After three weeks of chaos and heartbreak, the 2017 Stetson football team will finally make its debut at Spec Martin Stadium when the Hatters host Dartmouth College from the Ivy League on Saturday night at 6 p.m.

Fans interested in attending the game can get discounted general admission tickets for just $10 and children 12-years-old and younger get in free.

All Stetson University students, faculty and staff, along with family members, many who are still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Irma, will also receive free general admission tickets to the game by presenting a valid Stetson University identification.

For the Hatters, who have been through the death of a teammate, two long trips to the northeast, including an extended stay in New Jersey earlier this week as a result of hurricane damage in Florida, the chance to finally have a sense of normalcy, and play on the home field, is something they have all been looking forward to.

"I think the new normal is chaos," Hatters coach Roger Hughes said. "They are hanging in there and have done a great job of rolling with the punches. We have had some challenges pop up this week where we have had to make adjustments, and they have handled it very well."

For Hughes, the game against Dartmouth takes him back to almost two decades of coaching in the Ivy League. He spent nine seasons as offensive coordinator for the Big Green before taking over the Princeton program for a decade. He has many friends on the coaching staff at Dartmouth.

"I am very familiar with their defensive coordinator (Don Dobes) because he worked for me for 10 years and I coached against him at Princeton for three years before that, so I know Donnie really well," Hughes said. "He is a good friend and a very good coach. I know Keith Clark, their offensive line coach, very well from when he coached at Yale prior to going to Dartmouth. I am very familiar with a lot of their staff."

Hughes and the Hatters had success in their first game against an Ivy League foe last year, defeating 31-21 in a game played in Providence, RI. The Bears will travel to DeLand later this season for a rematch against the Hatters on October 7.

Hughes said he hopes to see his team build on the improvements made last week in a 38-17 loss at Marist.

"We really played almost 45 minutes of pretty good football at Marist," Hughes said. "Had we not turned the ball over then I think it is a different game. I thought our kids bounced back from the opener and then to go up and have the lead at halftime tells me that we have to learn how to finish. Little things, like penalties which, instead of first and 10 we have first and 15. As we are getting the feel for our offense and getting a sense for what we can do, we just can't afford to get off schedule. We feel like we beat ourselves last week.

Stetson Notebook

• After spending three extra days in New Jersey following the game at Marist last week, the Hatters finally got home late on Tuesday evening. With Stetson's campus still closed after Hurricane Irma, the team spent the entire week in a hotel, only coming to campus for practice because the facility still has no air conditioning (as of Friday).
• The Hatters were able to get onto their own practice field on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but all team meetings, film study and other game prep activities have been conducted at the team hotel in Maitland.
• The Hatters will be looking to now only get their first win of the year when they host Dartmouth, they will be looking to move to 2-0 all-time against members of the Ivy League. Stetson defeated Brown 31-21 last October 8 in Providence. The Hatters and Bears are scheduled to square off again this year, in DeLand, on October 7.
• Stetson is currently 2-2 in home openers since restarting the program for the 2013 season. Overall, the Hatters are just 6-18 at Spec Martin Stadium since relaunching the program.
• Hatters head coach Roger Hughes is no stranger to the Dartmouth program. Hughes coached against Dartmouth during his 10 season as head coach at Princeton, posting an 8-2 mark against the Big Green. Prior to his tenure at Princeton, Hughes spent eight seasons (1992-99) as offensive coordinator at Dartmouth, helping the Big Green to a 48-31-1 mark, including a perfect 10-0 season in 1996.
• During his coaching career, Hughes has more wins against Dartmouth (8) than against any program other than Columbia (8).
• Former Stetson standout Donald Payne made his NFL debut last weekend for the Jacksonville Jaguars in a win over the Houston Texans. The three-time PFL defensive player of the year is one of five former PFL players currently on NFL active rosters. Payne is the only rookie in that group.
• The game against Marist saw two more first-time starters for the Hatters on defense. Junior linebacker Jamieson Craske, who missed the opener with a hamstring injury, made his first start as did junior defensive back DJ Tinsley.
• Stetson has now had 98 different players make starts since the football program was restarted for the 2013 season.
• Sophomore Bryce Blackmon scored his first career touchdown in the game at Marist. Blackmon's two-yard TD run capped a seven play, 59-yard, scoring drive and was the first touchdown of the season for Stetson.
• Prior to Blackmon finding the end zone, the Stetson defense did its job in keeping Marist out of the end zone. The Red Foxes were turned away on downs inside the Stetson 10 yard line on each of their first two possessions. Freshman defensive lineman Marco Foreman was credited with a share of both tackles on fourth down, sharing with graduates Jeb Boudreaux on the first and Eddie Curry on the second.
• Both Stetson and Marist benefitted from a big defensive play for a score in the game. The Hatters got their defensive touchdown in the second quarter when Boudreaux sacked Red Foxes QB Mike White for a 19-yard loss, forcing a fumble that Eric Martin scooped up and raced 20 yards for a touchdown with. Marist answered in the third quarter when Colin McGovern was sacked and stripped by senior Ruben Avalos, who picked up the fumble and scored himself.
• For the second straight week, Stetson was led by a freshman in the receiving corps. Jack Bowen led the team in the opener at Sacred Heart before suffering a season-ending injury. Justin Jordan was the leader against Marist, making eight receptions for 87 yards, including five catches for first downs.