Harvard seeks upset of perfect Dartmouth
Harvard still is alive in the Ivy League race, but in order to reach the top, the Crimson must beat undefeated and No. 24 Dartmouth on the road Saturday. The Big Green are 6-0, 3-0 in the conference, and will be celebrating Homecoming at Memorial Field in Hanover, N.H.
Dartmouth is the second straight ranked opponent for Harvard (3-3, 1-2), which played well in a 29-21 loss to No. 17 last week.
Dartmouth’s offense is led by sophomore quarterback Derek Kyler (81-of-106, 953 yards, eight TDs). Favorite targets include junior Drew Estrada (18 catches, 183 yards, TD), senior Drew Hunnicott (17-343, two TDs) and junior tight end Connor Rempel (four TDs). The ground game is keyed by senior Rashaad Cooper (309 rushing yards, three TDs).
“I mean it when I say that we’re going from the frying pan to the fire,’’ Harvard coach Tim Murphy said yesterday. “Dartmouth has no distinct weaknesses. They lead the FCS in pass completion percentage (76.4) and pass efficiency (181.18). They have a tremendous scoring attack (37.4 points per game), and I haven’t even gotten to the defense yet.’’
That Big Green defense leads the nation in yards allowed (246.5) per game and ranks second in points allowed (9.7). Last week, Dartmouth stifled Columbia, 28-12, behind a robust effort from senior defensive end Rocco Dileo, who had seven tackles (six solo) and three sacks en route to winning a Gold Helmet award.
“He’s a real leader for us, and he holds people accountable. He can be boisterous at practice, but he’s incredibly humble and was almost shy when I told him he had won the award,’’ Dartmouth assistant coach Curt Oberg said. “He’s pasioante about football. He has incredible speed. He is everything you want in a football player.”
Harvard never has lost at Dartmouth with Murphy at the helm.
Jumbo matchup
Tufts (5-1), which clinched its fourth consecutive winning season for the first time since 1988-91, travels to unbeaten Amherst (6-0) in a game that impacts the NESCAC standings. Tufts and Trinity (5-1) are tied for second behind the Mammoths.
“Everyone in this room knows how far we’ve come,’’ said Tufts coach Jay Civetti, who presented the week’s other Gold Helmet to junior linebacker Greg Holt.
Holt was steered to Tufts while playing for caoch DeChon Burns at Linfield Christian in Temecula, Calif.
“I was looking at Trinity, Princeton, Williams, the University of Utah, where my dad (Greg) played, and the University of San Diego. But I wanted to come to Boston and try something different,’’ Holt said. “It’s a great group of guys. Everyone has bought in to the culture. Everyone eyes the goal at the end of the tunnel.’’
Skyhawks improve
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