Overview:
Dartmouth Big Green won their first game of the season against the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, 27-20. Senior running back D.J. Crowther was the star of the game with 143 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. The Big Green's junior quarterback Grayson Saunier and defense clinched the victory in the fourth quarter. Dartmouth's offense struggled early on, but Crowther's sensational performance helped them produce points. The Big Green's defense also made key plays, including two interceptions and a decisive stop on UNH's final drive.
HANOVER — In a game that came down to the final possession, the Dartmouth Big Green took down their in-state rival, the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, 27-20, on Saturday afternoon at Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field to start their season in the win column.
Senior running back D.J. Crowther was sensational for Dartmouth, toting the rock for 143 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries.
“I was super excited for D.J. for his first game. I had a really good feeling he was going to have a game like this,” Dartmouth head coach Sammy McCorkle said of his standout running back, who appeared in seven games last season.
In the fourth quarter, it was the legs of the junior quarterback Grayson Saunier and the Big Green defense that clinched the victory against the Wildcats, who are now 2-2.
With 2:53 left in the game, Saunier scored the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard run, erasing a 20-19 UNH lead. Saunier then ran in the two-point conversion to give Dartmouth a 27-20 lead that the defense would not relinquish on UNH’s final drive.
“Just super proud of the way the guys battled the entire game,” said McCorkle. “Our guys did a good job on both sides of the ball. … But I think we did a good job of just staying in the game.”
Down 10 early in the second quarter, Dartmouth’s offense, which was piling up yardage, started to produce points. Saunier found sophomore wideout Luke Rives down the sideline, who made a nice grab and kept his feet in for a gain of 34 yards.
On the next play, Saunier kept the ball himself and rushed for 13 yards down to the Wildcats’ 5-yard line. Crowther punched the ball in the end zone two plays later from four yards out to score his team’s first touchdown of 2025.
But Dartmouth went into halftime trailing. UNH had stormed out to an early 10-0 lead, thanks to a turnover and some stiff defense.
The Big Green were driving on their initial possession, but with the ball on the Wildcats’ 28-yard line, Saunier made one of his few mistakes on the day. A pass attempt was intercepted by Wildcat linebacker Matthew Sopp, who returned it all the way to the Big Green’s 13-yard line.
“Made the wrong read, ball slipped out of my hand, you know it happens, but it’s about bouncing back,” said Saunier, who played last season but is QB1 for the first time at Dartmouth. “We’re going to make mistakes… But it’s not about dwelling on those mistakes, it’s about bouncing back and how can you capitalize the next drive.”
UNH sophomore quarterback Matt Vezza punched the ball in the end zone from a yard out to give his team a 7-0 lead after the successful point after.
The Wildcats next stymied a Big Green fourth-down attempt but had to settle for a 32-yard field goal to take an early 10-point lead.
The Wildcats looked poised to score with under two minutes remaining in the first half. But junior safety Harrison Keith made an outstanding diving interception, denying UNH’s offense and keeping the deficit to three points at the half.
The Big Green defensive momentum continued into the second half as they picked off Vezza again on the half’s opening possession.
Dartmouth’s offense, especially Crowther, made UNH pay for this turnover. Crowther would bulldoze his way through the Wildcats’ defense to score his second touchdown of the game from 16 yards out. Dartmouth held a 13-10 lead after a failed extra point attempt.
The Wildcats tied the game at 13-13 on a 52-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Nick Reed with less than three and a half minutes left in the third quarter.
The Big Green would get a touchdown on a 33-yard rush from Crowther, but the Big Green missed again on the point after.
The Wildcats answered with a 38-yard pass to wide receiver Chase Wilson and went in front 20-19, setting the stage for the game-winning heroics by Dartmouth.
Saunier led the 75-yard game-winning drive, scampering into the end zone from a yard out on a designed quarterback run up the middle for the lead. The Big Green called a similar play on the successful two-point conversion.
Following the touchdown, it was the Dartmouth defense’s turn to seal the win. On a Wildcat drive that included multiple fourth-down conversions and a pass interference penalty on Dartmouth, the Big Green defense finally had enough.
On fourth and three from the Big Green 23-yard line, senior defensive back Patrick Campbell made the decisive play. On a fourth down, Campbell jarred the ball loose as UNH tight end Peyton Strickland as he tried to make a catch.
“We tell guys all the time in a two-minute situation… in that situation the pressure is on the offense, not on us, and I think our guys have that mentality,” McCorkle said of his defense’s poise late. “We want to make them work for everything, and that last drive they had to work for every inch and use every down to get where they got.”
Saturday was an important test for Dartmouth with the Ivy League teams now eligible to compete in the FCS playoffs. Heading into the game, UNH was ranked 23rd in the most recent FCS Coaches Poll.
The FCS 24-team playoff features 11 automatic bids from conference champions, includign the Ivy Leage, and 13 at-large teams selected by the FCS Championship Committee.
“Three or four teams every single year in that conference can compete, make a run, there’s no doubt about it,” UNH Head Coach Rick Santos said of the Ivy League’s chances in the FCS playoffs.
Dartmouth will take to the road next Saturday to face Central Connecticut State at noon in New Britain, Conn.
