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Princeton University Athletics
Still In Ivy Race? Football Hopes To Answer YES
October 26, 2004 | Football
Oct. 26, 2004
The Princeton football team looks to bounce back from last weekend's loss when it travels to Schoellkopf Field this Saturday for a 12:00 showdown with the Cornell Big Red in a nationally televised contest (YES Network, WHWH 1350 AM, GoPrincetonTigers.com).
10/30: Princeton (4-2, 2-1) vs. Cornell (1-5, 1-2) Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game Notes
Catch-22 -- It's been 22 seasons since a team with two Ivy League losses has claimed at least a share of the Ivy League title [1982: Harvard, Penn and Dartmouth shared the title with a 5-2 record]. Since then, there have been ten seasons when the league champion had at least one loss.
The Amazing Race -- Princeton is the only team in the Ivy League with one league loss. If Princeton wins out, and Harvard loses once, the Tigers would claim at least a share of the Ivy title.
New York, New York -- Princeton has played two thrillers in the Empire State this season. The Tigers won a 27-26 overtime contest at Columbia thanks to a blocked extra point and an overtime touchdown by Jon Veach. The next week, Colgate rallied for a touchdown in the final two minutes of a 29-26 victory.
Lights, Camera, Action -- Princeton has won three of its last four nationally televised games, including a 35-18 win over Lafayette this season (College Sports TV). The Tigers have won two of three on the YES Network (2002 vs. Dartmouth, 2003 at Brown) and lost their only game in double overtime (2003 vs. Yale).
Dynamic Duo -- Princeton entered this season with winning streaks against two Ivy League teams, Brown (2) and Cornell (2). The Tigers improved their win streak to three games against Brown two weeks ago.
Snow Guts, Snow Glory -- The last time Princeton visited Schoellkopf Field, the Tigers defeated Cornell 32-25 in overtime. Princeton rallied from a 25-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to send the game to the extra session.
Just A Second -- Princeton quarterback Matt Verbit is No. 2 on the all-time total yards and all-time passing lists at Princeton (see charts). He surpassed longtime NFL quarterback Jason Garrett on both lists last weekend.
Mr. Reliable -- This will be Matt Verbit's 21st straight start at quarterback. The last Tiger quarterback with more consecutive starts is Doug Butler, who started 29 straight games for Princeton from 1983-1985.
The First Chapter -- Matt Verbit's first career start came at Schoellkopf Field, one week after former starter Dave Splithoff had been knocked out of the Harvard game. Verbit threw for 204 yards and ran for both a touchdown and the two-point conversion to send the game to overtime. He also threw a touchdown pass to Blair Morrison in overtime for the winning margin.
Marching Four-ward -- Senior running back Branden Benson has run for a touchdown in four straight games, including a career-long 84-yard score in the 29-26 loss at Colgate. He also rushed for an 11-yard score last weekend against Harvard.
A Day At The Veach -- Senior running back Jon Veach has scored 14 touchdowns in his last 11 games. Two of those scores came last season against Cornell.
Moving Up The Charts -- Jon Veach became the 15th runner in school history with more than 1,500 career yards rushing last weekend against Harvard. With 1,515 yards under his belt, Veach needs 21 yards to tie for 14th place (Ellis Moore, 1,536 yards), 69 yards to tie for 13th place (Homer Smith, 1,584 yards), 88 yards to tie for the 12th place (Bobby Isom, 1,603 yards), 105 yards to tie for 11th place (Hugh Scott, 1,620 yards) and 113 yards to enter the Top 10 (Lawrence Van Pelt, 1,628 yards)
Hit The Dek -- Junior tight end Jon Dekker caught his only career touchdown pass in last season's 28-6 victory over Cornell.
Strawberry Fields -- Junior Greg Fields is third in the Ivy League and 17th in the NCAA with 144.5 all-purpose yards per game.
Tackling The Issue -- Princeton has the top two tacklers in the Ivy League in junior linebacker Justin Stull and senior linebacker Zak Keasey. Keasey leads the league with 79 tackles, which include the career-best 20 he had last weekend, and Stull is second with 72.
Dynamic Duo -- Zak Keasey and Justin Stull have combined for 151 tackles this season. The next closest pair of teammates is Yale's Ben Breunig and Barton Simmons, who have combined for 120. Zak Attack -- In three Ivy League games this season, senior linebacker Zak Keasey has 47 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass breakups and an interception. He was also named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week once, and that wasn't in an Ivy League game [11 tackles, one forced fumble, one pass breakup, one game-clinching interception in 24-17 win at San Diego].
Justin Time -- Junior linebacker Justin Stull led the Ivy League last season with 114 tackles, the most for a Princeton player since Dave Patterson recorded 129 during the Ivy championship season of 1995.
Tim-ber -- Sophomore Tim Strickland tied a school record with three interceptions in Princeton's last road game, a 29-26 loss at Colgate.
Common Cold -- Princeton and Cornell have played three common opponents this season, Brown, Colgate and Harvard. The Big Red is 0-3 against the three teams, while Princeton is 1-2. Princeton defeated Brown 24-10 two weeks ago.
Iron Man -- Junior Jay McCareins is second at Princeton in receptions (11), interceptions (two) and kickoff returns (21.4 ypr). He leads the team with seven passes defensed.
More McCareins -- Jay McCareins intercepted a pass in the final seconds of regulation on the Big Red's potential game-winning drive two seasons ago at Cornell.
