Dartmouth outmatches Princeton on senior day

Déjà vu brought fans at Princeton Stadium back to Homecoming one month prior. On that October Saturday, Princeton football (5-5 overall, 4-3 Ivy League) faced a Crimson onslaught and emerged battered and defeated 49-7. This past Saturday, Dartmouth (8-2, 6-1) came to town and, with a similarly overwhelming performance, topped the Tigers by a score of 41-10.

This marks the fifth straight time Princeton has lost this season finale matchup. Additionally, the Big Green extended its slight all-time series lead to 47-43-4. With the win, the Hanover, N.H., side earned sole possession of second place in the Ivy League. Harvard edged out a 31-24 win over Yale in Cambridge, Mass., to finish its undefeated championship season.

On a chilly Powers Field, the first two drives of the day appeared to herald an engaging contest between capable opponents. Dartmouth’s Bo Patterson torched senior cornerback Jakobi Johnson on the game’s fourth play, catching a pass in stride from quarterback Dalyn Williams and finding pay dirt for a 58-yard score.

Tandem senior quarterbacks Connor Michelsen and Quinn Epperly responded with an 11-play, 44-yard drive that set up a field goal attempt for junior placekicker Nolan Bieck. Bieck, who has converted 13 of 14 three-point attempts, drilled the long 46-yarder through the uprights to cut Dartmouth’s lead to 7-3.

Just under 10 minutes remained in the first quarter. After this point, offensive production became decidedly one-sided. Williams, perhaps the Ivy League’s top signal caller this past season, played a near-perfect game. The junior completed 30 of 35 passes, including four touchdowns while totaling 305 yards through the air.

Not only was Williams precise, but his receivers ran rampant in Princeton’s secondary, regularly finding open space over the top of the defensive backs. The Tigers’ usually stout run defense allowed Dartmouth ball-carriers 4.3 yards per attempt, marking only the third time this year they surrendered a rushing average above 3.0.

The Orange and Black attack, meanwhile, accrued 103 yards rushing and only 125 yards passing. This lack of aerial production marks Princeton’s lowest total since a season opening loss to Lehigh in 2012. Under 10 minutes remained when the home team finally found the end zone, thanks to a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Joe Rhattigan. At this point, however, the game was far out of reach, with Dartmouth having tallied 28 straight points.

Inefficient passing from Michelsen and Epperly proved devastating. The duo managed to complete just over 50 percent of their passes, as this week’s 22-40 ratio of completions to attempts echoed last week’s similarly unimpressive 28-51.

Postgame, head coach Bob Surace ’90expressed disappointment at his respective lines' performance against a Dartmouth squad that is known to be physical.

“The bottom line was that we lost the line of scrimmage today,” Surace said. “That’s very disheartening.”

Sophomore defensive lineman Tyler Desiré expressed a similar sentiment, noting that the graduation of impact players and leaders left holes his team hadn't been quite ready to fill. As a result, Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth were all able to establish superior physicality over Princeton’s lines. Center Joe Goss and defensive tackle Caraun Reid would be considered foremost among those standouts from the Class of 2014.

“We need to realize that we aren’t the team we were last year up front,” Desiré said. “We can’t ride on other people’s coattails.”

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An imbalance of explosive plays greatly reduced the Tigers’ ability to stay competitive. The single largest gain by Princeton’s offense came on a 21 completion from Michelsen to senior wide receiver Matt Costello. Sophomore running backs A.J. Glass and Rhattigan managed runs of 16 and 20 yards. But these gains paled in comparison to receptions of 42 and 58 yards from Dartmouth’s Patterson and Ryan McManus and a 61-yard scamper from tailback Brian Grove.

On the whole, it is difficult to glean any positives for Princeton from Saturday’s loss. Field position remained decidedly in Dartmouth’s favor throughout the contest. Time of possession was utterly lopsided, with the Big Green holding the ball for 37:56 of the game’s 60 minutes.

Dartmouth’s defense made a point of not falling for what Big Green head coach Buddy Teevens called “smoke and mirrors.” The novelty of two- and three-quarterback sets allowed Princeton to catch its opponents off-guard in last year’s prolific performance. In 2014, disciplined defenses held firm in the face of reverse passes, throwbacks and the like.

This season-ending loss will sting, especially in light of the uphill battle Princeton will face to rebuild a team capable of competing at the top of the Ivy League table. 2015’s campaign will feature neither Epperly nor Michelsen. It remains unclear who will replace the production of senior wide receivers Connor Kelley and Costello. Sophomore signal caller Chad Kanoff waits in the wings.

A year of experience will greatly benefit Princeton’s defense, which, with nearly all of its starters returning, will have to account for an uncertain offense in 2015.

The Ivy League remains a competitive conference. Year-to-year, excellence is far from guaranteed. In collegiate football, as in nature, teams must constantly adapt or otherwise see their fortunes rapidly recede.

Postgame, Surace recalled a quotation from legendary men’s basketball coach Pete Carril: “First place or no place. There’s nothing in between.”