It was not the type of game expected from two 2-0 teams.
Saturday's much-anticipated matchup between Tufts and Bowdoin featured four turnovers and nine penalties by Tufts, and 356 yards and a safety allowed by Bowdoin en route to the Polar Bears' sloppy 10-8 victory over the Jumbos.
In the weekend's only NESCAC game featuring two unbeaten teams, neither team played the part in a rainy game plagued by miscues. With the win, Bowdoin upped its record to 3-0 for the first time since 1964, while the Jumbos dropped to 2-1.
"We didn't execute as we wanted to," senior quarterback Casey D'Annolfo, who finished the day 15 for 26, with 133 yards and two interceptions, said. "They didn't do anything that surprised us, but we couldn't execute in the red zone. It's the same thing they did to us last year, too. We didn't get it done."
D'Annolfo's performance was strikingly different from his effort last week at Bates, when he threw for 255 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions in the Jumbos' 34-7 victory and was named NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week.
This week the offense was hardly as sharp. Despite racking up an impressive 356 offensive yards, Tufts fumbled three times, losing two of them. Coupled with two interceptions, the Jumbos' four turnovers made the difference; Bowdoin, who managed only 148 offensive yards, had no turnovers. Junior receiver Brian Von Ancken coughed up the ball twice, following his record-breaking performance last when he caught three touchdown passes.
"When you have four turnovers and they don't have any, you're probably not going to win too many of those games," D'Annolfo said.
Forcing turnovers is one of Bowdoin's specialties this season. Last week at Amherst, the Bowdoin defense forced six fumbles, recovered four of them, and picked off three Amherst passes. The Polar Bear defense now has a plus-ten turnover margin, second best in the NESCAC, and has taken the ball away 14 times total in just three games, tied for best in the league with Trinity and Colby.
"They get a lot of turnovers, and they're opportunistic," Von Ancken, who slightly offset his two fumbles with seven receptions for 68 yards, said. "They allowed us to gain yards, but took the ball away when they needed to. But I will also credit some of the turnovers to the weather."
The rain undoubtedly played a role in the game. What began as a light mist before the game turned into steady, wind-swept sheets of water by halftime that continued through the end of the game. The field was noticeably muddied between the hash marks, players often slipped and fell in the open-field, and neither team opted to attempt many long-yardage passes.
"The field had an effect; it got sloppy," D'Annolfo said. "Some of our running backs had trouble cutting. But [the loss] was more us not executing as we wanted."
With the loss, Tufts wasted a superb effort by senior running back Scott Lombardi, who had 177 yards rushing on 34 carries and Tufts' lone touchdown. Lombardi had 107 rushing yards in the third quarter alone, and his 177 yards was his career best as a Jumbo.
"The weather let us give the ball to him more, [and] it allowed him to show what he can do," Von Ancken said. "Our offensive linemen controlled the line of scrimmage, and then [Lombardi] would get a great second effort."
The loss also squandered another encouraging effort by the Jumbo defense, who kept the game close by allowing Bowdoin only 148 yards, including just 48 total rushing yards. The NESCAC's third-rated defense allowed one touchdown and one field goal for the first double-digit score against Tufts this season.
