GAME FOUR, DARTMOUTH AT LEHIGH – Ivy League Title Contender Opens Their Season Against Patriot League Title Contender

BETHLEHEM, PA – Whenever a Patriot League football team plays an Ivy League football team in September, it’s always a strange, unique situation.

Because the Ivy League elects to play a ten game schedule without a bye week, the Patriot League team always has some games under their belt – and occasionally, injuries – while the Ivy League team is fresh, ready to hit someone in another helmet – and perhaps are not in mid-season synch.

No matter the idiosyncracy between the Patriot League and the Ivy League start times, one thing’s for sure – two teams that know how to win will be facing off in Murrary Goodman Stadium this weekend.

The Big Green (0-0, 0-0 Ivy) are playing their first game of the season, but they know plenty about how to win football games. That’s something then-Lehigh head football coach Kevin Cahill said three years ago, when his young, inexperiencd Mountain Hawk team went to play the Big Green up in Hanover, New Hampshire.

“They’re Dartmouth,” he said at the time “They’re always going to be tough… You’ve got to make sure you’re very sound. They’re going to make you drive the field, and they’re going to try to control the ball on offense, and you’ve got to be gap sound. They’re a really, really good very well coached team. They’ve always been a contender in the Ivy League. They’ve got a little bit of a dynasty going up there, and we’ve got to play really, really sharp.”

In 2026, under head coach Sammy McCorkle, Dartmouth is aiming for a fifth Ivy League title in the past seven years, going 21-9 over the last three years.

One of those wins was over a young, rebuilding football team from Bethlehem, a 34-17 game where the young Mountain Hawks were dominated on defense and special teams.

After Lehigh was gift-wrapped 10 points from a 95 yard scoop and score fumle recovery by DB Logan Jones and a fumble deep in Dartmouth territory set up a short field goal by PK Nick Garrido, the Dartmouth defense pushed around the your Lehigh offense and held them in the second half to 56 total yards.

For the Big Green, QB Dylan Cadwallader went 16-of-19 passing for 110 yards and a score, with RB Q Jones adding 99 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground. WR Seaan Williams had over 100 yards of returns, setting up short fields for Dartmouth and allowing them to have short, grinding drives. The Big Green executed 30 more offensive plays than the Mountain Hawks.

In his second football game as a Mountain Hawk, true freshman RB Luke Yoder led the team in rushing – 7 rushes. 19 yards.

I think Lehigh football learned a great many lessons from Dartmouth on that day on what a very good FCS football team needs to do to win football games – control the offensive and defensive lines, play physical, have great execution on special teams, control the flow of the game, and minimize mistakes.

And I think both teams will try to set that tone early on – to be the first to score, to win that battle of the trench, to overwhelm physically.

In that sense this could be a really good matchup of two physical teams that like to run the ball – even if we haven’t seen Dartmouth play a down of football yet.

And it’s not like Dartmouth has been asleep while waiting for the preseason to start – they’ve probably been watching film on Lehgh for weeks.

“We play three teams in the Top 25. Two of our non-conference opponents are Top 25 teams, and the other won its conference,” McCorkle said during Ivy League media day.  “If you want to reach the goals and the level you want to be at, you have to do that now. That’ll be our goal going into the preseason.”

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Both Lehigh and Dartmouth have quarterbacks that can run the ball and don’t shy from contact.

Lehigh QB Hayden Johnson through three games has 472 yards passing, 3 passing touchdowns, 156 yards rushing and two spectacular rushing touchdowns, one against Holy Cross and the other against William & Mary last week.

Senior Dartmouth QB Grayson Saunier (2,143 yards passing, 413 yards rushing, 11 TDs) is by far the most experienced QB Lehigh has faced so far, and like Johnson, is very much a dual threat that can take off at any time.

Both teams have running backs that are regarded very highly by their respective staffs.

Lehigh RB Luke Yoder through three games leads the FCS in rushing touchdowns (9), total touchdowns (10) and scoring (60 points) and ranks fourth in rushing yards (419). An early Walter Payton Award candidate, he’s clearly the focal point of every opposing defensive coordinator.

But Lehigh’s defense would be well served to watch out for Dartmouth RB Myles Craddock, who battled injuries after playing as a true freshman but finished strong, carrying the ball 12 times for 46 yards and a touchdown against Brown to close the season last year. Now a sophomore and presumably healthy, his physical running will be a test for the Lehigh defensive front.

Last season, Saunier and RB DJ Crowther were one of two rushing duos that had more than ten rushing touchdowns apiece – you can bet Dartmouth will be looking for similar production from Saunier and Craddock this season, starting this Saturday.

Both defenses have veteran players in their secondaries.

Rangy Lehigh DB Nick Peltekian returns for a fifth year in the secondary, and he also returns kicks. His leadership, as well as nabbing an interception and leading the team in tackles, is evident in a unit that is flying to the football and holding opponents to 10 total first half points in three games. He’s a preseason nominee for the Buck Buchanaan award.

But 6’0, 205 lb Dartmouth DB Harrison Keith is a returning all-American at the position, and he will undoubtedly be watched by NFL scouts as he takes the field for the first time on Saturday. Last season he had four interceptions (tied for the team lead) as well as 46 tackles and 4 pass break-ups.

It’s pretty remarkable how these two teams look so similar when you look closely, and for the last two years at least, both programs have done a lot of winning.

“They’re a good program and we know they’re gonna be well-coached. We know they’re gonna be big. We know they’re gonna be athletic and we know their quarterback’s back,” Nagy said. “So, he’s experienced and you know, I know they have a new coordinator on the defensive side of the ball and some new staff there. But you know, they’re probably gonna play the style of brand of football they do, where they want to run the ball. They want to take advantage of certain things and they’re gonna play sound. They’re gonna be physical and you know, we have to be up for that challenge. You know, we understand those pieces that we’re gonna face, while schematically, like I said, there’s gonna be some things that we have to figure out as the game goes along. But our preparation for the type of team we’re playing is no different than it was last week.”

Lehigh will need it, because the challenge Dartmouth will be for the Mountain Hawks might be their toughest challenge yet.

DARTMOUTH BIG GREEN (0-0) AT NO. 7 LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (3-0, 3-0 PL)
Murray Goodman Stadium, Bethlehem, PA, Saturday, Sept. 12th, 2:00 PM
LIVE STATS
BROADCAST (ESPN+): PxP – Marco Socci; Analyst – Mike Yadush
RADIO BROADCAST (Lehigh – Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM/1230AM): PxP – Matt Kerr; Analyst – Jim Guzzo; Sideline – Connor Brown