Dartmouth Big Green
Overall Rank: #38
#2 Ivy League
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Dartmouth returns a slew of playmakers from a team that went 6-1 in Ivy League play and 8-2 overall. The Big Green picked up a big early season win at Yale. Down 24-14 at the half, Dartmouth mounted a comeback to win 38-31. That win propelled Coach Buddy Teevens team to a strong year where their only conference loss came against undefeated Harvard. Once again Dartmouth will be competing with Harvard for the top spot in the league.
2014 Record: 8-2, 6-1
2014 Postseason: None
Coach: Buddy Teevens (66-82-2 at Dartmouth, 100-159-2 overall)
Offensive Coordinator: Keith Clark
Defensive Coordinator: Don Dobes
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Kyle Bramble, RB, 655 yards
Passing: Dalyn Williams, QB, 2,119 yards
Receiving: Ryan McManus, WR, 879 yards
Tackles: Will McNamara, LB, 87
Sacks: Folarin Orimolade, LB, 4.5
Interceptions: Troy Donahue, DB, 4
Other Key Returnees: WR Victor Williams, OL Jacob Flores, LB Zach Slafsky, DB Frankie Hernandez, CB Vernon Harris, DT A.J. Zuttah, DE Cody Fulleton, CB Chai Reece, K Alex Gakenheimer, P Ben Kepley
Key Losses: WR Bo Patterson, WR Kirby Schoenthaler, OL Scott Whitmore, OL Sean Ronan, DL Evan Chrustic, DB Stephen Dazzo
Strengths:
Dartmouth’s stout defense should keep them in every game. They allowed just 19.0 points per game, ranking second in the Ivy League and 19th in the FCS. And there are plenty of big names back to lead the defense. It starts up front with linemen A.J. Zuttah and Cody Fulleton. Those two eat up a lot of space and should be able to get more consistent pressure into the backfield than they did a year ago. The talent continues at linebacker. Will McNamara led the team with 87 tackles and is the leader of the entire defense. He will be flanked by Zach Slafsky and Folarin Orimolade. Slafsky tallied 61 tackles, while Orimolade is the pass rushing threat among the linebacker corps. In the secondary, Troy Donahue will lead the way after intercepting four passes in 2014. Vernon Harris was not far behind with three interceptions and he will step back into a starting role as well. Keep an eye on senior cornerback Chai Reece. He is turning into a very consistent cover man even if the numbers are not all that flashy.
Weaknesses:
The offense scored 31.3 points per game, which ranked third in the Ivy League. However, in the big games against the tough teams, most notably the loss to Harvard, it was the offense that struggled. Quarterback Dalyn Williams had a big year though, throwing for 2,119 yards and 21 touchdowns. Perhaps more impressively, Williams threw just three interceptions. Williams is also a dangerous rusher. He netted 444 yards on the ground and added six more scores. With dangerous receivers like Ryan McManus and Victor Williams, Dartmouth has a lot of hope to improve their passing offense that ranked fifth in the conference in 2014. The ground game revolves around Williams and running back Kyle Bramble. This team does need Bramble to establish a traditional run game in order to open things up for Williams both through the air and on the ground. Bramble is a talented back who rushed for 655 yards on the ground and caught 31 passes for 307 more yards. He reached the end zone ten times, but getting a few more yards on the ground will go a long way for this offense.
The Bottom Line:
Dartmouth heads to Harvard on Halloween and that is the game most Ivy fans will be looking forward to this season. But Dartmouth also hosts Yale a few weeks earlier and they certainly cannot look past that contest. The non-conference slate includes Georgetown, Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut State. Unlike the match-up against New Hampshire last year, all of these games are winnable. A 9-1 season looks very possible, but that would still keep Dartmouth behind Harvard in the conference pecking order.
Projected Postseason: None
2014 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 168.5 (53rd in nation, 3rd in conference)
Passing Offense: 248.1 (31, 5)
Total Offense: 416.6 (35, 3)
Scoring Offense: 31.3 (39, 3)
Rushing Defense: 142.4 (31, 4)
Pass Defense: 241.8 (91, 4)
Total Defense: 384.2 (60, 3)
Scoring Defense: 21.0 (19, 2)
Turnover Margin: 0.40 (34, 1)
Sacks: 1.70 (79, 5)
Sacks Allowed: 2.00 (55, 5)
Madness 2015 Recruit Rankings:
#87 Rivers Cahee
#163 Jake Moen
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