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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
100th Meeting Between Harvard And Princeton Football Carries Major Ivy Implications
October 16, 2007 | Football
Yes, there will be plenty of history when the Princeton football team travels to Harvard Stadium this Saturday (12:30 p.m., NESN, DirecTV 623, GoPrincetonTigers.com, WPRB 103.3 FM) for a showdown with the Crimson. It will be the 100th meeting in this storied rivalry, one that has produced several recent classics in New England. The 2007 showdown is a crucial one in the Ivy League race, as Princeton looks to avoid a dreaded second league loss and Harvard looks to remain among the Ivy unbeatens.
Game Specifics ? Week 6
Date/Time: Oct. 20/12:30 p.m.
Field: Harvard Stadium
Location: Cambridge, Mass.
TV: NESN, DirecTV 623
Radio: 103.3 FM, GoPrincetonTigers.com
All-Time Series: Princeton leads 52-40-7
Last Year: PRINCETON 31, Harvard 28
Last At Site: Princeton 27, HARVARD 24
Last Five Years: Harvard leads 3-2
Current Streak: Princeton 2
Princeton 2007 Stats: click here.
Harvard 2007 Stats: click here.
Projected Weather: click here.
Game Notes ? Week 6
Silver Anniversary ? Princeton is looking to avoid its second Ivy League loss this weekend. No team has won an Ivy League title with two losses since Harvard, Penn and Dartmouth all shared the league title in 1982 with matching 5-2 records.
100 Years ? This is the 100th meeting between two of the nation's most historic universities.
Princeton leads the all-time series 52-40-7.
Close Calls ? The last five Princeton-Harvard games in Cambridge have been decided by an average margin of 3.4 points per game. Here is a brief recap of those five games:
1997 - Harvard 14, Princeton 12 Tied 5-5 after three quarters, Princeton took a 12-5 lead on a 65-yard pass from Harry Nakielny to Ryan Crowley, but three Harvard field goals, including one that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and still went in, gave the Crimson a two-point win.
1999 - Harvard 13, Princeton 6 After a 52-yard field goal by Princeton's Taylor Northrop evened the score at 6-6 with 3:34 remaining, Harvard drove to the 1-yard-line with few seconds remaining. Quarterback Brad Wilford scored on a keeper to clinch the win with two ticks left on the clock.
2001 - Harvard 28, Princeton 26 Taylor Northrop had a chance to win it with seven seconds remaining, but his 47-yard field goal attempt sailed just wide left.
2003 - Harvard 43, Princeton 40 (ot) Princeton tied the game on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Matt Verbit to Blair Morrison with 3:24 remaining in regulation and could have won it with a 42-yard Derek Javarone field goal with seconds remaining, but the kick was wide left. Javarone put Princeton ahead 40-37 with an OT field goal, but Garrett Schires connected on a four-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Byrnes for the winning score.
2005 - Princeton 27, Harvard 24 Princeton ended a nine-year drought when eventual All-America selection Jay McCareins returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 93 yards for the winning points.
Streaking ? The longest winning streak for either side in this series belongs to Harvard, which won nine straight games between 1996 and 2004. That streak ended when Princeton won 27-24 at Harvard Stadium two seasons ago. Princeton currently owns a two-game winning streak over the Crimson, which is tied for Princeton second-longest streak over Harvard in the last 40 years.
Rallying Cry ? Princeton rallied from deficits in the fourth quarter of each of the last two Harvard games. Down 24-20 at Harvard Stadium, Jay McCareins returned a kickoff 93 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Last season, Jeff Terrell connected on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Brendan Circle with 4:37 remaining to give Princeton its eventual 31-28 winning score.
Been Here Before ? Two seasons ago, Princeton lost back-to-back games against a non-league opponent (Colgate) and at Brown. From that point, the Tigers won 14 of their next 16 games.
Twin Towers ? Both teams will start sons of Drew and Brenda-Fowler Berry on Saturday. Princeton WR Adam Berry is coming off a five-catch, 93-yard performance at Brown, while Harvard DB Andrew Berry has six passes defensed and 17 tackles this season.
