One of the most unpredictable Ivy League seasons in a long time lived up to that billing yesterday. Here's how games featuring Dartmouth opponents went down:
Princeton 21, Harvard 14
The Tigers held Ivy League rushing leader Charles DePrima to 10 yards rushing and picked him off three times while handing the Crimson their first loss of the season. Blake Stenstrom completed 21-of-36 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers, including a 10-yarder to Connor Hulstein with 1:28 to play that broke a 14-14 tie. The back-and-forth affair saw Princeton take a 14-0 halftime lead and the Crimson tie the game with a pair of 10-play touchdown drives in the third and fourth quarters. A Princeton punt that pinned Harvard at its three and a strong defensive series forcing a punt gave the Tigers take possession at the plus 45 and set the stage for Stenstrom’s winning touchdown pass. With the loss Harvard slipped to 5-1 and 2-1 in the Ivies while Princeton is now 3-2 and 2-1. Looking on was a Homecoming crowd of 8,345 at Princeton Stadium.
Cornell 36, Brown 14
Winless in the three weeks since upsetting Yale in New Haven, the Big Red rebounded with a solid victory as quarterback Jameson Wang outplayed Brown counterpart Jake Willcox. Wang finished 27-for-39 for 330 yards with two touchdowns while Willcox was 19-of-39 with two TDs but three interception. Cornell led 7-0 after one quarter, 20-0 at the half and by 33-0 midway through the third quarter. Brown finally got on the board with a couple of long TD throws from Willcox late in the third quarter but the Big Red slammed the door in the final period, making sure with a 13-play drive that drained 8:18 off the clock before closing the scoring on a 42-yard field goal. The game drew 3,612 to Schoellkopf Field.
Penn 27, Yale 17
There are five teams tied atop the Ivy League standings with four games remaining and Yale, the overwhelming preseason favorite to win the title, isn’t one of them. Penn quarterback Aidan Sayin completed 33-of-48 passes for 364 yards and two touchdowns to drop the Bulldogs to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the Ivy League. The Quakers improved to 5-1 and 2-1. Yale took a 14-10 lead midway through the second quarter on the second of two short touchdown passes from Nolan Grooms, but Penn outscored the home team 17-3 the rest of the way. Jared Richardson had a huge day for Penn with 17 catches for 191 yards and one touchdown. There were 3,817 at Yale Bowl.
Colgate 28, Georgetown 18
The Raiders (3-4, 1-1 Patriot League) took the lead on a 59-yard interception return for a touchdown and never looked back in winning for the third time in a row. Georgetown (4-4, 2-1) quarterback Tyler Knoop threw for 353 yards but suffered three interceptions and was sacked four times in front of 3,137 in Washington, D.c.. Zach Osborne, who quarterbacked Colgate to a win over Dartmouth a week earlier, completed 8-of-12 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown before being knocked out of the game in the second quarter and being replaced by the team’s third-string QB. Colgate scored all 28 points in the first half.
The usual suspects stepped up for UNH as Max Brosmer passed for 335 yards and four touchdowns and Dylan Laube collected 149 all-purpose yards (57 receiving with one TD, 42 rushing with one TD, 50 on punt returns). New Hampshire won its second straight to improve to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the CAA. A crowd of 7,739 on Long Island saw SBU fall to 0-7 overall and 0-5 in the conference.
Lehigh 27, Bucknell 18
The Mountain Hawks (2-6, 1-2 Patriot) jumped out to a 20-0 lead before Bucknell (2-5, 0-3) took advantage of a fumbled punt to kick a 35-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. Lehigh stretched its lead to 27-3 with 4:17 remaining in the game before Bucknell got its first touchdown of the game when Josh Gary thrilled the 966 in Lewisburg with an 88-yard kickoff return. The Bison added a second touchdown with 37 seconds remaining.
#
EXTRA POINT
If you've been in these parts recently you know it has not been much of a foliage season. People who (think they) know about such things are blaming all the rain this year. Although the colors have been muted and the reds have been lacking, the view behind our Vermont hillside home this morning is pretty nonetheless. The still bright green grass certainly helps set off what colors there are in the remaining leaves.
