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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Explosive Brown Offense Awaits Football Team As Ivy Season Resumes
October 09, 2007 | Football
There were certainly memorable moments from a wild trio of non-league
games this season, but now the Princeton football team can shift its
full focus towards the Ivy League season. The six-game league stretch
opens Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (NESN, DirecTV 623, WPRB 103.3 FM,
GoPrincetonTigers.com) against 2005 Ivy champion Brown. The showdown
will feature two of the league's most explosive offenses, both of which
are averaging more than 27.0 points per game this season.
Game Specifics
Date/Time: Oct. 13/12:30 p.m.
Field: Brown Stadium
Location: Providence, R.I.
TV: NESN, DirecTV 623
Radio: WPRB 103.3 FM, GoPrincetonTigers.com
All-Time Series: 51-22
Last Year: PRINCETON 17, Brown 3
Last At Site: BROWN 31, Princeton 28
Last Five Years: Princeton leads 4-1
Current Streak: Princeton 1
Game Notes ? Week 5
Bouncing Back ? Princeton will look for its fifth straight win following a loss when it takes on Brown this weekend. Three of the four wins, dating back to 2005, have come in road games.
Bounced ? The last time Princeton lost a game following a loss was 2005, when the Tigers lost 31-28 at Brown Stadium. The Tigers rallied from 17 points down and took the lead in the third quarter, but Brown scored the final touchdown to claim a crucial win in its championship season.
Home Sweet Home ? The home team has won eight of the last nine meetings in this series. The last road team to win was Princeton, which topped Brown 34-14 in 2003. That game featured an Ivy League record 99-yard touchdown pass from Matt Verbit to Clinton Wu.
Leaves Of Grass ? Saturday's contest will be Princeton's only game in 2007 played on natural grass. The Tigers' last game on grass was a 34-31 comeback win at Yale last season.
D+ ? Princeton held Brown to one field goal in last season's 17-3 home win. That is the fewest points Brown has scored in its last 113 games.
Good Point ? Since last year's 17-3 Princeton win, both teams have averaged exactly 26.7 points per game.
Bad Point ? Both Princeton and Brown gave up 48 points in losses last weekend.
More Points ? The last time Princeton scored 50 points was 2000, when it topped Brown 55-28. The last time Princeton allowed 50 points was one year earlier, when Brown beat the Tigers 53-30.
Catching On ? Five of the top 10 receivers in the Ivy League (by yardage per game) will play this Saturday at Brown Stadium. Brown's Paul Raymond ranks first with 124.5 ypg, while Colin Cloherty ranks fourth (81.8 ypg) and Buddy Farnham ranks seventh (73.0). Brendan Circle ranks fifth for Princeton with 79.8 ypg, while Will Thanheiser ranks 10th (60.0).
We're Honored ? The last two Bushnell Cup winners played for these two teams. Brown's Nick Hartigan, the former Ivy leader in career rushing touchdowns, won the title in 2005, while Princeton's Jeff Terrell threw for 2,445 yards and 17 touchdowns to earn the honor.
Sixth Sense ? Both Princeton and Brown have completed the nonleague portion of their schedules and will play six consecutive Ivy League games to end the season. Both teams have won Ivy League titles in the last two years (Brown, 2005; Princeton, 2006).
Just For Kicks ? Brown kicker Steve Morgan has 43 career field goals, two short of the Ivy League record, which is held by former Princeton kicker Derek Javarone '06. In their careers, Morgan has kicked three field goals against Princeton, while Javarone kicked two against Brown.
Close Calls ? In the last two seasons, Princeton is 11-3. The Tigers' wins have come by an average of seven points per game, and five games have been
decided by four points or less.
Return To Sender ? Sophomore Kenny Gunter set a Princeton single-game record last weekend with 206 kickoff return yards. The previous record was 185 yards, set by Derek Wassink in a 1986 game against Lehigh.
Offensive Notes ? Week 5
Tending The Yard ? Princeton has averaged 527.0 yards per game in its last two contests, which is 22 more yards than the Tigers gained in any game last season. Princeton recorded 570 yards in the Ivy League opener against Columbia.
Nine Lives ? Brendan Circle needs five catches to become the seventh Princeton player to record at least 100 receptions in his career. He currently ranks ninth on the career list with 95 catches, one behind Cris Crissy '80 and four behind Michael Lerch '93.
Ground Attack ? Quarterback Bill Foran has rushed for two touchdowns in each of the last two games. He currently leads Princeton in rushing with 48.2 yards per game.
Ground Attack II ? Princeton has averaged 235.5 rushing yards per game over the last two contests. Neither game featured a 100-yard rushing performance for a Princeton back. The Tigers' last 100-yard game came from Rob Toresco in the 2005 season finale.