Sixth Sense ? With the right combination of results this Saturday, there could be a six-way tie for first in the Ivy League. Wins by Penn (against Yale), Princeton (at Harvard), Brown (at Cornell) and Dartmouth (against Columbia) would leave each team except Cornell and Columbia with 2-1 Ivy records.
Head Of The Class ? Princeton and Harvard were ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in the 2008 U.S. News & World Report rankings of America's Best Colleges.
Third Time's A Charm ? Princeton hasn't lost three straight games since late in the 2004 season. It has been a span of 26 straight since the Tigers have suffered three straight defeats.
Who's Your Draddy ? Senior wideout Brendan Circle is one of 153 national semifinalists for the Draddy Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership. Circle was a first-team All-Ivy selection in 2006 and ranks sixth in the Ivy League with 73.4 receiving yards per game this season.
Offensive Notes ? Week 6
Tending The Yard ? Princeton has averaged 494.7 yards in each of its last three games, which included a 570-yard performance in the Ivy League opener against Columbia.
Eight Isn't Enough ? Brendan Circle needs three catches to become the seventh Princeton player to record at least 100 receptions in his career. He currently ranks eighth on the career list with 97 catches, two behind Michael Lerch '93 and seven behind Blair Morrison '04.
Circle Pattern ? Brendan Circle averages 82.5 receiving yards per game against Harvard, the second-most yards per game against any opponent (he averages 105.5 against Yale). He has caught touchdown passes in both starts against the Crimson, including the game-winner last year.
Five Alive ? Quarterback Bill Foran is the only player in the Ivy League to rank in the top five in both rushing and passing yardage this season. His 54.0 rushing yards and 189.6 passing yards both rank fifth in the league.
Ground Attack II ? Princeton ranks second in the league in rushing offense with 168.2 yards per game, despite not having a single 100-yard rusher this season. The Tigers' last 100-yard game came from Rob Toresco in the 2005 season finale.
Driven To Succeed ? Prior to last weekend, Princeton averaged 8.1 plays per scoring drive during the season. Against Brown, the Tigers had touchdown drives of 1, 4 and 4 plays.
Distance Specialists ? Princeton's three longest touchdown plays of the season all came last weekend, including a season-long 64-yard touchdown run by Bill Foran. That was the longest run of any kind for a Princeton player since wideout Derek Davis opened the 2005 Harvard game with a 72-yard end around for a touchdown.
Sack Exchange ? Princeton is tied for third in the Ivy League in fewest sacks allowed (1.4 per game), but the Tigers face the league leaders this weekend. Harvard is averaging 2.4 sacks per game this season after leading the Ivy League with 4.3 sacks per game last season.
Defensive Notes ? Week 6
Chairman Of The Board ? Linebacker Tim Boardman ranks third in the Ivy League with 9.0 tackles per game. Boardman, who led Princeton with 52 tackles last season, has 45 total tackles in 2007, 12 more than any of his teammates.
Tackling The Issue ? Sophomore John Callahan leads all underclassmen on Princeton with 33 tackles, and he has averaged eight tackles per game in the last two weeks. He recorded a forced fumble, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry last weekend as well.
Dan The Man ? Dan Kopolovich ranks third in the Ivy League with 1.8 passes defended per game. The rest of the top four in the league all play for Harvard; Steve Williams leads the league with 3.0, while Derrick Barker is second with 2.0. John Hopkins is fourth with 1.5.
Twice As Nice ? Kevin Kelleher recorded two interceptions against Columbia. The last Princeton player to record two interceptions in a game was Kelleher, who picked off two passes in the 31-28 home victory against Harvard last season.
Classic Koch ? Junior nose guard Matt Koch recorded two takeaways last weekend. He recovered a fumble and added his first career interception against Brown.
