HANOVER, N.H. — Dartmouth used big plays and capitalized off of several Columbia miscues to pick up a 49-3 victory on Friday night. Big Green (5-1, 2-1) quarterback Grayson Saunier went 12-of-13 for 162 yards, rushed for 55 yards and had four touchdowns (three rushing, one passing) in the win.

The Lions (1-5, 0-3) posted a season-high 156 rushing yards on the night. First-year Michael Walters had a career-best 86 yards in 19 attempts, and junior Griffin Johnson rushed 12 times for 64 yards.

"(Heck) of a job by Dartmouth and their squad and coaches", Patricia and Sheppard Alexander Head Coach Jon Poppe said. "I've never walked off a field and felt the way I do right now. And that's not to take anything away from Dartmouth, but we gave them 21 points early and just weren't able to respond with enough consistent execution to even put ourselves in position to make it an entertaining football game."

Columbia was putting together a strong opening drive until Matisse Weaver picked off a pass and returned it 63 yards to put Dartmouth in front with 11:32 left in the opening frame. After forcing a punt, Dartmouth picked up 48 yards off a long pass to Nick Lemon over the middle on its first offensive play and doubled its lead, 14-0, when Grayson Saunier scrambled for a 24-yard touchdown less than five minutes later.

With Columbia pinned in its own territory, No'Koi Maddox blocked a punt and collected it for a 19-yard score, extending the lead to 21-0. 

Dartmouth took advantage of another miscue to build a 28-point cushion in the second quarter. The Lions muffed a punt at their 14, and two plays later, Saunier rushed for his second TD of the night with 5:45 before the half. 

The Big Green capped the half with a 75-yard scoring drive, keyed by a sliding 15-yard grab by KyDric Fisher on third down to put the ball on the Columbia 2. Saunier finished things off with a one-yard keeper to the right to put the Lions in a big hole at the break. 

Dartmouth tacked on two more touchdowns in the third quarter, and the Lions' offense could not get anything going as they dropped their fourth straight contest. Columbia broke up the shutout bid with a 26- yard field goal by Hugo Merry with 5:13 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Dartmouth running back D.J. Crowther added 106 yards on 18 carries.

"I appreciate how our guys continue to fight until the end of games, but that's not good enough and there will be some things to come in terms of improving our play as the season goes on," Poppe said.

The Lions will remain on the road to take on Yale in New Haven on Saturday, November 1. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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POSTGAME NOTES
- Jack Smiechowski recorded his 10 tackles, reaching double-figures for the second time this season.
- Columbia has dropped five of its last six contests to Dartmouth.
- The contest marked Columbia's most lopsided defeat since a 53-7 defeat against Princeton in 2013.
- The Lions used their sixth quarterback of the season after Cole Freeman took a shotgun snap for a rush in the fourth quarter.