Football Gears up for 'Alamo' Battle at Dartmouth

Having dropped all of its three Ivy League games so far, Dartmouth football would require a perfect storm of events to have any shot at all at contending for the championship.

While the Big Green’s title hopes have been all but dashed, the reigning co-champion can still play an important role down the stretch—the role of spoiler.

Fueled by last year’s 14-13 defeat at Harvard Stadium, Dartmouth (3-3, 0-3 Ivy) will attempt to reverse its Ancient Eight fortunes and bump Harvard down in the standings when the Crimson (5-1, 3-0) visits Hanover, N.H. this weekend.

“I don’t want to harp too much on last year, but the way that ended for them, they’re definitely going to have a sour taste in their mouth,” captain Sean Ahern said. “The mentality right now is every game from here on out is the championship week.”

The thorn in the Big Green’s side against conference opponents has been the offense. In those three contests, Dartmouth has tallied an anemic 44 points. Even with a defense that ranks as above-average in the Ivy League, it is a tall task to win games with that offensive output, as evidenced by a 9-7 loss last week to Columbia.

However, it is possible the Big Green could rely almost entirely on its defense to put the first blemish on Harvard’s Ivy League record. Dartmouth has allowed the fewest total points of any Ivy League team in 2016, and Harvard has averaged only 23 points in its last three games.

In program history, Harvard has only lost six games when scoring 30 or more points. However, much like last year’s meeting between the Crimson and the Big Green, a low-scoring, defensive-dominated battle is more likely.

“The team we know we’re going to face is the team that has beaten three scholarship schools,” coach Tim Murphy said. “The team that beat a UNH team that’s undefeated in the CAA. The team that beat Towson that three years ago played in the national championship game.”

Injuries have plagued Harvard this season, specifically within the linebacker corps and the offensive line. This week’s faceoff against Dartmouth, combined with the Penn game looming in the near future, will define the Crimson’s season. Accordingly, Murphy cannot afford to hold many, if any, starters out of action.

“We’ve had a lot of linebackers go out, but it’s next man up,” Ahern said. “Get those guys ready to play, and you’re expected to do your job when you’re in there.”

Harvard’s injury list has grown shorter recently, and several key contributors are back in action. Sophomore wide receiver Justice Shelton-Mosley returned last week against Princeton and hauled in six catches for 82 yards. The Sacramento, Calif. native has yet to record a touchdown this year after finding the end zone six times last year, so he is due for a score or two in the coming weeks.

Senior quarterback Joe Viviano also took the field against the Tigers after sitting out for the Holy Cross game. Viviano uncharacteristically scuffled through this contest, as he was picked off three times and fumbled once. In his first four games, he did not turn the ball over a single time.

Princeton’s run defense severely curtailed Viviano, holding him to 19 yards on a staggering 23 carries, and the Big Green’s staunch defense could pose a similar threat to the Berwyn, Pa. native on Saturday. Look for the Crimson to run a lot of pass plays, especially with Shelton-Mosley’s reintegration into the offense and sophomore wide receiver Adam Scott’s breakout performance last week.

In the last 12 meetings between Harvard and Dartmouth, the Crimson has emerged victorious in each one. Harvard has a perfect record in its last 11 road trips to Hanover as well.

Though historical records and statistics from the current year would both point toward a Crimson triumph over the Big Green this week, the intangibles inherent in college football make this matchup as much of a toss-up as any this season.

“It’s homecoming,” Murphy said. “This is the biggest weekend on the calendar in Hanover N.H. every other year. It's going to be the Alamo for them.”

—Staff writer Jack Stockless can be reached at jackstockless@college.harvard.edu.