Song And Dance ? Senior linebacker Doori Song had a team-high five solo tackles last weekend against Brown. He is fifth on the team with 27 tackles, including 2.5 for loss.
Miscellaneous Notes ? Week 6
Un-Coyled ? Junior punter Ryan Coyle, a former Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week, ranks first in the league and fourth nationally with a 44.3 yard-per-punt average this season. The Princeton single-season record is 44.0 yards per punt, set in 1996 by Matt Evans. Coyle replaced Colin McDonough, Princeton's only four-time All-Ivy selection.
Louden Clear ? Junior placekicker Connor Louden is a perfect 42-for-42 on extra-point attempts in his career. The Princeton record is 59, set by Robert Goodwin from 1985-1987.
Top Gun ? Sophomore Kenny Gunter ranks second in the Ivy League with a 22.3 yard-per-return average. He set a program record against Hampton with 206 kickoff return yards.
Listen Up ? All Princeton games can be heard live on WPRB 103.3 FM and on GoPrincetonTigers.com. Ed Benkin returns for his seventh year as the Princeton play-by-play man, while former Tiger and NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker '01 will serve as the color man on seven games. Tucker played his senior season during Hughes' first year as head coach.
Watch Out ? Princeton's next four games will be televised. The Harvard game will be shown on NESN (DirecTV 623). Princeton returns home Oct. 26 for a 7 p.m. showdown with Cornell on ESPNU (609), then will return to Comcast channel CN8 for a road game at Penn. Princeton's annual showdown with Yale can be seen on the YES Network (610).
Crystal Ball ? Princeton will return to Powers Field at Princeton Stadium Oct. 26 when it takes on Cornell in a Friday night showdown on ESPNU. Princeton's only loss last season was a 14-7 loss at Cornell.
Last Year: PRINCETON 31, Harvard 28
PRINCETON, N.J. - A 20-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Terrell to Brendan Circle and a pair of interceptions by Kevin Kelleher highlighted a tense, Princeton-dominated final five minutes in a 31-28 victory over the Harvard Crimson in a battle of undefeated squads. For the fourth time in its first six games, Princeton had rallied from a second-half deficit to win, but there was definitely something special about this one.
While the offense scored the winning points, it was the team defensive effort against longtime Prince-ton killer Clifton Dawson that gave the Tigers a chance to win. Dawson, who did score three touchdowns in the win and surpassed the Ivy League career record for rushing touchdowns, came into the game averaging more than 195 yards per game against the Tigers, but he rushed for only 64 yards this time. Backup quarterback Liam O'Hagan did most of the Harvard damage both on the ground and through the air; he rushed for 89 yards and threw for 168 yards, including a touchdown.
But for the second straight season, O'Hagan's counterpart left the game with the win. Terrell threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 32 yards rushing and another touchdown. Once again, Circle was Terrell's favorite target; the junior wideout caught six passes for 114 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
Princeton picked off four passes in the win (two for Kelleher, one apiece for Luke Steckel and Tom Hurley). J.J. Artis had a team-high eight tackles, including five solo stops, while Mike Meehan added six stops, two pass breakups and one tackle for loss. The defensive line recorded several tipped passes, including the final one of the day for O'Hagan, which ended in Kelleher's hands to thwart the Crimson's final scoring attempt.
The Crimson scored twice in the third quarter to take its first lead of the game ? 28-24 ?? before the Tiger defense held firm in the fourth quarter. The winning touchdown run was ignited by Steckel's interception that put the ball at the Princeton 39-yard-line with 7:40 remaining. On 3rd-and-13, Terrell hit Brian Brigham on a deep post for 19 yards, and following a 6-yard run by Terrell, Princeton gained a first down on a Harvard penalty. Two plays later, Terrell found Circle on a crossing pattern at the 5-yard-line for the score.
The Louden extra point gave Princeton a 31-28 lead. Harvard's scoring bid ended when a pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Jake Marshall and grabbed out of the air by Kelleher. That play set off a wild celebration from Princeton's strong fan base, including a loud and passionate student section.