Dartmouth falters in opener
HANOVER -- Tailback Jordan McCord carried the ball 44 times for 212 yards and two touchdowns as visiting Colgate defeated Dartmouth, 34-15, Saturday in the season opener for the host Big Green at Memorial Field.
The Raiders improved to 3-0 by winning their 11th straight regular-season game.
Colgate's offense held on to the ball for nearly three quarters of the game (44:30) thanks to 63 rushes for 292 yards. Quarterback Greg Sullivan, besides rushing for 51 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 10 carries, completed 12 of 19 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown. Preseason All-America receiver Pat Simonds was held to just three catches for 64 yards and a score. As a team, the Raiders racked up 464 yards on 82 plays.
The Dartmouth offense had just one drive of longer than six plays, that being an 11-play drive late in the second quarter that led to a field goal. Of the Big Green's 11 possessions, seven ended in under one minute.The running game was held in check with 26 rushing yards, with sophomore Nick Schwieger carrying the ball on 14 of the16 attempts for 38 yards.
Senior quarterback Alex Jenny, who had 343 yards passing against Colgate a year ago, was held to less than half that total at 147 yards on 11 of 28 passing with one touchdown, a 57-yard bomb to sophomore Michael Reilly in the first quarter. Reilly led all receivers with four catches and 87 yards, including his first career score.
"We had our opportunities to make some plays today," Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens said, "But we missed too many assignments and that really cost us. We competed very well, but we cannot afford the mental mistakes if we want to beat a football team as good as Colgate."
Colgate got on the board first on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Sullivan to Simonds, capping a nine-play, 60-yard drive with 3:45 on the clock in the first quarter.
Jenny wasted no time in tying the score at seven on the first play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff with his bomb to Reilly.
In the second quarter, Colgate methodically marched 79 yards in 13 plays, culminating on a Sullivan 15-yard keeper. The extra point was blocked by sophomore defensive tackle Eddie Smith, however. The ball was scooped up by sophomore Shawn Abuhoff and he outran the Raiders to the opposite end of the field for a defensive two-point conversion, making the score 13-9 in favor of Colgate.
The Big Green tacked on three more points to close within a single point when their 63-yard drive stalled at the Raider 4, leading to a 21-yard field goal by sophomore Foley Schmidt.
Dartmouth took its only lead of the game at the outset of the second half. Abuhoff brought the kickoff back 42 yards to the Raider 28. Six plays later, Schmidt booted a 29-yard field goal for a 15-13 Big Green lead.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Colgate needed little more than four minutes to traverse the field. Sullivan pushed his way into the end zone from the 1 on third-and-goal for the go-ahead touchdown, and Colborne added the extra point for a five-point advantage at 20-15.
After just one play from scrimmage, Dartmouth found itself in Raider territory, but safety Vinnie Nicosia got to Jenny on a blitz before he could throw the ball, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Lamont Sonds at the Raider 48. That led to another Colgate touchdown, this time on a seven-yard run by McCord, pushing the Raider lead to 12.
Abuhoff nearly made it a one-possession game early in the fourth quarter when he broke free on a punt return. But punter Evan Goldszak, the last man to beat, was able to get just enough of Abuhoff's foot to trip him up after a 39-yard return. The Colgate defense was able to keep Dartmouth in check and force a punt.
The Big Green gained just 10 yards over the last 19 minutes of the game, and McCord sealed the Colgate victory with a 12-yard burst into the end zone with 4:56 to play.
Dartmouth faces a difficult task next Saturday as it travels to in-state rival New Hampshire (2-0), currently ranked among the top 10 in the FCS, for the Granite Bowl. Since 1979, UNH is 16-0-2 against the Big Green.
