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Princeton University Athletics
Offensive Display
October 16, 2002 | Football
Oct. 16, 2002
There won't be a trophy presentation Saturday afternoon. The winner of the Brown/Princeton contest does not clinch anything in the Ivy League race.
Ivy League titles do not get won in October.
But those who do not survive the month don't get the headlines or the trophies in November.
Brown and Princeton can both position themselves quite well with a win today. Despite their 0-4 record, the Bears have only lost once in the league, and that was a two-point defeat against 2001 champion Harvard. If Brown is 1-1 after playing the top two teams in the preseason poll, it would put itself in good position to stay in the race.
Princeton is in the midst of a three-game win streak, and it has also won its last three Ivy League games. If the Tigers win their fourth, they will be in their best position after five games since their last championship season of 1995.
This has been an exciting matchup during the last five years, with both teams using wide-open offenses to produce some impressive point totals. In the last three years, both teams have had offensive outputs of at least 50 points once. Few would be surprised if it takes a similar total to win today.
Regardless, the winner does nothing but improve its position. In October, that is everything.
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The Facts
The Date Oct. 19, 2002
The Kickoff 1:07 p.m.
The Site Princeton Stadium * Princeton, N.J.
The Series Princeton leads 47-21
Last Year Brown 35, Princeton 24
Last Week Princeton defeated Colgate 14-10; Fordham defeated Brown 24-17
The Coaches P: Roger Hughes (third season, 9-14); B: Phil Estes (fourth season, 29-14)
TV/Radio The game can be viewed on RCN and CN8 and heard live on WBUD AM 1260 and on the Princeton athletics web site.
Game Notes
Rallying Cry - Princeton has won two consecutive games with fourth-quarter comebacks. Last week, B.J. Szymanski completed the rally with a 73-yard touchdown reception with 2:46 remaining in the 14-10 win over Colgate.
Three-peat - Princeton (3-1) has already matched its win total of each of the last three seasons. Its current three-game win streak is the best since Princeton won four straight in 1997.
Point... - Princeton is averaging 34.0 points per game in each of its last five contests against Brown. It scored 55 points against the Bears two seasons ago, its best output since scoring 59 points against Brown in 1991.
... Counterpoint - Brown is averaging 29.2 points per game in those same five contests. It scored 53 points three seasons ago, the most scored against Princeton since Maine scored 55 points in the 1981 season.
Poll Position - Princeton and Brown were picked to finish second and third, respectively, in the preseason media poll. Harvard was picked first.
Alpha and Omega - Princeton scored on both quarterback David Splithoff's first pass of the day and his last one. Both completions were for at least 60 yards.
Bombs Away - Five of David Splithoff's seven touchdown passes this season, including both last weekend, have been at least 50-yard completions. For his career, 11 of his 19 touchdowns have been from at least 50 yards.
Three For All - After four starts, junior quarterback David Splithoff is ranked third in Division I-AA passing efficiency (165.6).
First And Goal - Princeton scored on its first offensive play last weekend, a 62-yard touchdown pass to Andy Bryant.
Caught In The Act - Four of the top eight receivers in the Ivy League will play in today's contest. Princeton's Chisom Opara and B.J. Szymanski both rank among the league leaders in receptions and yards. Leading the nation, much less the league, is Brown's Chas Gessner, while Joe Rackley is also among the league leaders.
Gess What - Chas Gessner tied an NCAA record two weeks ago by catching 24 passes in a loss to Rhode Island.
Wild Rice - The person whose record Gessner tied is future NFL Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice.
You're The (Szy)Man(ski) - B.J. Szymanski caught the game winner last weekend with a 73-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter. It was Princeton's longest play from scrimmage this season.
Ground Attack - Senior tailback Cameron Atkinson has recorded three consecutive 100-yard rushing efforts.
Run Away - Cameron Atkinson had a career day against Brown last season, rushing for 148 yards and two touchdowns. One of his touchdowns was a 62-yard score.
Second Helpings - Cameron Atkinson is second in the Ivy League in rushing. He averages 92.5 yards over game on the ground. Only Yale's Robert Carr (166.5) has produced better numbers during the first four games of the season.
Zak Attack - Junior linebacker Zak Keasey, who leads Princeton in tackles, recorded a team-best 11 tackles and added a season-best three sacks in last weekend's win over Colgate.
