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PHILADELPHIA – Dartmouth College football has made a statement to open the Ivy League game.
The Big Green dominated their game against Pennsylvania in a 31-7 victory at Franklin Field on Friday night. It took Dartmouth 3-0 to start the 2021 campaign.
Some takeaways from the game:
■ Global domination: Outside of a big play for Penn in the first quarter – a lean post route that turned into a 73-yard gain and set up a seven-yard touchdown run on the next play – the Big Green n did not allow the Quakers to get anything Go.
Offensively, Penn only crossed the 50-yard line once again the rest of the game after the first big winner – and that time in Dartmouth territory was short-lived. Big Green’s fifth-year linebacker Tanner Cross intercepted Penn’s quarterback John Quinnelly just after the Quakers passed midfielder.
After the two 80-yard games, the Quakers only had 61 yards for the remainder of the game.
The Dartmouth defense was in charge all evening.
“We have guys putting pressure on the passer,” said head coach Buddy Teevens. “We did a really good job against the race. And (we had) bags and dispatches. We had a good game plan against them and we executed it well.
Offensively, Dartmouth’s play was on point for most of the game. He was tied 7-7 after the first quarter, and Dartmouth’s first touchdown was a big game against the special teams – a punt blocked by senior cornerback Robert Crockett III, who recovered and scored.
But despite no offensive points in the first half, Dartmouth’s game plan was taking shape. The Big Green aimed to control the ball and the clock and methodically tackle Penn’s defense. Dartmouth played 17 games to Penn’s eight in the first quarter.
That persistence paid off for the Big Green in the second quarter, when they scored 17 points to pull away.
Dartmouth was effective on the third down, converting 11 of 17 chances. Teevens said the offense got into good positions on the third down and prepared for success.
“We did a really good job not getting caught in the third and 10s, -12s, -15s. We had one early on, and the guys just chopped it off and took the first one, ”Teevens said. “(The success of the third down is) critical. It allows for balance. The short, controlled passing game, the inside run, the quarterback run – that makes defending that type of multiplicity difficult.”
It wasn’t a flawless game for Dartmouth, with the notable error being a fumble by junior quarterback Nick Howard on the goal line in the third quarter. But Penn hasn’t been able to sustain long drives or capitalize on the opportunities they’ve had.
Part of the reason for this, simply, was that Penn fought hard. Once the Big Green pulled away in the second quarter, the Quakers struggled to regain a foothold in the game. But Dartmouth has consistently positioned themselves to succeed on both sides of the ball.
Trench control: Earlier in the week, Teevens identified the offensive and defensive lines as particularly important areas against Penn.
The Big Green dominated the Quakers all over the court, but online gambling spearheaded this effort on both sides. The offensive line gave fifth-year quarterback Derek Kyler ample time to work for much of the game. And that paved the way for another great day on the pitch.
Dartmouth ran for 240 yards on 50 carries. There were no monster races but a lot of wins from four to seven yards and several pickups from 10 to 20 yards. The longest rushing play of the Big Green game was a 21-yard run by Howard.
Howard was Dartmouth’s leading running back, with 101 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns. Senior running back Zack Bair ran 91 yards for 13 yards.
Defensively, Dartmouth had two sacks and three quarters in a hurry. But the defensive line has swayed the game beyond the stats sheet, between blasting games and closing running lanes. Penn only ran 35 yards the entire game.
Cross attributed the strong overall defensive performance to the click as a complete unit.
“We were all on the same page,” he said. “It’s something that we preach throughout the week is ’11 is one. ‘ It starts up front, linebackers get the call from the guys up front, then they tackle the offensive line, linebackers read them, defensive backs block receivers. I think we were all on the line. same wavelength every game tonight. We only dropped one explosive piece. Other than that, we were able to stay together. ”
Teevens was happy with the way his team performed in the trenches.
“We’ve done a good job on both sides,” Teevens said. “(We) ran the ball for many yards, we protected the passer well and put pressure on his passer and limited his rushes. So I thought it was a good effort on the part of the offensive and defensive fronts.
Seth Tow can be contacted at [email protected].
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