It only took 34 seconds for senior tailback Clifton Dawson to get on the board. He never looked back, and Harvard picked up a critical league win on a day when a league leader faltered.

The Crimson star took the ball 74 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, giving Harvard (6-1, 3-1 Ivy) all the cushion it would need in shutting out Dartmouth (1-6, 0-3 Ivy) by a 28-0 margin in front of 2,028 cold and wet fans in Hanover, N.H.

The Crimson struck again on its third possession, with freshman Mike Clarke forcing a fumble with a vicious hit on Phil Galligan in punt coverage. Harvard junior John Hopkins recovered the ball at the Dartmouth 25.

Just two plays later, Dawson found the end zone again, this time from 18 yards out. The extra point was blocked, giving Harvard at 13-0 lead.

After forcing the Big Green into a three-and-out, the Crimson drove 47 yards in 12 plays, capped off by a Dawson touchdown plunge from a yard out on fourth and goal, his third touchdown of the game.

Freshman running back Cheng Ho added a two-point conversion, putting Harvard ahead 21-0, which remained the halftime score after a field goal by junior Matt Schindel was blocked on the last play.

The second half was a defensive struggle, with the lone scoring coming on a 37-yard touchdown strike from junior Liam O’Hagan to junior wideout Corey Mazza early in the third quarter. That was to be the only scoring, however, as the Crimson defense continued to dominate. Harvard held Dartmouth to just 183 yards on the day and forced five turnovers, two on interceptions thrown by starting Big Green quarterback Mike Fritz. The Crimson added four sacks, and held Dartmouth to just 2-for-12 on third down.

Dawson now sits just 173 yards away from Ed Marinaro’s Ivy League rushing record after amassing 162 yards against Dartmouth. Cornell, Marinaro’s alma mater, also put Harvard once again in charge of its own destiny, beating previously undefeated Princeton 14-7, dropping the Tigers into a second-place tie with Harvard. Yale, with a 21-3 win over Columbia, now leads the Ivy League standings with a 4-0 league record, but must play Harvard in Cambridge on Nov. 18.