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Princeton University Athletics
Surging Football Team Looks To Swing Penn-dulum In Local Rivalry
November 04, 2003 | Football
Nov. 4, 2003
PRINCETON, N.J. - Figuring out a way to end the 13-game winning streak of the No. 9 Penn Quakers may be a complex issue, but there is one simple truth to it. If the suddenly surging Princeton football team does it this weekend, it will be right in the thick of an Ivy League title race.
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Game Notes
Dressed To The Nines - In the last nine quarters, Princeton has scored 89 points and gained 1,108 yards. In the nine quarters before it, Princeton scored 23 points and gained 622 yards.
Not Exactly Seventh Heaven - Penn has beaten Princeton on the field seven straight times (not counting a 1997 game that was forfeited to Princeton after Penn had used an ineligible player). Princeton last defeated Penn in 1995, when the Tigers pulled out a 22-9 win at Franklin Field.
History Lesson - The 1995 season was also the last time that Princeton won the Ivy title.
The Amazing Race - A win at Penn would put Princeton right back into the league race, as the Tigers would have two losses, and three other teams would have at least one loss. Penn would still have a game at Harvard, Harvard would have a game at Yale and Yale would have a game at Princeton. If the Tigers won out and the home teams won those games, there would be a four-way tie for the championship.
On The Other Hand - A Penn win Saturday officially eliminates Princeton from the league race. Four Score - There has never been a four-way tie for the league title in the 46-year history of the official designation of the Ivy League. There has been a three-way tie three times.
Point, Counterpoint - Princeton is averaging 14.8 points per game during the last five contests against Penn, while the Quakers are averaging 34.8 and have scored at least 40 points on three different occasions.
Welcome Matt - Junior quarterback Matt Verbit threw five touchdown passes in the first five weeks and averaged 221.6 passing yards per game. In the last two games, he has thrown six touchdowns and averaged 296.5 yards.
More Matt - Matt Verbit is averaging 243.0 passing yards per game and is on pace to end the season with 2,430 yards, which would be fourth best all-time at Princeton. For his career, Verbit has 2,636 passing yards, ninth-best all time at Princeton. An average performance (243 yards) would put Verbit in sixth all-time, one spot below current strong safety Dave Splithoff.
Bombs Away - Matt Verbit has averaged 33.1 yards per touchdown pass on his 15 career touchdown passes; Dave Splithoff averaged 38.25 yards per touchdown pass on his 20 career touchdown passes.
More Bombs - Princeton quarterbacks have thrown 40 touchdown passes in Roger Hughes' tenure as head coach. The average length has been 36.3 yards.
Catch-22 - Matt Verbit threw two touchdown passes last weekend against Cornell in a 22-second span. The last time Princeton scored twice in a quicker span was 1992, when Keith Elias scored on a 32-yard run and Michael Lerch returned a fumble 24 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff 10 seconds later.
A Day At The Veach - Heading into the Harvard game, junior tailback Jon Veach had four career touchdowns. In his last eight quarters, he has five (three rushing, two receiving).
On Purpose - Jon Veach had the sixth-best performance ever at Princeton in all-purpose yards against Harvard. He rushed for 205 yards to go along with 46 receiving yards and 34 return yards for a total of 285.
All Or Nothing - Princeton has gotten inside the red zone 14 times in Ivy League games and has yet to get a field goal in any of them. The Tigers have scored touchdowns 10 times, missed field goals three times and had the game end once (Brown).
Justin Time - Sophomore linebacker Justin Stull leads the Ivy League with 10.7 tackles per game. He is on pace to have Princeton's first 100-tackle season since Jim Salters made 107 tackles in the 1998 season.
Wu-Hoo! - Junior Clinton Wu set an Ivy League record and tied an NCAA record against Brown by catching a 99-yard touchdown pass in Princeton's 34-14 win against Brown. It was his third career reception and first for a touchdown.
Prime Target - B.J. Szymanski averages 19.1 yards per catch this season. That mark would be third-best at Princeton in a season; the record is held by Marc Ross, who averaged 20.2 yards per catch in 1993. Symanski has averaged 44.7 yards per touchdown reception in his career, which has included scores of 71, 73 and 75 yards.
We're Honored - Princeton has won four weekly Ivy League awards the last three weeks (Jon Veach, offensive vs. Harvard; Justin Stull, defensive vs. Brown; Tim Strickland, rookie vs. Brown and Colin McDonough, rookie vs. Cornell).
For Kicks - Freshman punter Colin McDonough leads the Ivy League with a 40.0-yard average per punt. The two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week also made three extra-point attempts last week, becoming the first Princeton player to try multiple extra points in one game and make all of them.
On Dek - Sophomore tight end Jon Dekker has caught half of his 14 receptions this season in the last two weeks, and each has given Princeton at least a first down. Dekker caught his first career touchdown pass last week in the second quarter against Cornell.
Blair-Witch Project - Senior wideout Blair Morrison has five catches in four of Princeton's last six games and touchdowns in each of the Tigers' last two games.
The Last Shall Be First - Princeton's two Ivy League losses this season have come on the final play of the game. Columbia won 33-27 on a 49-yard bomb from Jeff Otis to Wade Fletcher, while Harvard scored in overtime on a touchdown pass from Garrett Schires to Rodney Byrnes.
