubt about it,” said McCorkle. “It's a lesson learned. You have to understand bad things are going to happen sometimes. I felt like we pressed a little bit last week, in certain situations. We can’t do that.
“It’s, ‘Don't panic, just take a deep breath and forget about it. Let's move on.’ That's what we've done this week.”
The week was capped with Thursday’s final full practice of the season featuring the usual traditions like the trading of uniform numbers, starting QB Jackson Proctor being carried off the field, and the awarding of the Hard Nose Award to Kyle Brown and Nick Marinaro. The session was held on the artificial turf of rainy Buddy Teevens Stadium instead of in the dry confines of the indoor practice facility.
“I looked at the weather forecast and this mirrors what Saturday could be like,” said McCorkle after the soggy session. “I mean, we haven’t really had a chance to be out in weather like this all year, even in the preseason. So this was a good opportunity.
“I wanted the guys to get a feel for it. It was, ‘Now you know what it’s like.’ It won’t be something new on Saturday. They handled it well. We’re the men of the North Woods. They came out with great energy and seemed to be excited about being out here.”
NOTES
Per McCorkle, there will be no PA announcements about what is happening in The Game at Harvard and scores from the contest will not be flashed on the scoreboard. … Although Brown has just two Ivy League wins this fall, the first was a big one, a 31-28 victory over Harvard in the conference opener. The Bears also have a 23-21 win over Cornell.
Brown has been outscored in the fist quarter this fall, 89-35. Opponents have a slim, 12-point advantage in the second quarter but Brown has won the second half, 132-119. … The Bears are ninth in the FCS with 282.6 yards per game through the air. … Willcox is second in Brown history in passing yards with 7,100. The only player ahead of him? His coach, James Perry, who threw for 9,294 yards between 1997 and 1999.
This is the sixth time Dartmouth and Brown have closed the season against each other since the schedule was reworked The Big Green has won each of the previous five and six in a row in total. Of those six, only the 29-23 win in Providence was close. Dartmouth won the others by 42, 25 23, 23 and 21 points. … Q Jones ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns in the Big Green’s 38-13 win last year in Providence. Jackson Proctor had 103 yards and one touchdown on just five carries, including one for 78 yards. Nick Howard added 90 yards and DJ Crowther 47 as Dartmouth ran for 392 yards on 49 carries. ... Willcox was 20-of-37 for 198 yards with one touchdown and one interception against Dartmouth last fall. He was sacked five times.
With last year’s win the Big Green has doubled up Brown in the all-time series, leading it 64-32-4. A victory over the Bears would give Dartmouth eight or more wins for the fifth time in the past eight seasons and at least five Ivy League wins for the fourth time in five seasons.
Editor's Note: Be sure to read the story from last fall (below or HERE) to get a feel for what championship Saturday may feel like.
