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Princeton University Athletics
Big Game Hunting
November 06, 2002 | Football
Nov. 6, 2002
Today's word is "implications."
There haven't been many football games in recent Novembers that had real implications. Well, not for Princeton, at least.
But this Saturday, the second one in November 2002, Princeton plays a game with real implications on the Ivy League race. Heck, it affects other teams in the Ivy race, so people will even be scoreboard-watching at other league stadiums.
Pretty nice feeling, eh?
Not that these two teams need anything to get fired up to play each other. Penn and Princeton have met 93 times, and although Princeton owns 60 of the wins, Penn has held the upper hand recently. Besides a forfeit win in 1997, the Tigers haven't beaten Penn since 1995, Princeton's most recent Ivy League championship season.
Which brings us to this weekend, and the Ivy League championship race. Penn and Harvard, which plays host to Columbia on Saturday, are both undefeated and meet the following weekend at Penn. Princeton is the only Ivy team with one loss, but can pin one on the Quakers at Princeton Stadium on Saturday (1 p.m., CN8, RCN, WBUD 1260 AM, satellite information below). If that happens, Princeton puts itself in a solid position to battle for a piece of the Ivy League title in the final two weekends.
Now those are implications.
Princeton-Penn Notes in PDF Format
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Just The Facts
The Date Nov. 9, 2002
The Kickoff 1:07 p.m.
The Site Princeton Stadium * Princeton, N.J.
The Series Princeton leads 62-30-1
Last Year Penn 21, Princeton 10
Last Week Princeton defeated Cornell 32-25 (OT); Penn defeated Brown 31-7
The Coaches Pr: Roger Hughes (third season, 11-15); Pe: Al Bagnoli (11th season, 73-32)
TV/Radio The game can be seen live on RCN or CN8, or on a satellite (KU Band, SBS 6, Transponder 6) or heard live on WBUD AM 1260 and on the Princeton athletics web site.
Game Notes
Working Overtime - Princeton stayed in the Ivy League race last weekend with a 32-25 win at Cornell on a snowy Schoellkopf Field. Blair Morrison caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in overtime to give the Tigers their only lead.
Rallying Cry - Princeton rallied from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to pull off the victory at Cornell. It was Princeton's largest rally under third-year coach Roger Hughes, and it was the third time this season that Princeton has come back in the final quarter to earn a victory.
More Rallies - Penn rallied last year to defeat Princeton 21-10. The Tigers carried a 10-7 lead into the final quarter before Penn recorded two short touchdown runs to win the game.
Seventh Heaven - Since the last time these two teams met, both have gone 7-2.
Big Play Hunting - Penn and Princeton have combined for the four longest passing plays in the Ivy League this season. Penn's Mike Mitchell found Rob Milanese for an 82-yard touchdown pass, the longest in the league this season. The next three were all Princeton plays: Dave Splithoff to B.J. Szymanski (73 yards), Splithoff to Szymanski (66 yards) and Splithoff to Andy Bryant (62 yards).
Ground Attack - Princeton also owns the longest run in the league this season, an 82-yard touchdown by senior tailback Cameron Atkinson. It was the longest play in Princeton Stadium history and the longest run of Atkinson's career.
Not Bad, For Starters - Sophomore quarterback Matt Verbit made the most of his first career start, throwing one touchdown pass and running for another in Princeton's 32-25 win over Cornell last weekend. He didn't throw any interceptions. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Verbit was 8 for 14 for 93 yards and a touchdown, and he rushed twice for 13 yards and another touchdown.
Van Morrison - Junior wideout Blair Morrison set career marks with eight receptions for 107 yards against Cornell, but his most memorable catch was his 11-yard fade for a touchdown in overtime.
More Morrison - Blair Morrison led all Princeton receivers with six receptions for 59 yards in last season's 21-10 loss at Penn.
The Drew Babinecz Show - Senior co-captain Drew Babinecz is second on the team with 48 tackles and leads Princeton with six passes defensed. He has already doubled his number of tackles from last season (24) and has 156 career tackles.
2,000 x 2 - Two Princeton seniors reached career milestones last weekend. Tailback Cameron Atkinson became the sixth Princetonian to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a career, and he would later pass Marc Washington '97 and move into fifth on the all-time list. Wide receiver Chisom Opara later became the third Tiger to record more than 2,000 receiving yards in a career.
G.I. Joe - Junior defensive end Joe Weiss made a team-high 12 tackles, recorded two sacks and defended one pass, but his biggest play in the 32-25 overtime win against Cornell was tipping a pass in the final seconds that was eventually intercepted and kept Cornell from attempting a game-winning field goal. Weiss was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
I'm Honored - Joe Weiss was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after his efforts against Cornell. He is the third Princeton player to earn this award in 2002 (Jay McCareins, Blake Perry).
The Closer - Sophomore defensive back Jay McCareins made a late interception against Cornell after a tip by Joe Weiss. In Princeton's last six wins, dating back to last season, McCareins has six interceptions.
A Closer Look - In Princeton's last three wins, Jay McCareins has intercepted a total of four passes, each ending potential go-ahead drives in the final four minutes of the game. Each interception occurred within 30 yards of the Princeton end zone.
Getting Defensive - Princeton limited Cornell to 53 total yards in the second half and overtime of last weekend's victory.
Zak Attack - Princeton linebacker Zak Keasey, who leads the team in total tackles (64) and unassisted tackles (38), had 11 stops in the win over Cornell.
