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First Look: Dartmouth

FOOTNOTES

Many of the questions entering Saturday’s game between Dartmouth and the University of New Hamsphire deal with Dartmouth’s running game. Specifically, will quarterback Nick Howard or fifth-year running back Zack Bair play against the Wildcats?

Neither Howard nor Bair played in Dartmouth’s 24-21 loss to Yale last Saturday. Howard has a team high 351 yards rushing on 63 carries this season (5.6 per carry). Bair is next with 291 yards on 39 attempts (7.5 per carry).

Dartmouth (1-3, 0-2 Ivy) was limited to 20 yards on the ground against Yale, its lowest rushing total since a 2012 game against Harvard.

Junior quarterback Dylan Cadwallader started against Yale — the first start of his college career — and completed 28-of-45 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns. He also added a 7-yard TD run.

“When he (Nick Howard) is healthy they have two distinct offenses,” UNH coach Rick Santos said. “He’s more their running guy, but is very capable with his arm. They like to run him a little more than Dylan Caldwell, who’s been their other guy. He’s a true, prototypcial spread guy. Can run zone read, throw it all over. I think they do a phenomenal job of shifts and motions to create leverage mismatches for us, so we have to be cognizant of that. Have to have great communication, discipline eyes this week on the defensive side of the ball.”

UNH (4-2, 4-0 CAA) held Stony Brook to an average of 2.7 yards per rush during its 24-14 victory Saturday, although the Seawolves were without five scholarship running backs for that game.

Dartmouth’s Macklin Ayers, a junior linebacker, has recorded 51 tackles this season (22 solo). He’s averaging 12.8 tackles per game, which ranks second among FCS players

The UNH-Dartmouth series is deadlocked at 19-19-2. The Big Green prevailed 38-21 in Durham last season and has won the last two meetings. Saturday’s game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

“They embarrassed us last year to be honest with you,” Santos said. “They came up here and put it on us. Ran the football downhill. They were the more physical unit. They played harder. They wanted it more. We’re ready and eager to go to get back at them.”

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