HANOVER — The most unique Dartmouth College football season in years kicks off on Saturday evening with the Big Green visiting No. 11 New Hampshire under the possibility of rain and wind related to Hurricane Lee.

Dartmouth has been buffeted by substantial change during the past year, finishing an uncharacteristic 3-7 and sixth in the Ivy League during the 2022 campaign and suffering its first losing season since 2016. The Big Green shared the league crown in 2015, 2019 and 2021.

Longtime head coach Buddy Teevens and his bicycle were struck by a speeding pickup truck on March 16 in Florida, causing one of Teevens’ legs to be amputated and leaving him in a Boston-area rehabilitation hospital for the foreseeable future.

Dartmouth promoted associate head coach Sammy McCorkle to interim head coach at the end of spring practice, but it seems likely a decision on his future and that of the veteran staff under him will be made shortly after the season, if not before.

“Nobody wants to be 3-7, and that’s not us,” said McCorkle, whose team fell, 14-0, to UNH and lost twice in overtime and four times by four or fewer points last season. “We know there were things we could have done different, and it could have been a different (record). We want to get that corrected.”

So it is with a chip on its collective shoulder and seeking to lift its injured leader that Dartmouth charges out of the gate to meet a loaded foe. The Wildcats, like the Big Green a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, played up a level last week and lost on a last-second field goal at Central Michigan, a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mid-American Conference.

“It’s going to be their first home game at 6 o’clock at night, so I’m sure it’s going to be rowdy,” McCorkle said. “That’s an exciting, D-I college football atmosphere, but we have to block it out and focus on your job.”

UNH (2-0) has cranked out 93 points in two games, led by junior quarterback Max Brosmer, a Georgian who’s started the last 25 games. He’s already thrown for 777 yards and nine touchdowns and had only one toss intercepted.

Dartmouth practiced Wednesday to blaring audio clips highlighting the play of Wildcats preseason All-American Dylan Laube. The 5-foot-10, 208-pound senior is a danger as a kick and punt returner, as a running back and as a receiver. Last week, he caught 12 passes for a school-record 295 yards — 261 of which came after the catch — and scored two touchdowns.

The Big Green returns seven offensive starters and four on the opposite side of the ball. Its star is fifth-year senior quarterback Nick Howard, a run-first sack of boulders who overpowered opponents two years ago before wearing down because of injuries last fall. He claims he’ll slide and run out of bounds this season more often.

“I have to take my ego and pride out of the equation,” Howard said with a laugh. “If I can help us by sliding, then I’m all for it. I no longer feel the need to prove I can take a billion hits, because it’s not worth it.”

Howard, who will platoon with pass-oriented teammates Dylan Cadwallader and Jackson Proctor, may stay on the field when others are under center, operating out of the slot or tight end positions and opening the possibility of double-pass plays.

The running back situation is a tad murky, with junior Q Jones, listed at 5-11 and 195 pounds, getting first crack as the bell cow. Jones was second on the team in rushing behind Howard last season, with 410 yards and a 5.6-yards per carry average but has to prove he can be effective between the tackles. A host of others await their turn if he falters.

Senior Paxton Scott headlines the receiving corps after leading Dartmouth with 34 catches and 391 receiving yards a year ago. He’s battled injuries since being an honorable mention All-Ivy pick in 2021. The offensive line not only returns four starters, led by honorable mention All-Ivy guard Nicholas Schwitzgebel, but four who played in every 2022 game. They combine with a bumper crop of tight ends, highlighted by Alaskan road grader Jace Henry, an honorable mention All-Ivy pick last year.

The defense finished seventh in the Ivies against the run last season and once again appears suspect at first glance. However, veteran coordinator Don Dobes is one of the best in the business and an artist at his bend-but-don’t-break schemes.

The defensive line lost graduate transfer Shane Cokes, now starting at Colorado, and must once again produce standouts at a position where strong Big Green teams have traditionally shone during championship seasons. Fifth-year defensive end Charles Looes started all but one game last autumn.

Linebacker Macklin Ayers, who once turned down a preferred walk-on opportunity at Penn State, led the Ancient Eight with an average of 10 tackles per game despite missing two contests because of injury. Free safety Quinten Arello was second team All-Ivy and first team All-New England and was selected the squad’s MVP by his teammates.

A pair of freshmen placekickers, North Carolina’s Owen Zalc and Wyoming resident Matisse Weaver, have battled throughout the preseason, although it seems likely Zalc will get first crack at the job. Fifth-year long snapper Josh Greene brings unsung experience as does junior punter Davis Golick, who’s started the last 15 games.

“We just have to be ourselves,” Howard said. “Last year’s record didn’t show who we were, but we also got away a bit from playing tough, smart Dartmouth football. It’s about returning to the basics and appreciating every opportunity we have.”

The Big Green might have to overachieve to avoid a 1-3 start. UNH is followed by an assumed victory against Lehigh, which hasn’t posted a winning season since 2016. The next week brings a long trip to Penn, however, and Ivy League title favorite Yale comes to Hanover after that.

“Columbia, Harvard and Princeton in the middle of the schedule used to be the meat,” Howard said. “Now, we have to strap it up every week from the very start.”

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Notes: UNH redshirt safety Jackson Stone, a Lebanon High graduate, has participated in both Wildcats games so far, but has not created any statistics. … Howard wears a black cloth headband with a pirate head logo on it and has a similar decals plastered on the kick plate that’s attached to the back of his shoulder pads. The Wisconsinite said he enjoys projecting a swashbuckling image, hence the theme. Although he and some friends like to watch the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies for fun, Howard said he’s no Captain Jack Sparrow. “Not anywhere as nimble, that’s for sure,” he said. … Looes chose Dartmouth over UNH, among other schools. … Dartmouth’s practices have increased about 30 minutes in length under McCorkle, ending in the 2½-hour range… Wildcat Stadium’s capacity is listed at 11,015 and should come close to being sold out if the weather doesn’t dissuade potential spectators. … Weaver is a nationally recognized youth potter.

Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.