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Princeton University Athletics
Highly Offensive
October 14, 2000 | Football
Oct. 14, 2000
Box Score
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) - The 18,113 fans in Princeton Stadium Saturday afternoon figured they'd see a dynamic quarterback at the controls of a high-flying offense, and they were right.
They just may have had the wrong quarterback and the wrong offense in mind.
Freshman David Splithoff completed 13 of 17 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns to lead Princeton to a stunning 55-28 demolition of Brown, which came into the game with one of the best offenses in Division I-AA. The victory avenged a 53-30 loss to Brown last year in Providence.
Splithoff, subbing for injured quarterbacks Tommy Crenshaw and Jon Blevins, became the first freshman to start at quarterback in Princeton history. He responded to the challenge with a performance that vaulted the Tigers into the heart of the Ivy League race. Princeton improved to 2-3 overall but more importantly 2-0 in the Ivy League. The Tigers, who host Harvard next Saturday (1:07), are tied with Pen and Cornell atop the league standings.
The freshman quarterback showed glimpses of what he could do last week at Colgate, when he replaced the injured Blevins and led the Tigers on two long marches. Against Brown, his first two attempts were dropped, and he completed 13 of his last 15. He also ran for 48 yards, a figure that would have been 85 yards were it not for 37 yards lost on four sacks.
Splithoff trailed 7-0 before he ever came onto the field after Brown took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in 11 plays for a score. That lead would not last long.
Taylor Northrop, whose perfect day included two field goals and seven extra points, put Princeton on the board with a 28-yard field goal with 2:41 remaining in the quarter, and Andy Bryant gave Princeton the lead for good with a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown after Brown's next possession. It was Princeton's first punt return for a touchdown since 1994 and was the first of what would be five Princeton touchdowns of at least 47 yards.
The second came early in the second quarter, when Splithoff threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Nate Lindell. Even when Brown scored a touchdown with 1:44 remaining in the half to cut it 17-14, Splithoff made sure that there would be no momentum in the Bear locker room with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Lindell 59 seconds later.
The Tigers built the lead to 34-14 after three on a 47-yard Cameron Atkinson touchdown run and a 40-yard Northrop field goal. Brown, though, looked ready to get untracked when it went 80 yards on six plays early in the fourth quarter to pull within 34-21.
But before hardly anyone in the crowd could realize that Brown could take the lead with two touchdowns, Splithoff hooked up with Marty Cheatham for a 72-yard touchdown pass that made it 41-21. Kyle Brandt salted it away with two fourth-quarter touchdown runs.
NOTES -- Since coming on against Colgate, Splithoff has led Princeton to an average of 7.6 yards per play. He has been on the field for 14 drives, seven of which have ended in touchdowns and nine of which have ended in points. Four of the 14 drives have covered at least 76 yards ... Princeton had its best offensive output in nearly a decade, as the Tigers had the highest point and yardage totals since a 59-37 win over Brown in 1991. The two 70-yard passes were Princeton's longest also since that same game ... Princeton also completely changed its previous pattern of starting slow and finishing strong. The Tigers scored their first two first-half offensive touchdowns of the season, and their 24 first-half points eclipsed the season's previous first-half total ... Chris Roser-Jones had two interceptions, four passes defensed and 11 tackles ... Mike Higgins made nine tackles ... Atkinson finished with 94 yards on eight carries ... Princeton rushed for 225 yards ... Brown used three quarterbacks who completed 37 for 59 for 386 yards and three touchdowns but also threw four interceptions ... In addition to Roser-Jones, Paul Simbi and Blake Perry had interceptions