Offensive Display ? Two of the league's top three players in total offense are the starting quarterbacks this weekend. Brown's Michael Daugherty, the current Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, averages 341.0 yards per game, while Foran averages a third-best 239.0 yards per game.
Red Alert ? Prior to the Hampton game, Princeton reached the red zone 12 times and had scored nine touchdowns, kicked two field goals and taken a knee to run off the final seconds of the Lafayette victory. Against Hampton, the Tigers reached the red zone nine times and scored in only five of them.
Driven To Succeed ? Princeton has had nine scoring drives of at least 60 yards and only four of fewer than 40 yards.
Double Trouble ? Senior tight end Jake Staser has caught touchdown passes in back-to-back games, including the Ivy League opener against Columbia.
Hold Your Breath ? Sophomore Jordan Culbreath made his debut at tailback in the fourth quarter last weekend and averaged 13.2 yards on four carries against Hampton.
Conversion Chart ? Princeton converted on 11 of 15 third-down chances against Columbia, including four of five in the second half.
Pick Six ? Prior to last weekend, Princeton had not had an interception returned for a touchdown since the 2002 season. Hampton returned two interceptions for touchdowns last weekend.
Defensive Notes ? Week 5
Chairman Of The Board ? Linebacker Tim Boardman ranks third in the Ivy League and 16th nationally with 10.5 tackles per game. Boardman, who led Princeton with 52 tackles last season, has 42 total tackles in 2007, 16 more than any of his teammates.
Tackling The Issue ? Sophomore John Callahan leads all non-seniors on Princeton with 26 tackles, and he recorded nine last weekend against Hampton. He is second on the team in tackles for loss (3.0) and pass breakups (2).
Dan The Man ? Dan Kopolovich recorded a career-high 11 tackles last weekend against Hampton. He also recorded his first interception of the season in the end zone just before halftime. Kopolovich is fourth on the team with 23 tackles.
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 a 31-28 home victory against Harvard last season.
Cart Before The Horse ? Sophomore defensive back Cart Kelly recorded eight unassisted tackles and two pass breakups against Columbia. The first-year starter leads Princeton with 15 solo stops this season.
Miscellaneous Notes ? Week 5
Un-Coyled ? Junior punter Ryan Coyle, a former Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week two weeks ago, ranks second in the league with a 43.5 yard-per-punt average this season. Yale's Tom Mante is averaging 44.0 yards per punt.
Louden Clear ? Junior placekicker Connor Louden is a perfect 39-for-39 on extra-point attempts in his career. The Princeton record is 59, set by Robert Goodwin from 1985-1987.
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. Tucker played his senior season during Hughes' first year as head coach.
Watch Out ? Princeton's next five games will be televised. Both upcoming Ivy League road games at Brown and Harvard will both 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 New England next weekend when it takes on Harvard at 12:30 p.m. After losing nine straight games to the Crimson, Princeton has won two straight games in this series. Beginning with the 27-24 win at Harvard Stadium in 2005, Princeton has gone 15-4.
The Powers That Be ? 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 17, Brown 3
PRINCETON, N.J. ? Luke Steckel loves Friday night games. Before 2006, the last one he played was for the Tennessee state championship, and his late interception helped lead Brentwood to the title. He made another Friday night interception to help the Tigers' championship effort. The Princeton defense, led by a brilliant all-around effort by Tom Methvin and Steckel's timely pick, carried the Tigers to a 17-3 win over Brown in front of 10,136 fans at Princeton Stadium and a national ESPNU audience.
Methvin recorded six tackles, including four for losses, and added three sacks and three pass breakups to lead the defense. Princeton picked off Brown's explosive passing attack twice, including a spectacular diving grab by J.J. Artis in the first half.
It took the Tiger offense more than a half to get going, but in a span of less than two minutes, Princeton scored all the points it would need. Even at 3-3, Princeton started with the ball at the Brown 43-yard-line late in the third quarter. Senior quarterback Jeff Terrell, who completed 17-of-27 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns, engineered a seven-play scoring drive that ended in a 18-yard scoring strike to junior back Rob Toresco.
Leading 10-3 at that point, the Princeton defense forced a three-and-out by tackling Brown quarterback Joe DiGiacomo for an eight-yard loss on first down and defending two straight incomplete passes. With good field position at the Brown 46-yard-line, Toresco took a handoff for six yards and then Terrell looked for his favorite target, Brendan Circle. The slant was good enough for the first down, but Circle turned it into plenty more. He stopped and spun after the catch to avoid the tackle by Jose Yearwood, and then he sprinted untouched into the left corner of the end zone.
The Princeton defense could certainly feel proud of its effort against the Brown passing attack. Quarterback Joe DiGiacomo entered the game ranked fourth nationally in passing with 272.2 yards per game, but he didn't even manage one-third of that against the Princeton defense. The senior quarterback threw for 71 yards, was picked off twice and sacked three times by the aggressive Princeton defense.