Date & Time: Saturday, October 9, 2021 – 1:30 p.m. ET
Location: Hanover, N.H.
Stadium: Memorial Field
Tickets: Buy Now
Series: Yale leads, 54-43-6
Last Meeting: Yale 10, Dartmouth 42, 10/12/19
Video: ESPN+, Bob Lipman (play-by-play) & Matt Corsetti (color)
Live Stats: Click here
Game Notes (PDF)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Bulldogs continue a three-game road trip this Saturday at Memorial Field in Hanover, N.H., as Yale and Dartmouth face off in a battle of reigning Ivy League Champions. Yale and Dartmouth both went 6-1 in Ivy play in 2019 for the share of the Ivy title. The Bulldogs look to avenge their lone loss from that season.
 
The Series
Saturday's matchup is the 104th all-time meeting between Yale and Dartmouth. The Bulldogs lead the series 54-43-6 which dates back to 1884; a game the Elis won 113-0. While Yale won nine-straight against the Big Green from 2003-2011, Dartmouth came back to win four straight and seven of the past eight. Yale's last win against Dartmouth was in 2016 and its last win in Hanover came in 2010.
 
Bulldog Breakdown
Yale improved to 2-1 with a road shutout at Lehigh last Saturday, 34-0. It was the Bulldogs first shutout since 2017. Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week, sophomore lineman Clay Patterson, led the charge with four sacks, nine solo tackles and five tackles for loss. Patterson leads the nation with 2.0 sacks per game.
 
The Bulldog defense totaled eight sacks in the game, tied for the most under head coach Tony Reno as he secured his 49^th career win. With one more victory, Reno would become just the sixth coach in Yale history to reach the 50-win plateau: Carm Cozza (179), Jack Siedlecki (70), Walter Camp (67), Jordan Olivar (61) and T.A.D. Jones (60).
 
It was senior running back Zane Dudek who captured his own milestone last weekend as he reached 400 career carries and passed Dick Jauron '73 as Yale's all-time leader in yards per carry with a 6.3 average –surpassing Jauron's 5.7 mark. Dudek is also tied with Jauron with 27 career rushing touchdowns which ranks fifth all-time. Additionally, Dudek's 2,544 career ground yards rank seventh on Yale's all-time rush list.
 
Dudek has provided a strong rush attack (41 attempts, 192 yards, 1 TD) for junior quarterback Griffin O'Connor was who leads the Bulldogs with 674 passing yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore Nolan Grooms, who has seen time at QB in situational spots, played extended time at Lehigh and went 6-of-8 for 122 yards and two touchdowns. He added 30 yards on the ground.
 
The Yale quarterbacks have spread it around in 2021, completing passes to 12 different Bulldogs. Senior Melvin Rouse II, who moved back to wide receiver after playing cornerback last season, leads the way with 13 catches while sophomore Mason Tipton paces the Elis with 202 receiving yards on seven catches which ranks him No. 1 in the nation in yards per catch.
 
Yale's defensive unit is also No. 1-nationally ranked as the leading team in 3^rd Down Conversion percentage (.205). The Bulldogs also rank third in the country in First Down Defense, allowing the sticks to move just 48 times, as well as being the No. 7 scoring defense in the nation with just 12.3 points per game.
 
Scouting Dartmouth
The undefeated Big Green celebrate homecoming on Saturday at Memorial Field as the teams picked 2-3 in the Preseason Ivy League Media Poll square off. Dartmouth enters off a 31-7 Ivy win at Penn last week as their defense held the Quakers to just 141 total yards and only 37 total plays. The Big Green opened 2021 with a 28-18 road win at Valparaiso and won at home against Sacred Heart, 41-3.
 
Saturday's matchup pits the No. 1 nationally-ranked Yale Defense on third downs against Dartmouth's No. 1 3rd Down Conversion offense in country (.595). Dartmouth quarterback Derek Kyler leads the Ivy League in completion percentage (40-of-54, .740) and has thrown for 443 yards and six scores. His wideout trio of Scott Paxton, Zack Blair and Jonny Barrett has resulted in 273 of those yards and all six TD's.
 
On the ground, the Big Green have gone for at least 240 yards in each of the past two games. Both Nick Howard and Zack Blair have carried 38 times and gone 315 and 289 yards, respectively. Both are over seven yards per carry with Howard scoring four and Blair two.
 
While Patterson leads the nation with 2.0 sacks per game, the Bulldogs will face Marques White who also ranks in the top-10 nationally with 3.5 sacks this season. Behind White, Jalen Mackie and Tanner Cross each have 20-plus tackles and an interception each.