Dartmouth Stuns No. 13/16 Harvard, 24-14

HANOVER, N.H. — Six days after claiming the top spot in the Ivy League with last week’s victory against Princeton, No. 13/16 Harvard handed that title to Dartmouth, falling 24-14 in a Friday night meltdown in which sophomore quarterback Charlie Smith threw a whopping five interceptions.

The Crimson (6-1, 3-1 Ivy League) never led the Big Green (4-3, 3-1), as the visitor went one-for-four on red zone opportunities, one-for-nine on third downs, and turned the ball over on downs twice.

“Ultimately, when games like this happen, where you don’t execute at the level you need to, and you don’t come ready to play at the level that you need to execute, that falls on me as a head coach,” head coach Andrew Aurich said. “It’s my job to make sure they come out here ready to play, and if they aren’t, there’s only one person to look at, and that’s right in the mirror.”

After a successful touchdown drive cut the deficit to seven at the end of the first half, Harvard’s five full offensive drives after the break produced two interceptions, a missed 32-yard field goal, and two turnovers on downs inside field goal range.

Dartmouth iced the game with a 13-play, seven-minute drive that resulted in a field goal with just over four minutes to go, forcing the Crimson to rely on a miracle to maintain its perfect record. That miracle never came, as Smith threw his fifth pick just two plays into the Crimson’s last-ditch drive to seal the upset.

“In those critical situations, Dartmouth did a really good job of executing, and we didn’t,” Aurich said. “We were in positions to continue drives, and you know, we didn’t make the play. We had a breakdown here, a breakdown there. If you wanna be a championship team, you gotta make those plays in those critical situations, and we didn’t.”

Even with star sophomore running back Myles Craddock sidelined with injury, the Big Green recorded 229 rushing yards and 4.1 yards per carry on a night where three different players had 13 or more attempts. Senior quarterback Grayson Saunier had a career-best rushing day with 20 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown.

Despite the loss, Harvard sophomore defensive back Xaden Benson had another historic performance, recording three interceptions for the second time this year. He is the player with multiple three-interception games in program history. Benson also now has a program-record nine interceptions, breaking a single-season mark that had stood since 1947.

“It was a great job,” Aurich said. “The defense did an unbelievable job in general in the second half, keeping us close enough that we can try to get back in it. It’s too bad that we had to waste [Benson’s] effort in a game like this.”

Crimson sophomore wide receiver Ryan Tattersall had a breakout game, catching six passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. Tattersall made a highlight-reel toe-tap catch and had a superb over-the-shoulder grab on a 38-yard score on back-to-back plays in the second quarter.

Standout freshman receiver Nate Bailey tallied six receptions, bringing his season total to 53, which is tied for ninth all-time in a single season.

Junior running back DJ Gordon had 14 rushes for 77 yards in his second game back from an injury that held him out for the first half of the season. Captain Xaviah Bascon added 49 rushing yards on seven carries, but Harvard’s turnovers through the air sealed its fate.

Smith — who entered the game with just four interceptions this season — went 23-for-37 for 277 yards and two touchdowns alongside his quintet of picks.

“I gotta watch the tape to see what happened on each one,” Aurich said. “Some of them weren’t necessarily bad decisions — they were tip balls that were freakishly tipped up and ended up in their hands.”

“I know Charlie; he’s going to bounce back,” the coach added. “He’s not going to let this get in his head or anything like that. And I’m really confident in his ability, and I know he’ll be better because of this, regardless of how ugly of a game it was for him.”

After allowing back-to-back first downs on the Big Green’s first two plays of the game, Harvard’s defense forced a punt which senior linebacker Sean Line got a hand on. The punt still netted 33 yards without an attempt at a return, positioning the Crimson at its own 21-yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage, Smith quickly fired towards Bailey in the right flat who had just run a buttonhook. Dartmouth senior defensive back Cameron Best-Alston made a perfect read to jump the passing lane and make a leaping pick, which likely would have been returned for a touchdown had he not tripped after landing.

Starting from the 18-yard line, the Big Green ran the ball six times in a row to set itself up with third-and-goal at the two. Saunier rushed left into the end zone to put Dartmouth on the board less than six minutes into the game.

After the first 15 plays of a drive that saw freshman quarterback Kise Flannery fumble a snap on fourth down but still manage to get outside and cross the first-down marker, Harvard faced third-and-goal from the four. Smith threw a pass short of the goal line to sophomore receiver Tafari Moe, but Moe bobbled the ball into the hands of sophomore linebacker Matthew Boydell, who returned the pass to the Big Green 39-yard line.

