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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Heads To Columbia To Open 2008 Ivy League Season
October 03, 2008 | Football
According to the preseason media poll, Saturday's Ivy League opener (1:30 p.m., 103.3 FM, GoPrincetonTigers.com) at Wien Stadium doesn't mean much. Princeton was picked fifth and Columbia was picked eighth, so how could their meeting have any bearing on the league race? Well, it took all of one day to remind fans of the historic Ivy football programs that preseason predictions mean little when the actual season starts; after all, the only two teams with Ivy losses are the ones that shared 16 of the 17 first-place votes. Instead, Saturday's winner will take a strong first step en route to the 2008 Ivy championship.
PRINCETON (1-1, 0-0 Ivy) at COLUMBIA (0-2, 0-0 Ivy)
| Date/Time | Oct. 4/1:30 p.m. |
| Field | Wien Stadium |
| Location | New York, N.Y. |
| TV | none |
| Radio | 103.3 FM/GoPrincetonTigers.com |
| All-Time Series | Princeton 63-13-1 |
| Last Year | PRINCETON 42, Columbia 32 |
| Last at Site | Princeton 19, COLUMBIA 6 |
| Last Five Years | Princeton 4-1 |
| Current Streak | Princeton 4 |
Game Notes ? Week 3
Positive Energy ? Since the 2000 season, Ivy League teams have had at least one non-league game before the Ivy opener. In that span, Princeton has won its final non-league game five times before opening league play, and in all five years, the Tigers won their Ivy opener.
Seventh Heaven ? Princeton head coach Roger Hughes is 7-1 all-time at Columbia. The seven wins are more than Hughes has against any program (six wins over Dartmouth is next).
New York State Of Mind ? Princeton has defeated Columbia five straight times at Wien Stadium; three of those wins came by three points or less, and two were decided in overtime.
2000 - Princeton rallies from 24-14 deficit with 2:25 remaining by kicking a field goal, recovering an onsides kick, scoring a touchdown with 47 seconds left and kicking a 24-yard field goal in overtime for a 27-24 win.
2002 - Princeton ends the first half with a Hail Mary touchdown pass and gets two touchdowns from reserve back Jon Veach, then recovers Columbia's final onsides kick for a 35-32 win.
2004 - Princeton quarterback Matt Verbit drives the offense 64 yards on 13 plays to set up a tying field goal with three seconds left; Jay McCareins blocks a Columbia extra point in overtime and Princeton wins 27-26.
Quick Start ? Since 1990, Ivy League champions (including co-champs) have won 18 of 20 league openers. One of the two losses came in a game between the eventual co-champions (Brown-Yale, 1999).
Ballhogs ? In 2007, Princeton averaged three turnovers per game. Through two games this season, the Tigers have committed one
turnover, and that came on a desperation pass at the end of a loss at The Citadel.
Margin Of Victory ? Princeton is tied for third in the Ivy League with a +2 turnover margin. The league co-leader is Columbia, which has a +3 margin.
Rallying Cry ? Since 2006, Princeton has rallied in nine of its 14 victories, including last weekend's 10-7 win against Lehigh. In eight of those wins, Princeton's scored its winning points in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Tackling The Issue ? The Ivy League leaders in tackles will meet Saturday at Wien Stadium. Columbia senior Drew Quinn leads the league and ranks second nationally with 14 tackles per game, while both Princeton sophomore Steve Cody and Columbia sophomore Alex Gross both rank second in the league and 16th nationally with 10.5 tackles per game.
Working Overtime ? Princeton has won five straight overtime contests, including the 2007 season finale at Dartmouth, which was the first start in Brian Anderson's career. Two of Princeton's last four wins at Wien Stadium have come in overtime.
Offensive Notes ? Week 3
The Jordan Rules ? Junior Jordan Culbreath leads the Ivy League with an average of 100 rushing yards per game. The last Princeton player to lead the league in rushing was Keith Elias '94 (1,575 yards in 1993).
Double Trouble ? Jordan Culbreath has scored touchdowns in both games in 2008. The last Tiger to record touchdowns in the first two games of a season was Jay McCareins, who returned interceptions for TDs against both Lafayette and San Diego in 2005.
Triple Double ? Jordan Culbreath ran for 126 yards in the win over Lehigh. The last Princeton running back to rush for 100 yards in consecutive games was Cameron Atkinson, who ran for 104 yards against Colgate and 174 yards against Brown during back-to-back wins in 2002; during Roger Hughes'
career, Princeton is 13-5 when it has had a 100-yard rusher.
