Let’s rewind to late September.

On the same day sophomore kicker Owen Zalc’s heroics ensured Dartmouth escaped North Andover, Mass., with a 16-14 victory over Merrimack, Harvard kicker Kieran Corr was lining up for a standard 27-yard field goal at the right hash. With 45 seconds left in the Crimson’s game at Brown, it was reasonable to expect Corr to bury the chip shot, which would hand Harvard a 31-23 lead and, likely, the win.

Except Corr never got a chance to kick it.

The snap sailed over the head of the Crimson’s holder, Sebastien Tasko. Harvard’s two special teamers gave chase to the loose ball, a gaggle of brown jerseys in hot pursuit. When Corr unsuccessfully attempted to leap on the ball near midfield, the Bears’ Nick Hudson picked it up.

Tasko’s ensuing full-stretch, diving swipe at Hudson’s ankle caused the Brown defensive back to stumble. As Hudson was falling to the turf, it appeared as though he tried to lateral the ball to his teammate, which failed. Instead, the ball bounced down the field and through the hands of players from both teams before Hudson scooped it up again and was eventually tackled inside the Harvard 30-yard line.

The Bears needed just one play to score the eventual game-winning touchdown, handing Harvard its first, and only, loss of the 2024 campaign.

Which brings us to the present. The No. 22 Big Green, owners of a 6-0 record for the first time since 2019, will host the Crimson, victors in four straight games, on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field for homecoming weekend.

If not for that late and disastrous special teams miscue in Providence, R.I., it’s reasonable to suggest that this Week 7 clash could, would or should have been a game between the Ivy League’s two unbeatens. Fans in Hanover this weekend will simply have to settle for a matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 2, an afternoon tilt between the top two teams in the Ivy League standings.

Here are three storylines to monitor ahead of the game:

Harvard offense “firing on all cylinders:” Limiting the explosive plays and remaining assignment-sound have been and remain the keys to Dartmouth’s defensive success this season, according to coach Sammy McCorkle. Omitting the 44-43 shootout at Yale in mid-October, defensive coordinator Don Dobes’ unit has held opponents to 21 or fewer points in the Big Green’s other five wins.

That group, which ranks third in the Ivy in scoring defense and passing defense, will — needless to say — need to produce another strong showing against the conference’s top scoring offense this season in Harvard.

Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig ranks second in the FCS in pass efficiency rating (185.1) and has thrown for a league-high 17 touchdowns against just two interceptions. He’s connected with his favorite target, Cooper Barkate, the Ivy leader in receiving yards and touchdowns, for eight of those scores.

McCorkle believes Craig has “gotten better with each game” and commended the sophomore’s ability to run the Crimson offense, a unit that is “firing on all cylinders” entering Saturday’s game.

“They do a very good job of mixing it up,” McCorkle said of the Harvard offense. “They involve a lot of players offensively. That does put a lot of stress on you defensively. … We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot. We can’t give them easy plays. We have to make them work for everything, and that’s our plan going forward.”

Expect penalties, or the lack thereof, to play a factor: Dartmouth was penalized eight times for 77 yards in the second half of its 24-21 win over Columbia last Saturday.

The game never felt as close as the scoreline might suggest, but the Big Green flirted with disaster in the final minutes of regulation, nearly allowing the Lions to mount a comeback win because of those penalties, which came in the form of unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct and roughing-the-passer calls. After being penalized nine times against Columbia, Dartmouth remains the most-flagged team in the Ivies, averaging nine penalties per game and 68.7 penalty yards per game.

Harvard, meanwhile, ranks first nationally in fewest penalties (16) and fewest penalties per game (2.67), and second in the FCS in fewest penalty yards per game (27.5).

McCorkle has talked ad nauseam at times this season about his team’s penchant for penalties. This week is no different.

“You just can’t allow drives to continue for them offensively,” McCorkle said of the Crimson. “They’ve got a good offense, and the last thing you want is them to continue to have that ball. And then obviously you can’t go backwards against their defense. You don’t want to put yourself in a long-yard situation, because they are a very good defense that can hurt you when you do that.

“So we’ve got to keep it clean. We got to do whatever we can to make sure that we play a clean game and don’t give them any easy opportunities on either side of the ball and in special teams as well.”

Is Saturday destined to be a close battle? Recent history and current play indicate so: The Dartmouth-Harvard meeting in Hanover this weekend will mark the 24th clash between the two storied programs this century. The Big Green have won only four of those games; however, three of those victories have come in the last five meetings.

Eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams, dating back to 2013, have been decided by eight or fewer points, which aligns with Dartmouth’s recent one-score games this fall. Since a 45-13 rout over a depleted Fordham squad in the season opener, McCorkle’s bunch has won each of its last five games by no more than four points.

“Winning hard,” McCorkle said. “We worked on a lot of different scenarios in practice; we talk about it all the time; we talk about keeping your composure, continuing to play to the very end. … You want to be in a situation where, ‘Hey, you’ve got a chance to close this thing out or finish it. Go do it.’ And luckily, that’s who we’ve been.”

Harvard does not seem to share the Big Green’s enthusiasm in winning tight contests, at least not to the same degree. The Crimson’s average margin of victory in their five wins is 18.2 points, although their two nonconference triumphs — home victories over then-No. 16 New Hampshire and Holy Cross — came by five points or fewer. Harvard’s two wins over Ancient Eight opponents, convincing victories over Cornell and Princeton have come by 18 and 32 points, respectively.

Will Dartmouth play yet another game within its four-point margin, or will Harvard’s October success in the Ivies carry over into November? It’s anyone’s guess.

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