The Full Monte -- Junior wideout Monte McNair caught his first career touchdown pass last weekend, a 31-yard reception on fourth down against Harvard.
First And Goal -- Matt Verbit has thrown five touchdown passes to five receivers this season (Brian Brigham, Joel Mancl, Monte McNair, Brian Shields and Eric Walz). Those five players combined to catch one touchdown pass prior to this season in their careers.
Go Deep -- The four touchdown passes to wide receivers (all but Joel Mancl) have gone for 31, 34 and twice for 50 yards.
Out Of The Gates -- Princeton has outscored its opponents 41-10 in the first quarter of games this season.
Gone In Sixty Seconds -- Princeton has had seven scoring drives this season, including each of the last three, last less than one minute. Four of its touchdown drives have lasted one play.
Just For Kicks -- Junior placekicker Derek Javarone has made 11 of his last 14 field goal attempts and 18 of 19 extra-point attempts. His only PAT attempt that wasn't successful this season was blocked.
Must See TV -- Princeton will have three nationally televised games the rest of the season, beginning with Saturday's game. The Tigers' home game against Penn will be aired on CSTV, which can be seen on DirecTV channel 610. The road games at Cornell and Yale will be televised by the YES Network. For those who do not live in the Northeast and don't get YES on their basic cable service, it can be found on DirecTV channel 622.
More TV -- Princeton was featured on CSTV's "Dog Days," a half-hour documentary show that highlights various football training camps around the country. Virginia Tech and Maryland are among the other teams that have been featured on this program.
The Crystal Ball -- The Tigers return to Princeton Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 6, to challenge the two-time defending league champion Penn Quakers. The game begins at 1 p.m. Penn has won eight straight games against Princeton, including a 37-7 win at Franklin Field last year.
Last Season: Princeton 28, Cornell 6
PRINCETON, N.J. - Jon Veach scored two touchdowns while the Princeton defense limited the Cornell offense to 230 yards as the Tigers rolled to a 28-6 win over the Big Red in front of 14,037 fans at Princeton Stadium. 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 improved Princeton to 2-5 overall, 2-2 in the Ivy League.
But head coach Roger Hughes was more focused on the most complete performance of the season by his Tigers, who have scored 89 points in their last nine quarters.
"I was very proud of the team today," Hughes said afterwards. "We came back from a very emotional loss and played well against a team that we had struggled against over the last three years. To the credit of the kids, especially the seniors, we played with a lot of intensity."
While Princeton has had big individual rushing performances over the last two weeks, it was success-by-committee against Cornell. 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. Wideout Blair Morrison caught three passes for 66 yards and one touchdown, while four other receivers had two catches apiece.
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. Two of his sacks came on the first three plays of the game, the latter of which caused a fumble that would help Princeton to its quick 14-0 lead. Abi Fadeyi had six tackles and his second blocked punt in as many weeks, while Nick Brown had his first interception of the season.
Princeton 2004 Season Highs
PRINCETON Rushes Veach v. Brown (20) Yards Rushing Benson v. Colgate (133) TD Rushes Veach v. Columbia (2) Long Rush Benson v. Colgate (84) Pass Attempts Verbit v. Columbia (33) Pass Completions Verbit v. Columbia (19) Yards Passing Verbit v. Columbia (227) TD Passes Verbit v. Lafayette (2) Long Pass Verbit to Walz v. San Diego (52) Receptions Wu v. Lafayette (7) Yards Receiving Wu v. Lafayette (108) TD Receptions several players (1) Long Field Goal Javarone v. Colgate (28) Long Punt McDonough v. Brown (55) Tackles Keasey v. Harvard (20) Sacks Stull, Keasey, Browne (2) Interceptions Strickland v. Colgate (3)
Statistical Breakdown
Rushing Yards Branden Benson (P) 71.5 ypg Jon Veach (P) 71.2 ypg Andre Hardaway (C) 58.0 ypg Joshua Johnston (C) 57.2 ypg Greg Fields (P) 20.8 ypgPassing Yards Matt Verbit (P) 168.5 ypg D.J. Busch (C) 166.5 ypg
Receptions Brian Romney (C) 32 rec. Chad Nice (C) 24 rec. Greg Fields (P) 17 rec. Andre Hardaway (C) 14 rec.
Receiving Yards* Brian Romney (C) 57.3 ypg Chad Nice (C) 51.3 ypg Greg Fields (P) 28.0 ypg Anthony Jackson (C) 21.3 ypg *(minimum 1 reception per game)
All-Purpose Yards Greg Fields (P) 144.5 ypg Joshua Johnston (C) 116.0 ypg Andre Hardaway (C) 110.8 ypg Branden Benson (P) 80.5 ypg Jon Veach (P) 78.8 ypg
Scoring Derek Javarone (P) 36 points Jon Veach (P) 30 points Andre Hardaway (C) 30 points Branden Benson (P) 24 points
Punting Colin McDonough (P) 36.4 ypp Mike Baumgartel (C) 36.0 ypp
Field Goals Derek Javarone (P) 6 of 9 A.J. Weitsman (C) 2 of 3
Interceptions Tim Strickland (P) 3 INTs Keasey, McCareins (P) 2 INTs three players (C) 1 INT
Sacks Zak Keasey (P) 4 sacks Justin Stull (P) 3 sacks four players (C) 2 sacks
Tackles Zak Keasey (P) 79 tackles Justin Stull (P) 72 tackles Kevin Rex (C) 53 tackles Alan Borelli (P) 42 tackles