Sack Attack - Zak Keasey leads the Ivy League with four sacks. Joe Weiss is tied for fourth in the league with three sacks. Keasey is also in the top 10 in the Ivy League in tackles. Weiss leads the league in tackles for loss (eight).
Better To Receive Than Give - Princeton ranks second in the Ivy League in giveaway/takeaway ratio. The Tigers are a +3. Brown is last in the league with a -8.
Pick Of The Litter - Sophomore cornerback Jay McCareins ended Colgate's final offensive possession last weekend with a one-handed interception in the red zone. He is second in the league in interceptions (2) and passes defensed (6).
What Time Is It - Princeton leads the Ivy League in time of possession (32:30 per game).
Patriot Games - Princeton finished the season 2-1 against the Patriot League, its first winning record outside of Ivy play since 1999. Over the last two seasons, the Tigers had gone winless against the Patriot League.
The Crystal Ball - Next Saturday, Princeton will face 2001 Ivy League champion Harvard during Homecoming Weekend. The Crimson will enter the game riding a nine-game winning streak in league play.
Last Year
Brown 35, Princeton 24
Providence, R.I. - Michael Malan ran for 208 yards and two touchdowns to lead Brown to a 35-24 win over Princeton at Brown Stadium.
Princeton was led by Cameron Atkinson, who had 148 yards on 18 carries. David Splithoff rushed for 77 yards on 15 carries, and his total would have been well over 100 yards had he not been sacked six times. Joe Rackley ran for 84 yards for Brown.
Princeton led 7-0 when Atkinson ran 62 yards for a touchdown on the second series, but Brown answered with an eight-play, 88-yard drive that ended with a four-yard pass from Kyle Rowley to Chas Gessner.
Brown took a 21-16 lead to start the fourth on a 16-yard Malan run, but Atkinson returned the ensuing kickoff 52 yards to set Princeton up at the Brown 40. Atkinson and Splithoff then went all 40 yards on the ground on five plays, the touchdown an eight-yard Atkinson run that put the Tigers ahead. Splithoff then found Mike Chiusano for the two-point conversion to make it 24-21 Princeton with 12:11 left.
Brown, though, came right back, with a seven-play, 64-yard march that ended with a 15-yard Malan TD run. The key play then came on Princeton's next possession, when Splithoff was hit trying to pitch and Brown's Joe Spicer recovered the fumble at the Tiger 20. Brown then handed the ball to Rackley, who handed it back to Rowley who then found Gessner for a touchdown to make it 35-24.
Last Weekend
Princeton 14, Colgate 10
PRINCETON, N.J. - Not to overlook the nine completions in between, but junior quarterback David Splithoff will remember Saturday's 14-10 victory over Colgate for both his first completion of the game and his final one. Both teams and the 11,485 fans at Princeton Stadium will too.
Splithoff threw touchdown passes of 62 and 73 yards to lead Princeton to its second consecutive come-from-behind victory against Colgate, which had dominated the Tigers over each of the last two seasons. His 73-yard score went to sophomore wideout B.J. Szymanski, who caught seven passes for 170 yards in the win.
The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead 18 seconds into the game when Andy Bryant caught a 62-yard touchdown pass on Princeton's first play.
Princeton's defense did the job the rest of the way, led by an 11-tackle, three-sack effort by junior linebacker Zak Keasey and a timely interception by Jay McCareins. Colgate managed to get one lead on a 74-yard touchdown pass to J.B. Gerald, but Szymanski's late heroics put Princeton back ahead.
Fordham 24, Brown 17
BRONX, N.Y. - Brown's nation-leading passing attack was held in check by steady rain and gusty wind as the Bears dropped a 24-17 decision to the Fordham Rams in the Bronx, N.Y.
The Bears held a 7-0 lead before Kerwin Watson scored from two yards out to even the score. After trading field goals in the third quarter, Fordham won the game with back-to-back touchdowns in the final 10 minutes.
Javarus Dudley caught a 13-yard touchdown pass to open a 17-10 lead, and Kevin Eakin scored from one yard away to double the advantage. Ian Malepeai cut the deficit to 24-17 with a 15-yard touchdown reception, but the Bears could not get into the end zone again.
Chas Gessner, who caught 24 passes the week before, was limited to two receptions for 12 yards. Quarterback Kyle Slager completed eight passes for 102 yards with an interception and a touchdown.
Bobby Parisien led the defensive efforts for Brown with 13 tackles (11 solo) and one sack. Hunter Young added 10 tackles (seven solo).