Things were hard enough for a winless Fordham University Football squad that had stumbled out the gate. Having to play without their starting quarterback, running back and top wide receiver certainly didn’t help matters against the reigning Ivy League champions, Dartmouth College, as the Rams fell to 0-4 in a 45-13 blowout defeat.
The Patriot League’s passing leader last season, junior quarterback CJ Montes, exited in the third quarter of Week 3’s Homecoming game, a 27-21 loss to Stony Brook University. Suffering a lower-body injury after taking his fifth sack of the day, Fordham’s gunslinger was left unable to suit up for a matchup against the Big Green just one week later.
Evidently, when it rains, it pours. The Rams suited up against Dartmouth not just without Montes but also without senior back Julius Loughridge and graduate student wideout Garrett Cody.
Loughridge had been the shining star of an unusually quiet offense, leading the Patriot League with 338 yards on the ground and a game average of 143.7 yards from scrimmage through three weeks. Cody, meanwhile, led all Fordham receivers with 13 receptions and 115 yards, despite their struggles through the air.
Conversely, a healthy and well-rested Dartmouth squad was ready to impress the home crowd at Memorial Field in their 2024 season opener, starting up in Week 4 thanks to the Ivy League’s unique schedule.
Predicated on a run-heavy attack and fundamentally sound defense, the Big Green won their Ivy League-leading 21st title last season, staking claim in a three-way tie with Harvard University and Yale University by winning their final three games of the season. Head coach Sammy McCorkle was named Ivy League Coach of the Year, taking the reins after the tragic passing of the program’s all-time winningest coach Buddy Teevens last September.
McCorkle’s squad didn’t just pick up where they left off — they made a statement from the jump. Senior quarterback Jackson Proctor, entrusted with the full-time starting gig, connected with all-conference wide receiver Paxton Scott for a 44-yard grab on the third snap of the game. A penalty moved the Big Green back a bit, but that proved to be no issue, as senior back Q Jones took it 40 yards to the house on the very next play.
Four snaps in, Dartmouth had taken a 7-0 lead, immediately putting the pressure on a Rams offense now led by junior quarterback Jack Capaldi, making his first career start.
Capaldi connected with sophomore Ricky Gonzalez II on his first two passing attempts, picking up 15 yards and a first down in the process. But the Rams quickly stalled out, punting away to begin a stretch of five straight punts for both sides.
Dartmouth would be the team to snap that streak. Proctor orchestrated another scoring drive at the close of the first quarter, and Jones found the end zone for a second time, this time wide open on a 19-yard receiving touchdown.
After another short-lived Fordham possession, Proctor put the Big Green up by three scores, finding junior tight end Chris Corbo for a 12-yard touchdown that gave Dartmouth a 21-0 lead with 10 minutes still left in the first half.
They’d add three more several minutes later on a 40-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Owen Zalc and looked poised to add even more with a drive into Fordham territory in the final two minutes. Instead, graduate student cornerback Nahil Perkins took things into his own hands (literally).
Perkins leaped up and ripped the ball out of the hands of Corbo, picking off Proctor with 25 seconds left in the half for his Patriot League-leading third interception of the season.
Junior running back Ricky Parks took the Rams into Dartmouth territory in a flash, breaking off a 46-yard run, stopped only by a touchdown-saving tackle from junior safety Sean Williams at the 38-yard-line.
With just four seconds left in the half, head coach Joe Conlin sent out kicker Bennett Henderson for a 56-yard field goal attempt, giving his freshman a chance to set a new school record. But while Henderson’s kick had the distance, it missed wide left, leaving the Rams shutout with a 24-0 deficit at the half.
Dartmouth opened the second half by attempting an onside kick. The overtly aggressive move immediately came with consequences as illegal contact by the Big Green allowed Fordham to start their drive at the opposing 35.
A 29-yard run by junior Mason Hatfield got Fordham as close as the 8-yard line, but a holding penalty and sack knocked them back out of the red zone, forcing Henderson out for a 39-yard try. And for a third time this season, the Rams found themselves on the wrong end of a special teams highlight. Senior Jordan Washington blocked Henderson’s kick and returned it 78 yards for a deflating touchdown that gave the Big Green a 31-0 lead.
The Rams ultimately showed some life in the third quarter. On his 10th drive of the game, Capaldi was perfect, completing all five pass attempts for 44 yards to set up a 1-yard touchdown run from junior Jack Kaiser.
That would be the first of two touchdown drives led by Capaldi, who later found senior Cole Thornton for a 27-yard touchdown.
Unfortunately, Dartmouth added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter on long runs from junior DJ Crowther and third-string quarterback Grayson Saunier, sealing a 45-13 victory in their season opener.
Bested by 32 points, it’s Fordham’s largest defeat since they fell 52-7 to the Big Ten’s University of Nebraska in the 2021 season opener. With their 33-3 loss to Central Connecticut State University, the Rams have endured two 30-point losses in the first four weeks of the season.
Fordham drops to 0-4, their worst start since 2018. They now rank dead last in the conference in both scoring offense (13.5 points per game — ninth worst out of 123 FCS teams) and scoring defense (35.0 points allowed per game), remaining the only winless team in the Patriot League.
Capaldi had a solid first start, throwing for 187 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go with one interception and a 53.5%completion rate. It’s worth noting that he started to find some rhythm in the second half, completing eight of his first nine passes out of halftime and hopefully laying some seeds for future success.
“For the most part, he played pretty well,” Conlin told reporters postgame. “The interception wasn’t great, I thought he could’ve had a little better pocket discipline, but I certainly don’t think he was the issue. We’ve got to do a better job in a lot of other areas.”
Graduate student wide receiver Mekhi Felton led the team with 56 receiving yards despite limited snaps while sophomore KJ Reed established some chemistry with Capaldi, pulling in a team-high six grabs for 42 yards. Thornton was right behind him with five receptions, 30 yards and his team-leading second touchdown of the season.
In the absence of Loughridge, Parks rushed for 63 yards on seven carries, averaging 9.0 yards per attempt, although he was largely held within check outside of his big 46-yard run.
Remarkably enough, Loughridge still leads the Patriot League in rushing yards despite not playing a single snap on Saturday.
After allowing seven or more sacks in consecutive games, the offensive line had their best showing of the season so far. Granted, it’s not a massively high bar — they still surrendered four sacks, raising their season total to 25, the most in Division 1 football.
“It was better, but not to standard,” noted Conlin. “Certainly improvement, but not to where you need to be. For as much as we throw the ball down the field, you have to live with some of those, but you can’t have what we’ve been giving up.”
The Rams are back in action next Saturday for their last non-conference game before the start of Patriot League play. While a strong conference record is Fordham’s only hope for a postseason- bid, they’ll look to build off of the positives from the second half and set themselves up for success in the conference.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t get any easier next week as they’re matched up with a high-powered CAA opponent at Monmouth College. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from New Jersey.
