Dartmouth Notes

The Bulldogs fell to the Big Green in a heartbreaker on Saturday in a 16-17 loss as the Curse of Buddy Teevens lives on. Yale is now 1-1 in Ivy League play (2-2 overall) and will likely need to win all its remaining Ivy League contests for a shot at the title and playoffs.

The offensive performance simply wasn’t good enough to beat a solid Ivy League opponent. What was once viewed as a team strength—the offensive line—has become a liability, with freshmen forced into action due to injuries and costly holding penalties piling up. Quarterback Dante Reno completed just 59.4% of his passes and struggled badly with accuracy throughout the game. The offense still lacks a cohesive plan to consistently move the ball and generate points. To their credit, the coaching staff appeared to adjust with some quick-hitting play calls to help Reno, but his errant short throws derailed those efforts. Running backs Pitsenberger and Daal ran hard and found space when available, combining for 147 rushing yards on the afternoon. Brown was outstanding, hauling in eight receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown—helped in part by Shipp’s absence, which opened up more targets. Santiago and Stephens made key contributions when called upon, while Smith’s clutch touchdown on a Tim Tebow-style jump pass from Reno provided one of the few bright moments of the day. The play calls on two fourth down conversion attempts could not have been worse with a predictable Pitsenberger run and a poorly designed passing play. A field goal on one of the fourth down attempts could have proven to be the difference in the contest. Coach Reno clearly did not learn from his mistakes last season against Dartmouth.

The defense played disciplined, effective football for three quarters before things unraveled in the fourth. Ayo-Durojaiye turned in another outstanding performance, leading the team with 13 tackles. Kamara was his usual high-energy self, flying around the field but drawing a pass interference penalty. Larry delivered his best game of the season, recording two sacks, including a strip-sack that gave the team a critical spark. Unfortunately, the unit’s weakest link proved to be Phoenix Grant, whose back-to-back mistakes were costly. He was flagged for a personal foul after striking Saunier on a play that had resulted in a Kamara interception—his second personal foul of the day following a late hit out of bounds earlier in the game. On the very next snap, Grant failed to shed a block as Saunier broke free for a 37-yard touchdown run. Despite those setbacks, the defense still had an opportunity to close out the win, but the secondary was picked apart late, allowing Dartmouth just enough yardage to set up and convert the game-winning 51-yard field goal.

Conforti nailed his only field goal attempt from 41 yards while Keeney had a quiet day punting just 3 times for an average of 36.0 yards. Piper’s failed PAT after what should have been a game-winning drive was the final nail in the coffin on a day we’d all like to forget.