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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Returns Home, Will Battle Cornell On ESPNU Under Friday Night Lights
October 25, 2007 | Football
The Princeton football team will return home after two straight road games to renew one of the most exciting rivalries in the Ivy League, and it will invite a national audience to watch. The ESPNU cameras return to Powers Field at Princeton Stadium Friday night at 7 p.m. for the 90th meeting between Cornell and Princeton. The home team has won four straight in this series, including an overtime thriller here two seasons ago.
Game Specifics ? Week 7
Date/Time: Oct. 26/7 p.m.
Field: Powers Field at Princeton Stadium
Location: Princeton, N.J.
TV: ESPNU, DirecTV 609
Radio: 103.3 FM, GoPrincetonTigers.com
All-Time Series: Princeton leads 54-33-2
Last Year: CORNELL 14, Princeton 7
Last At Site: PRINCETON 20, Cornell 17 (ot)
Last Five Years: Princeton leads 3-2
Current Streak: Cornell 1
Princeton Stats: Click here.
Cornell Stats: Click here.
Projected Weather: Click here.
The Recent History of the Princeton-Cornell Series
2000 Cornell 25, Princeton 24
Princeton's Brian Danielewicz completes a 24-yard touchdown pass to Chisom Opara with 11 seconds remaining, but Taylor Northrop slipped on the wet turf and his PAT was blocked.
2001 Cornell 10, Princeton 7
Taylor Northrop's 57-yard field goal attempt with 5:53 remaining hit the crossbar and bounced back into the end zone.
2002 Princeton 32, Cornell 25 (ot)
Princeton scores 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and overtime to rally from a 25-10 deficit. Jay McCareins forces overtime with a late INT and Blair Morrison catches the winning TD.
2003 PRINCETON 28, Cornell 6
Matt Verbit throws two touchdown passes in a 22-second span as Princeton rolls at home.
2004 CORNELL 21, Princeton 20
Cornell throws touchdown passes of 54 and 79 yards, and Derek Javarone's PAT with 6:48 remaining in the fourth quarter gets blocked.
2005 PRINCETON 20, Cornell 17 (ot)
Jeff Terrell engineers an 18-play, 63-yard drive to set up the tying field goal, and Derek Javarone breaks the Ivy League record with his 42nd career field goal to win it in overtime.
2006 CORNELL 14, Princeton 7
Despite outgaining Cornell 328-274, the Big Red handed Princeton its only loss of the season when Matt Grant's late INT ends the final Tiger drive.
Game Notes ? Week 7
Friday Night Lights ? Princeton won its first-ever Friday night matchup last season when it defeated Brown 17-3 last season. That game, also televised on ESPNU, featured touchdown passes to Rob Toresco and Brendan Circle and a defensive effort that kept Brown out of the end zone for the first time in a decade. Dave Ryan and Tom Luginbill will handle the play-by-play and color commentary for ESPNU.
Close Calls ? Ten of the last 12 Princeton-Cornell matchups have been decided by seven points or less.
Home Sweet Home ? The home team has won each of the last four meetings between Cornell and Princeton.
Home Cooking ? Princeton has won five straight Ivy League home games and eight of its last nine.
Seeing Red ? Princeton's only loss during the 2006 Ivy League championship season was a 14-7 setback at Cornell.
Nine Lives ? Nine different players ran the ball for Princeton last weekend in the 27-10 loss to Harvard. Four running backs, three quarterbacks and two wide receivers had carries, and seven players had at least three rushes.
Driven To Succeed ? In the last meeting between these teams at Princeton Stadium (2005), the Tigers used an 18-play, 63-yard drive to kick the game-tying field goal late in regulation. Princeton won in OT when Derek Javarone kicked his then-Ivy League record 43rd career field goal.
First Of All ? The first game ever played at Prince-ton Stadium was a 6-0 Tiger victory over Cornell in the 1998 season opener.
Who's Your Draddy ? Senior WR 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.
Four Score ? Princeton hasn't lost four straight games since late in the 2004 season. Following the fourth loss, a 21-9 loss at Yale, the Tigers went on to win 17 of its next 21 games and claimed the 2006 Ivy League title.
Golden Anniversary ? This is the 50th anniversary of Princeton's first Ivy League championship team (1957). The team, which was led by captain Jack Sapoch and eventual first-team All-Ivy selections Bob Casciola and Dan Sachs, was the first in the 12-year tenure of head coach Dick Colman. Colman replaced Princeton legend and College Football Hall of Famer Charles Caldwell, who was diagnosed with cancer and died during the season. Caldwell led Princeton to its last national championship season (1950) and coached Princeton's only Heisman Trophy winner (Dick Kazmaier, 1951). Colman, who would also be voted into the College Football Hall of Fame, posted winning records in 10 of 12 seasons.