The Big Green marched down the field to set up first and goal at the two-yard line. The Crimson’s defense held firm, but the host elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal. Junior running back Dylan Elder received a shovel pass and fell forward across the goal line to extend Dartmouth’s lead to 14 with eleven minutes left in the half.

Facing a two-score deficit for the first time in his career, Smith connected with freshman receiver Henry Shoemaker twice for 40 yards. But after a first-down sack, dead-ball penalty, and failed double reverse play, Harvard was forced to punt from the Big Green’s 45-yard line. Sophomore punter Brian Checkley shanked the kick off the left side of his foot, and it sailed out of bounds just 10 yards downfield.

Two plays into the ensuing drive, Benson perfectly read the eyes of Saunier and calmly intercepted a quick pass to the left side of the field, returning the pick five yards to the Dartmouth 35-yard line.

Both plays of the Crimson’s subsequent drive were passes to Bailey. On the second, the rookie ran a smooth corner route out of the backfield, slipped behind Dartmouth’s secondary, and made an uncontested snag on the right side of the end zone for a 13-yard score, putting Harvard on the board.

The host responded with an 11-play drive that milked the clock and found the end zone, giving the Big Green a 21-7 lead with 1:47 to go in the half. More than half of those 11 plays were Saunier runs, and the signal caller’s 13 first-half rushes were more than any he had recorded in a full game this season.

The Crimson’s two-minute drill hummed downfield, gaining a first down on every play it ran. Immediately after a highlight-reel toe drag catch on the left sideline, Tattersall made a superb over-the-shoulder grab through pass interference 26 yards downfield. He managed to stay on his feet and sprinted 12 yards into the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown.

With a minute on the clock, Dartmouth attempted to have its own quick score, but the defense held firm. Harvard entered the halftime break set to receive the kickoff trailing by just seven despite its disastrous first 30 minutes.

Just five plays into the second half, a Smith pass over the middle was tipped into the air and intercepted by Best-Alston, setting up the Big Green at the Crimson’s 48-yard line.

Undeterred, Benson quickly snatched back possession four plays later. With plenty of time to throw, Saunier aired a ball 35 yards downfield, where Benson deftly nabbed his record-tying eighth pick of the season at the two-yard line.

Harvard’s offense was back on schedule on its next drive, moving 83 yards and setting up junior kicker Kieran Corr for a 32-yard chip shot. Corr shockingly pulled the kick left, breaking a seven-make streak and keeping the visitor’s deficit at seven with five minutes left to go in the third.

Dartmouth started the next drive with four straight runs. When Saunier finally looked to the air, his short pass was tipped into the air and intercepted by Benson, nabbing his program-record-breaking ninth interception of the season.

Back-to-back 16-yard runs by Bascon set the Crimson up in the red zone, but Harvard again faced fourth-and-goal from the five-yard line. This time, Aurich elected to go for it. Smith’s lob pass to the right side of the end zone was intercepted by Dartmouth junior defensive back No’Koi Maddox, forcing yet another Crimson red zone failure.

Maddox foolishly attempted to return the pick and was immediately tackled at the two-yard line. Harvard forced a quick three-and-out, and a friendly bounce on the punt gave the Crimson the ball at the Big Green’s 38-yard line.

But Harvard failed to move the chains, as back-to-back runs by Flannery were stuffed on third and fourth down. Dartmouth took over at its own 29-yard line with 11:39 to go and a chance to put the game away.

The Big Green marched down the field, rushing the ball 14 consecutive times for 53 yards. By the time Harvard finally got a stop, Dartmouth was set up for a short field goal that extended its lead to two scores with about four minutes to play.

Smith’s fifth interception came on a pass over the middle thrown well behind sophomore tight end Teigan Pelletier. The Big Green kept the ball on the ground, picking up a first down to burn more time off the clock and ensure that the Crimson would not have time to pull off a comeback.

After the loss, Harvard no longer controls its own destiny in the Ancient Eight, as Dartmouth moves into the conference lead and has a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Crimson if the teams tie with one loss at the end of the season.

“There’s still growth that needs to happen on offense, and it was evident today,” Aurich said. “But I know these guys will come ready to work, so we can continue to make improvements and grow so we can take advantage of these last couple of games.”

With an extra day of rest, Harvard will look to get back to winning ways next Saturday when it takes on Columbia in its final matchup of the season at Harvard Stadium. The Crimson will celebrate its graduating class on its Senior Day. The game will kick off at 1 p.m.

—Staff writer Connor Castañeda can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Maxwell P. Friedman can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Samuel S. Rudavsky can be reached at [email protected].