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Princeton University Athletics
Quotes From Wednesday's Harvard-Princeton Football Media Conference
October 20, 2004 | Football
Oct. 20, 2004
The No. 19 Harvard Crimson will bring the Ivy League's only perfect record to Princeton Stadium Saturday, where the Tiger football team will look to stay atop the league standings. The following are quotes from this week's press conference.
Harvard head coach Tim Murphy
Opening Statement
This weekend will feature a great college football game, with two great teams. This game has a lot on the line for both programs and should produce a lot of excitement.
On reversing hexes
The fact that we have been successful against Princeton makes them that much more of a dangerous team to face. The series has been competitive every year, but we have been fortunate to win.
On the development of Princeton
Princeton always has tremendous athletes. They are by far the toughest opponent we have yet to face this season because of how hard they play on both sides of the ball. The team has potential for several All-Ivy defensive players. That is due to their good scheme and personnel. They were a great team last year and have improved their defense. They give us a challenge all across the board.
On big game situations
We need to operate with poise and confidence all game. We have tons of experience and have showed that we can finish.
Princeton head coach Roger Hughes
Opening Statement
We are excited to be playing a game of this caliber. It is a situation where you have a team on top and another team that is trying to be on top, fighting for their right to be there.
On Harvard's offense
We need to stay on top of our coverage. It is important for no one to be out of place. Last week we played against a good quarterback (Brown's Joe DiGiacomo) that gave us challenges, however he wasn't as experienced as Ryan Fitzpatrick is.
On Harvard's defense
They are more aggressive than they used to be, enabling them to make tons of plays. We, just like last week, are going to face a lot of high pressure.
On the `big game' ideal
Every game is a big game. It's a big game now because it's the game we are playing this week. We need to continue doing what made us successful to this point. We need to create turnovers and minimize ours, while staying away from penalites. We are looking forward to this game, and we have been since 6 p.m. last Saturday night.
Senior running back Jon Veach
On his senior year vs. Harvard
It is [my class's] last chance to beat Harvard, but there is no added sense of urgency. Like Coach has said, every game is important to us. This is the biggest game of our season, and next week, Cornell will be the biggest game of our season.
Junior linebacker Justin Stull
On Harvard's offense
This offense is nothing like anything we have seen during this season. This will be our greatest test of the year and will let us know where we are in the league. Our confidence has been growing, especially after the way we have played the last two weeks.