Valley News – Special teams failure is the only thing keeping Harvard from going undefeated like Dartmouth

Let’s rewind to the end of September.

That same day, sophomore kicker Owen Zalc's heroics helped Dartmouth escape North Andover, Massachusetts, with a 16-14 victory over Merrimack, and Harvard kicker Kieran Corr lined up on the right side for a normal 27-yarder -Field goal. With 45 seconds remaining in the Crimson's game against Brown, it was reasonable to expect Corr to suppress the chip shot, giving Harvard a 31-23 lead and likely the win.

Except Corr never had the chance to stand up to it.

The snapshot flew over the head of Crimson owner Sebastien Tasko. Harvard's two special teams players picked up the loose ball, a horde of brown jerseys hot on his heels. When Corr tried unsuccessfully to jump on the ball near midfield, the Bears' Nick Hudson picked him up.

Tasko's subsequent full-length slash to Hudson's ankle sent the Brown defender stumbling. As Hudson fell to the turf, it appeared he was trying to pass the ball sideways to his teammate, but failed. Instead, the ball bounced down the field and through the hands of players on both teams before Hudson picked it up again and was eventually tackled inside Harvard's 30-yard line.

The Bears needed just one play to score the game-winning touchdown, handing Harvard its first and only loss of the 2024 season.

Which brings us to the present. The No. 22 Big Green, who hold a 6-0 record for the first time since 2019, will host the Crimson, winners of four straight games, for homecoming weekend at Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Had it not been for that late and disastrous special teams error in Providence, Rhode Island, it's safe to assume that this Week 7 clash could have, should have been, or should have been a game between the two undefeated Ivy League players. Fans in Hanover will simply have to settle for a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup this weekend, an afternoon duel between the top two teams in the Ivy League standings.

Here are three storylines to keep an eye on before the game:

Harvard offense “firing on all cylinders”: According to coach Sammy McCorkle, limiting explosive plays and maintaining good assignments have been and continue to be key to Dartmouth's defensive success this season. Excluding the 44-43 shootout at Yale in mid-October, defensive coordinator Don Dobes' unit held opponents to 21 points or fewer in the Big Green's other five wins.

Of course, this group, which ranks third in the Ivy in scoring defense and pass defense, will need to deliver another strong performance against the conference's highest-scoring offense this season at Harvard.

Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig ranks second in the FCS in pass efficiency rating (185.1) and has thrown 17 touchdowns, the most in the league, with just two interceptions. He is tied for eight of those points with his favorite target, Cooper Barkate, the Ivy all-time leader in receiving yards and touchdowns.

McCorkle believes Craig has “gotten better with each game” and praises the sophomore's ability to lead the Crimson offense, a unit that is “firing on all cylinders” heading into Saturday's game.

“They do a very good job of mixing things up,” McCorkle said of the Harvard offense. “They get a lot of players involved offensively. This puts a lot of pressure on you defensively. …We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot. We can't give them easy plays. We have to make them work for everything and that is our plan for the future.”

Expect penalties, or lack thereof, to play a role: Dartmouth was penalized eight times for 77 yards in the second half of its 24-21 win over Columbia last Saturday.

The game never felt as close as the score would suggest, but the Big Green flirted with disaster in the final minutes of regulation time and almost allowed the Lions one because of those penalties, which came in the form of unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike behavior Comeback victory Behavior and rude shouts at passers-by. After nine penalties against Columbia, Dartmouth remains the Ivies' most vulnerable team, averaging nine penalties per game and 68.7 penalty yards per game.

Harvard ranks first nationally with the fewest penalties (16) and fewest penalties per game (2.67), and second in the FCS with fewest penalty yards per game (27.5).

McCorkle has talked ad nauseam at times this season about his team's penchant for penalties. This week is no different.

“You just can’t let them keep going offensively,” McCorkle said of the Crimson. “They have a good offense and the last thing you want is for them to continue to have the ball. And then of course you can't give in to their defense. You shouldn't put yourself in a long yard situation because they are a very good defense that can hurt you in the process.

“So we have to keep it clean. We have to do everything we can to make sure we play a clean game and don’t give them easy opportunities on both sides of the ball and on special teams.”

Will it be a close fight on Saturday? Recent history and current play suggest: This weekend's Dartmouth-Harvard meeting in Hanover marks the 24th meeting between the two storied programs this century. The Big Green only won four of those games; However, three of these victories have come in the last five meetings.

Eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams, dating back to 2013, have been decided by eight points or fewer, consistent with Dartmouth's most recent one-point games this fall. Since a 45-13 loss to a weakened Fordham squad in the season opener, McCorkle's squad has won each of its last five games by no more than four points.

“A tough win,” McCorkle said. “We have worked on many different scenarios in practice; we talk about it all the time; We're talking about keeping your composure and playing until the end. …You want to get into a situation where you say, 'Hey, you have a chance to wrap this up or finish this thing.' Do it.' And luckily we were.”

Harvard doesn't seem to share the Big Green's enthusiasm for winning close contests, at least not to the same extent. The Crimsons' average margin of victory in their five wins is 18.2 points, although their two non-conference triumphs – home wins over then-No. 16 New Hampshire and Holy Cross – came by five points or fewer. Harvard's two wins over Ancient Eight opponents, convincing victories over Cornell and Princeton, yielded 18 and 32 points, respectively.

Will Dartmouth play another game within its four-point lead, or will Harvard's success at the Ivies in October carry over into November? It's anyone's guess.

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