Atkins(on) Diet - Princeton is 5-0 when Cameron Atkinson rushes for at least 100 yards and 0-2 when he doesn't. Atkinson has scored at least one touchdown in four of six games this season, and five of his touchdowns have been at home.
Starting Lineup - Princeton has started the same 11 defensive players in every game this season.
Back To The Future - Of the 11 defensive starters, only three (linebackers Drew Babinecz and J.R. Sauder and safety Kevin Kongslie) are among the Class of 2003.
Bouncing Back - Dating back to last season, Princeton has followed its last three losses with victories.
Three Amigos - Princeton has had three receivers with 100-yard games this season, Chisom Opara (two), B.J. Szymanski (two) and Blair Morrison.
Grand Slam - Cameron Atkinson needs to average 101.0 yards over each of his last three games to become the sixth Princeton player to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.
That Winning Feeling - With one more win this season, Princeton would have its first winning season since 1997. Furthermore, it would be the first time Princeton won at least six games on the field since its Ivy League championship season of 1995. Princeton went 6-4 in 1997, but one of its wins was via forfeit after Penn used an ineligible player.
Sending Them Home Happy - A victory over either Penn or Dartmouth would ensure Princeton its first winning record at Princeton Stadium since its debut season of 1998. A sweep would give Princeton five home victories for the first time since the 1994 season.
I'm Honored - Cameron Atkinson is one of 14 members of the 2002 National Scholar-Athlete Class. He is one of three Division I-AA members of the class and the lone Ivy League representative. Atkinson, a chemistry major, will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship and will be honored at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City on Dec. 8 when the 2002 Hall of Fame class is inducted.
The Crystal Ball - Princeton will return to the road next weekend to battle the Yale Bulldogs in New Haven, Conn. The game can be heard live at 12:30 p.m. either on WBUD 1260 AM or on the Princeton athletics web site (www.GoPrincetonTigers.com).
Home Sweet Home - Princeton will conclude its 2002 schedule at home when the Tigers face Dartmouth at 1 p.m. That game will be televised on both the YES Network and on RCN. The YES Network is also available on DirecTV.
Last Year
Princeton 32, Cornell 25 (OT)
PRINCETON, N.J. - Blair Morrison caught an 11-yard fade pass and the Princeton defense capped a wild comeback victory with an overtime stand as the Tigers knocked off Cornell 32-25.
Cornell held a 25-10 lead entering the fourth quarter, but quarterback Matt Verbit ignited the rally with a six-yard touchdown run to complete a 10-play drive. After stopping Cornell on two drives, Verbit led Princeton on another 10-play scoring drive. After a long run by Cameron Atkinson got the Tigers to the three-yard line, Atkinson bounced off two tackle attempts and scored with 4:47 remaining to cut the deficit to 25-23. Verbit scored on a sneak for the two-point conversion.
A last-second interception by Jay McCareins kept Cornell from attempting a game-winning field goal and sent the game to overtime. Verbit threw three consecutive completions, the final one being the touchdown to Morrison. Cornell moved the ball to the Princeton 7-yard line, but the defense forced a pair of incompletions to end the game.
Penn 31, Brown 7
PHILADELPHIA, PA. - Daniel Castles caught two touchdown passes and Penn outgained Brown 470-281 as the Quakers maintained their perfect Ivy League record with a 31-7 victory over winless Brown.
Stephen Faulk opened the scoring late in the first quarter with a nine-yard touchdown run, and leading receiver Rob Milanese caught a 38-yard touchdown pass less than three minutes later to bring the score to 14-0.
Following a turnover, Castles caught a 12-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter to bring the advantage to 21-0. Ian Malepeai scored Brown's lone touchdown with a four-yard reception late in the half, bringing the visitors to within two touchdowns.
Penn made sure Brown would get no closer, as the defense shut down the Bears' offense in the second half. Castles reopened a 21-point lead with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Mike Mitchell in the third quarter.
Last Year
Penn 21, Princeton 10
Philadelphia, Pa. - Penn held Princeton on a fourth-and-one inside the two-yard-line and then converted two big fourth-down plays on one drive and two third downs on another to rally for a 21-10 win over the game Tigers in front of 18,810.
Princeton led 10-7 at the half after a 37-yard Taylor Northrop field goal that tied Alex Sierk's school record of 36 field goals and a three-yard David Splithoff run.
With 6:53 to go in the third quarter, Princeton took over with the three-point lead at its 18. After a false-start penalty, the Tigers drove 85 yards to the Penn two, led by Splithoff's passing and the running of freshman back Branden Bensen. Faced with fourth-and-one and able to get a first down without a touchdown, Princeton went for it rather than take the sure three from Northrop. Splithoff's pass to tight end Mike Chiusano was incomplete, and Penn took over at the two with 2:31 to go in the quarter.
Penn then drove to the 22 as the quarter expired. Faced with its own fourth-and-inches, quarterback Gavin Hoffman picked it up on a sneak, keeping the drive alive. From there, the Quakers finished the 18-play, 98-yard march, taking the lead on Kris Ryan's one-yard run.
Splithoff then fumbled after a big hit by Brian Person to set the Quakers up at the Tiger 42. After two plays lost three yards, Ryan ran 14 yards for a first down at the 31. Hoffman then converted a third-and-eight with a 14-yard run of his own, and Adam Keslosky ran two yards for a touchdown that made it 21-10.
Zak Keasey made 13 tackles, the most by a Princeton player on the season.