Offensive Notes ? Week 7
Fo-ran ? Senior quarterback Bill Foran leads in Princeton in both rushing yards (47.8 per game) and rushing touchdowns (five). Foran ran for a pair of touchdowns in consecutive home games against Columbia and Hampton earlier in the season.
Brian's Song ? Junior quarterback Brian Anderson made his Princeton debut last weekend after both Bill Foran and Greg Mroz went down with injuries. The lefty completed three of six passes and ran the ball three times for 19 yards.
Circle Pattern ? Brendan Circle needs one catch to become the seventh Princeton player with at least 100 career receptions. He is tied for seventh on the all-time receptions list with Michael Lerch '93, and he is five catches behind sixth-ranked Blair Morrison '04.
Highway Rob-bery ? Senior fullback Rob Toresco leads Princeton with 27 receptions this season. He has 87 receptions in his career, ninth most in Princeton history. The only running back with more career receptions than Toresco is Judd Garrett, who caught 137 passes from 1987-89.
Returning In Style ? Junior running back R.C. Lagomarsino returned from a concussion in the Hampton game midway through the second quarter at Harvard. On his first drive, he took an option pitch from quarterback Greg Mroz and scored on a 29-yard run. Lagomarsino was Princeton's leading rusher last season with a 45.1 yard-per-game average.
Defensive Notes ? Week 7
Tackling The Issue ? Two of the top five tacklers in the Ivy League will be on the field tonight. Cornell's Tim Bax leads the league with 9.3 tackles per game, while Princeton linebacker Tim Boardman ranks fifth with 8.3 tackles per game.
The Red Zone ? Tim Boardman recorded a career-best 15 tackles in last season's 14-7 loss at Cornell. Princeton gave up only 274 total yards at Cornell last season.
On And Karacozoff ? Sophomore defensive lineman Joel Karacozoff had a career day at Harvard. He recorded four tackles, including 1.5 for losses, and added three pass breakups, one sack, one fumble recovery and one quarterback hurry.
Passed Out ? Three of the top four Ivy League leaders in passes defensed play for either Cornell or Princeton. Tiger sophomore Dan Kopolovich is tied with Cornell's Colin Nash and Frank Morand with eight passes defensed this season.
Classic Koch ? Junior nose guard Matt Koch recorded two takeaways two weeks ago against Brown. He recovered a fumble and added his first career interception against the Bears.
Lost Cause ? Sophomore John Callahan, who leads all Princeton underclassmen with 38 tackles, is the team leader with 4.5 tackles for loss.
Miscellaneous Notes ? Week 7
Un-Coyled ? Junior punter Ryan Coyle ranks fourth nationally with a 45.1 yard-per-punt average this season. Coyle averaged 47.0 yards per punt last weekend at Harvard.
Just For Kicks ? The single-season Princeton record for punting average in a season is 44.0 yards, set in 1998 by Matt Evans. Four-time All-Ivy selection Colin McDonough made a run at the record last year, but finished second at 43.6 yards per punt.
Louden Clear ? Junior kicker 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.
Watch Out ? Due to contractual issues, GoPrincetonTigers.com will not be able to video stream Friday night's contest with Cornell. The game will be shown live on ESPNU, which can be found on DirecTV channel 609.
Watch Out II ? Princeton's next two games will also be televised. Princeton will return to Comcast channel CN8 next weekend at Penn. Princeton's annual showdown with Yale can be seen on the YES Network (DirecTV 610).
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.
Crystal Ball ? Princeton will head to Philadelphia next weekend for a noon showdown with the Penn Quakers. Princeton has won two straight against Penn, including last season's double-overtime thriller that included the fourth-down pitch from Rob Toresco to Jeff Terrell that was featured on ESPN that night. Penn lost a triple-overtime contest at home against Yale last weekend.
Final-ly ? Princeton's 2007 home finale will be the 130th meeting between Princeton and Yale, a series that has produced two dramatic finishes over the last two seasons. Yale ended the Tigers' 2005 Ivy championship dreams with a 14-point rally in the fourth quarter of a 21-14 win in Princeton. Last season, the Tigers overcame three different 14-point rallies and defeated Yale 34-31 in New Haven, a win that eventually led to Princeton earning a share of the Ivy League title. Yale is currently unbeaten this season, which includes a 26-20 triple-overtime win over Penn last weekend.