You have to go back almost 30 years, all the way to 1996, to find the last meeting between an undefeated Dartmouth squad and a one-loss Columbia team.

That year, the Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, the New York Yankees were in the World Series, “Twister” was released in theaters and became a box office hit, a multi-state E. coli outbreak occurred in October and college football conference realignment was transforming the sport’s landscape. Sound familiar?

Unlike on Nov. 9, 1996, when the Big Green rolled to a 40-0 victory in Hanover over the Lions, spectators for the latest clash between the two teams won’t know the outcome of this year’s presidential election. Saturday’s meeting does, however, pit the two remaining unbeatens in the Ancient Eight this season against each other during Columbia’s homecoming weekend.

No. 22 Dartmouth (5-0, 2-0 Ivy) and second-year coach Sammy McCorkle have made a habit out of winning close games this season. The Big Green’s four most recent wins have been decided by four or fewer points, while the Lions (4-1, 2-0) have rattled off three consecutive victories following a 20-17 loss to Georgetown in week 2.

“The more you’re in those situations, your team is battle-tested,” McCorkle told reporters on a Wednesday Zoom call.

“It definitely has been one of those years,” he continued. “It’s been exciting. Hopefully we just continue doing what we need to do to put ourselves in position to win games at the end.”

Columbia first-year coach Jon Poppe, who arrived in New York in May after producing a 10-2 record at Union College in his lone season as head coach, insists this is “not your father’s Columbia anymore,” he said in an Oct. 20 article in the Columbia Spectator. Under the 39-year-old coach’s leadership, the Lions are off to their first 2-0 start in Ivy play since 2017 and are attempting to capture the program’s second conference title — Columbia’s lone Ivy crown came in 1961.

McCorkle has noticed a difference in Columbia this season, lauding a team that is a “very sound team in all three phases,” limits mistakes and plays with discipline and energy.

Dartmouth has had its mettle tested time and time again and has remained perfect through five games. McCorkle joked Wednesday that he “doesn’t want to draw it up” in that manner every week.

This Saturday may prove to be another narrow affair for the Big Green, one that will see the victor at Kraft Field exit the stadium in sole possession of first place in the Ivy League.

“We talk about it all the time: ‘This is why you come to Dartmouth,’” McCorkle said. “You want to play in these types of games. And once again, embrace this, enjoy this.”

Here are three storylines to monitor ahead of Saturday’s game:

The battle in the trenches: Among the 15 Ivy players who have logged at least 1.5 sacks this season, four feature for the Big Green — Josiah Green, Braden Mullen, Cameron Lee and Ejike Adele. Green is tied with Princeton linebacker AJ Pigford atop the leaderboard, each player having recorded 2.5 sacks through five games.

While Columbia’s offensive line has allowed nine sacks this season, a mark that ranks sixth in the conference, it has also helped establish the conference’s top rushing attack, which is averaging 191.6 yards per game on the ground. Conversely, Dartmouth ranks third in the conference in total sacks (nine) and rushing yards allowed per game (116).

McCorkle said his defensive front has to remain “fundamentally sound” against the Lions’ offensive line, one led by junior Mark Chapman.

“They’re a physical group; they come off the ball,” McCorkle said of the Columbia offensive line. “We’ve gotta be fundamentally sound, we’ve gotta utilize our techniques, because it’s going to be a battle up front.”

Dartmouth’s defense vs. balanced Columbia offense: In Columbia’s 23-17 win over Penn last week, the Quakers went all out in an attempt to stop the Lions’ ground game. Penn was largely successful, holding Columbia to 90 rushing yards on 23 carries — Poppe’s offense had averaged 217 rushing yards per game in its opening four contests.

But Columbia quickly pivoted to an aerial attack, and sophomore quarterback Chase Goodwin gashed the Quakers for a season-high 334 passing yards and two touchdowns.

McCorkle said his defense cannot be one-dimensional on Saturday after watching Columbia pick apart Penn’s secondary. When asked about how the Big Green plans to deal with Columbia’s top wideout, senior Bryson Canty, McCorkle was quick to shut down any chance of divulging his defense’s scout.

In spite of the pregame coaching gamesmanship, McCorkle reiterated that one of the keys to the game is his coaching staff and players’ ability to adjust on the fly Saturday against an opponent that boasts “multiple threats.”

“The biggest thing is you’ve got to limit the big plays; that’s either the run or the pass,” McCorkle said. “We’ve got to try to make them have to work it down the field, and we’ve got to make them try to play a perfect game. … We’ve got our hands full.”

A potential kicking duel in the Big Apple: Columbia’s Hugo Merry earned the conference’s special teams player of the week honor after connecting on three of four field goal attempts against Penn. Merry’s streak of 11 consecutive field goal makes, a program record, was broken with a 39-yard miss in the fourth quarter, though.

Owen Zalc, meanwhile, saw two of his three field goal tries against Central Connecticut State sail through the uprights. The sophomore kicker has now hit nine out of 12 field goals this season, the most makes and attempts in the Ivies. Two of his misses have come from 50 yards and a third attempt was blocked by Yale.

The two kickers are about as sure-footed as they come, a tremendous weapon for both coaching staffs and a fact McCorkle acknowledged ahead of the game.

“We’re both very fortunate on both sides of the field to have good kickers,” McCorkle said.

“(Zalc’s) been a huge weapon for us. … It really gives you an opportunity to put points on the board. And I think that’s going to be critical in this game.”

Alex Cervantes can be reached at acervantes@vnews.com or 603-727-7302.