Block Party - Princeton has blocked three punts in the last two weeks, including two by sophomore linebacker Abi Fadeyi (one against Harvard, one against Cornell). Fadeyi has three career blocked kicks; the record at Princeton is seven by Rocky Fitizzi '99.
Joe Millionaire - Senior defensive end Joe Weiss had four tackles for loss and one sack in Princeton's first four games. In the last three, he has eight tackles for loss and three sacks.
Young Guns - Freshmen cornerbacks J.J. Artis and Tim Strickland combined to defense four passes and record no interceptions in the first four weeks of the season. In the last three weeks, they have defensed nine and picked off two passes (Strickland vs. Brown, Artis vs. Harvard).
No Passing Fancy - Princeton averaged 3.5 passes defensed per game over the first four games of the season. In the last three games, it has averaged 7.7 per game.
Conversion Chart - Prior to the Brown game, Princeton's opponents were successfully converting on 42% of their third-down opportunities. Since then, their success rate has been 30%. In the first four games, opponents picked up first downs 53 times on passes (13.2 times per game); since then, they have gotten 29 via the pass (9.6 per game).
Strawberry Fields - Sophomore return specialist Greg Fields has averaged 26.0 yards per kickoff return in the last three games after averaging 17.8 yards per return in his first four games.
The Crystal Ball - Princeton will play its home finale next weekend when it takes on the Yale Bulldogs. The contest, Princeton's second this season on the YES Network, will begin at 1:06. Yale leads the all-time series 67-48-10, including a 7-3 win last weekend in wet conditions at the Yale Bowl. The Tigers are 2-0 in the last two seasons on the YES Network and have averaged 36.0 points per game.
Tale of the Tape
Penn Princeton 31.1 Points Per Game 22.6 18.0 Points Allowed Per Game 26.0 158 First Downs 133 71/79/8 Rushing/Passing/Penalty 57/70/6 177.0 Rushing Yardage Per Game 150.6 9 Touchdowns Rushing 10 246.6 Passing Yardage Per Game 243.0 252/152/9 Att./Comp./Int. 225/112/5 18 Touchdowns Passing 11 37/285 Penalties/Yards 46/386 33/36.0 Punts/Avg. Per Punt 36/40.0 30:45 Time of Possession 26:40 12/84 Sacks By/Yardage 14/82 9/6 Fumbles/Fumbles Lost 19/10 8/11 Field Goals/Attempts 3/8 46 of 107 Third-Down Conversions 29 of 96
Last Year: Penn 44, Princeton 13
PRINCETON, N.J. - Mike Mitchell threw for 248 yards while the Penn defense limited Princeton to 29 first-half yards as the Quakers stayed perfect in the Ivy League with a 44-13 win at Princeton Stadium. The loss eliminated Princeton from title contention.
The Penn defense made an early statement, sacking quarterback Matt Verbit in the end zone on Princeton's first possession to open a 2-0 lead. The Quakers capped three other first-half drives with one-yard touchdown runs, including two by Michael Recchiuti.
The lone third quarter score came on a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown by Fred Plaza. Both teams traded fourth-quarter touchdowns, including a one-yard run by Branden Benson and a 14-yard touchdown reception by Blair Morrison, his second straight game with a touchdown catch.
Penn's top-rated rushing defense got the job done against the Tigers, who gained 32 yards on 32 carries. The biggest loss of yardage in that category was a play that was never intended to be a rush. A low snap on a punt attempt late in the first half was scooped up by rookie punter Eliot Bishop, who had one knee on the Princeton three-yard line at the time. Penn scored a touchdown later, turning a 16-0 lead into a 23-0 lead right before halftime.
Last Week
Princeton 28, Cornell 6
PRINCETON, N.J. - Junior Jon Veach scored two touchdowns while the Princeton defense limited the Cornell offense to 230 yards as the Tiger football team jumped back into the Ivy League race with a 28-6 win over the Big Red in front of 14,037 fans at Princeton Stadium. Junior quarterback Matt Verbit threw two touchdown passes in the span of 22 seconds in the first quarter to lead Princeton to the win.
The win improves Princeton to 2-5 overall, 2-2 in the Ivy League. Penn stayed perfect with a tight win over Brown, but Harvard fell at home to Dartmouth. Princeton can move to within one game of first place next weekend with a win at Penn.
While Princeton has had big individual rushing performances over the last two weeks, it was success-by-committee against Cornell. Junior Branden Benson led the effort with 65 yards, while Veach added 47 and Verbit added 33. Verbit was 13 of 23 for 239 yards and three touchdown passes in the win. Senior wideout Blair Morrison caught three passes for 66 yards and one touchdown, while four other receivers had two catches apiece.
Sophomore linebacker Justin Stull had his third consecutive and fifth overall double-digit tackle game, leading the Tiger defense with 10 stops. Joe Weiss, had seven tackles, including five in the backfield, and three sacks. Linebacker Abi Fadeyi had six tackles and his second blocked punt in as many weeks, while defensive back Nick Brown had his first interception of the season.
Penn 24, Brown 21
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Sam Mathews ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns as Penn held on for its 17th straight win, the second longest streak in Division I.