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Princeton University Athletics
Quotes From Wednesday's Media Luncheon
September 18, 2002 | Football
Sept. 18, 2002
Princeton head coach Roger Hughes
Opening statements:
"We're excited to finally get out on the field and get some action against some players other than ourselves. Unfortunately it is against a team like Lehigh that has played twice already."
"Statistically they are a pretty good team, the fact that they have lost only one regular season game in the past three years shows that."
"When you play a team of this caliber, your weaknesses will get exposed. We will have to be able to correct any mistakes we make and go from there."
On the preseason:
"I thought our players came into camp stronger than in the past. We modified practices this season to have a more physical camp."
"In the scrimmage, we did some good and some bad things. Overall, I was pleased. We're looking forward to the season."
On what Princeton has to do different this year against Lehigh:
"First of all, we have to score when we get into the red zone and eliminate the mistakes we've made in the past, such as fumbles and penalties."
"We have to play above our heads and play error-free football. We can't make mistakes against a team of this caliber."
"We have to maintain a ball-control offense and when we get the chance to score, we have to take advantage of it."
Princeton linebackers coach Don Dobes
"Offensively, our concern is the number of weapons they have. They do a great job of changing formations. In the past, we've not recognized those changes right away. It's critical that the linebackers be on the same page when we make those adjustments. Hopefully, because of our maturity, those mistakes won't happen like they did last year."
Princeton center Roger Patterson
"Communication is the key for everyone. We've got to all play together. We know we have what it takes to win a bunch of games this season. Hopefully it will begin with this one on Saturday."
Princeton defensive back Brandon Meuller
"We don't look too much into the [Ivy League preseason] poll. We have a goal to take every game week by week and if in the end we are on top that is great."
"Defensively we match up better than we have in past years against Lehigh. We proved last year that we have a good defensive team and that we can play with them. Hopefully this year we will be able to shut them down."
Lehigh head coach Pete Lembo
"We're looking forward to getting out on the game field after a week off. We're looking forward to playing Princeton, who will be the best team we've played all season."
"I think that Princeton is a good football team. We treated it similar to a game week, but the pace was a little slower. We gave the varsity off last Friday and Saturday and came back and had a good day on Sunday."
On the atmosphere at Goodman Stadium:
"We have a great crowd and a great community. We have lots of folks outside of the Lehigh family that come out and support us and make it a special place to play."