Valley News – After a thrilling OT win, the undefeated Big Green will face Central Connecticut State on Saturday

A few days removed from overseeing the greatest comeback in program history, Dartmouth College football coach Sammy McCorkle joked that he was pleased to be on the right side of history in last Saturday's 44-43 overtime victory over Yale .

The second-year coach still remembers the infamous “Choke at Doak” on Nov. 26, 1994, when he was playing junior free safety for Steve Spurrier at Florida.

Hosting reigning national champion No. 7 Florida State, Spurrier's No. 4-ranked Gators held a 31-3 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Seminoles scored 28 unanswered points and tied the score at 31-31 with under two minutes to play.

The game between two of the sport's bitterest rivals ended in a draw.

“It felt like a loss,” McCorkle said of the rivalry game on a Zoom call with reporters Wednesday.

As the 30th anniversary of a result that still haunts the Gator faithful approached, McCorkle helped engineer an even more remarkable Big Green turnaround at the Yale Bowl.

McCorkle said that sophomore quarterback Grayson Saunier, struggling from a 37-16 deficit early in the fourth quarter, provided “comfort, confidence and composure” to calm the team on both sides of the ball and pave the way for the comeback -Victory paved the way.

“It was good to finally be on the other end,” McCorkle said. “(I've) never been a part of anything like this before, but it was obviously exciting and we're lucky to be on the winning side.” It was definitely a testament to the tenacity of our team and the way we just kept fighting have. I can’t say how proud I am of the boys.”

But now it's a new week, a new opponent, so it's time to “clear yourselves completely and move on to the next one.”

Dartmouth, which has a 4-0 record and a 2-0 start in the Ivy League, finds itself ranked No. 22 and No. 24, respectively, in the latest edition of the Stats Perform FCS and AFCA FCS Coaches polls.

The Big Green will look to maintain their perfect record when they host Central Connecticut State (3-3) in their final non-conference game of the season.

Two of the Blue Devils' three losses have come against FBS opponents, while the third was a narrow 23-22 loss to Yale just two weeks ago.

“They play hard, they play fast,” McCorkle said of CCSU. “They are trained very well in all phases. … Our players, our staff, we all know this is going to be a big challenge for us and we just have to prepare for it every day. And we know that we have to prepare for a game that lasts more than 60 minutes on Saturday.”

Here are three storylines to keep an eye on before kickoff:

Another week, another dynamic running back

After the 16-14 win at Merrimack, senior defensive end Ejike Adele suggested that Warriors running back Jermaine Corbett was “one of the better running backs” Dartmouth would see this season.

Adele may be right, but the Big Green defense will have to deal with another dynamic rusher for another week.

This time it's Elijah Howard from the Blue Devils.

Howard, a former three-star recruit from Tennessee, played cornerback for Virginia Tech for two years before transferring to CCSU. His 119.5 all-purpose yards in 2023 ranked 19th in the FCS en route to second-team All-NEC honors.

In six games this season, Howard has surpassed the 100-yard mark three times, including 108 rushing yards against Yale. He also set season highs in receptions (5) and receiving yards (68) against the Bulldogs.

McCorkle said the Big Green has its “hands full” preparing for Howard, who can exploit gaps created by the Blue Devil offensive line and be a threat out of the backfield.

Dartmouth's run defense, which held Yale to just 3.0 yards per carry, ranks 22nd in the FCS in rushing defense and allows opponents 116.7 yards per game on the ground.

“There’s a reason he went to Virginia Tech,” McCorkle said of Howard. “He is a very talented running back and does a very good job. Once again you think, 'Oh, we probably played the best guy we're going to see all year.' The next week you have another one and the next week you have another one. So here we go again.”

Which team will win the turnover battle?

CCSU ranks ninth in the FCS with 14 turnovers recovered – the Blue Devils recovered nine fumbles and had five interceptions. Dartmouth, meanwhile, ranks last in the nation in statistics with just two NCAA turnovers.

“They do a very good job of swarming to the ball and trying to knock the ball loose,” McCorkle said of the Blue Devils defense. “They go in groups, which gives them the ability to force fumbles.”

However, Dartmouth's offense has done a good job in four games this season, turning the football over just three times. That mark ranks fifth nationally, while CCSU is among a group of teams ranked 87th nationally with 10 turnovers.

An unstoppable force meets an immovable object Saturday at Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field.

Will offensive coordinator Kevin Daft's unit keep turnovers to a minimum again, or will CCSU's defense cause problems for another opponent?

But perhaps most crucial to Dartmouth's success: Can its defense finally capitalize on its opportunities to force turnovers?

“You can’t rely on the offense to maintain control and it becomes a back-and-forth game,” senior linebacker Braden Mullen said after the Yale win. “We have to make things happen, we have to generate sales…

“We've got to hit balls down, hit balls up, force fumbles, fall on them and then hold on to the ball when we get it.” That's really one thing I think we should focus on going forward: That Not to make the football game too complicated. Chase people, chase the ball and really take advantage of the opportunities we have.”

Dartmouth's quarterback situation

Senior starting quarterback Jackson Proctor, who sat out against Yale with an unspecified injury, remains “day-to-day,” McCorkle said.

McCorkle said the offense will continue to focus on Proctor, Saunier and sophomore Woods Ray ahead of Saturday's game, with the expectation that any quarterback in the Big Green quarterback trio should be ready to play against the Blue Devils .

Ray was given the starting job last Saturday before being replaced early in the second quarter by Saunier, who took advantage of the opportunity and totaled 360 yards of offense and five touchdowns.

If Proctor can play, expect the Kent, Washington native to be in the starting lineup. If Proctor misses a second straight week, it remains to be seen whether Saunier's performance was enough to shift the pecking order on the quarterback depth chart.

But if Saturday was any indication – McCorkle said after the game that he expected to play both Ray and Saunier in the game and ultimately play with the “hot hand” – one could assume both quarterbacks in the second Lead Dartmouth's offense against CCSU this year.

Alex Cervantes can be reached at [email protected] or 603-727-7302.