Brian's Song ? Senior quarterback Brian Anderson ranks third in the Ivy League and 24th nationally with 253.5 yards of total offense per game. Just ahead of him in both the league and NCAA standings is Columbia quarterback Shane Kelly, who averages 254 yards per game.
Playing The Percentages ? In three collegiate starts, including the 2007 season finale against Dartmouth, Brian Anderson is completing 62% of his passes and averaging 212 passing yards per game.
Will The Thrill ? Senior Will Thanheiser became Princeton's first receiver in 13 games to record a 100-yard receiving game when he caught nine passes for 120 yards. His final catch, a career-long 46-yarder, put Princeton in range for the game-winning field goal. Afterwards, Thanheiser was named Dining Services Player of the Game by the WPRB 103.3 FM radio team.
Cup Of Joe ? Senior tight end Joe Magro caught three passes for 67 yards against the Citadel; Princeton hadn't had a tight end catch three passes in one contest over the span of 15 games.
Trey Bien ? Sophomore wideout Trey Peacock caught six passes last season. In the season opener, he led Princeton with seven catches.
Welcome Matt ? Sophomore fullback Matt Zimmerman made his first start of his career at The Citadel and caught four passes, including one for a six-yard touchdown. He also helped the run game by serving as the lead blocker for both Brian Anderson and Jordan Culbreath.
Line ?Em Up ? The offensive line, which has been considered a position of inexperience for the last two seasons, will be one of the strong areas for Princeton in 2008. Juniors Mark Paski and J.P. Makrai are in their third season as starters, while Andrew Hauser, Marc Daou and Matt Reynolds have all started at least one game in their careers.
Defensive Notes ? Week 3
D+ ? Princeton is ranked eighth nationally in team defense after allowing only 272.5 yards per game over its first two weeks.
Twice As Nice ? Sophomore inside linebacker Steve Cody ranks second in the Ivy League with 10.5 tackles per game and is the first sophomore to record consecutive double-digit tackle games since former two-time captain Justin Stull did it multiple times in 2003. Cody was named the Dining Services Player of the Game against The Citadel by the WPRB 103.3 FM radio team.
Jackson Five ? Junior Jeff Jackson, starting for the injured John Callahan, recorded nine tackles in last weekend's victory over Lehigh. He also recorded the first interception and sack of his career in the 10-7 victory.
Sack Exchange ? Senior linebacker Collin McCarthy ranks sixth nationally with 1.0 sacks per game this season. He sacked Citadel quarterback Bart Blanchard on Princeton's first defensive play of 2008.
Koch Classic ? Princeton defensive captain Matt Koch recorded a tackle on 4th and inches late in the fourth quarter of the 10-7 win over Lehigh. That play kept the Mountain Hawks from getting in field goal range with less than one minute remaining.
Dan The Man ? Junior Dan Kopolovich has been a starting cornerback since his freshman season. This year, he holds another role; the former all-state signal-caller is the No. 2 quarterback at Princeton.
Great Britton ? Junior Scott Britton, a local product from Council Rock North, is in his first season as the starting middle linebacker. In the middle of a promising freshman year, he suffered a season-ending injury; he recorded a career-high nine tackles last weekend.
Kelly Green ? Starting cornerback Cart Kelly was featured in the ESPNU reality show “Summer House” in 2006. Six Division I recruits were in the house, which was run by former NFL All-Pro Chris Spielman.
Miscellaneous Notes ? Week 3
I'm Honored ? Senior kicker Connor Louden earned his first Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week honor after kicking the game-winning 32-yard field goal in the 10-7 victory over Lehigh. It was the first game that ended on a kick since 2006, when Derek Javarone made a 35-yarder in overtime against Cornell.
Louden Clear ? Connor Louden is a perfect 53 for 53 on PAT attempts in his career. The all-time Princeton record is 59, set by Robert Goodwin from 1985-1987. Louden has also made 10 of his last 12 field goals over the last two seasons.
Just For Kicks ? Senior punter Ryan Coyle is Princeton's only returning first-team All-Ivy selection. He led the league and ranked sixth nationally last season with a punting average of 43.1 yards per punt. Princeton has had either the first- or second-team All-Ivy punter five straight years.
Happy Anniversary ? Princeton is celebrating its 10th year at Princeton Stadium, one of the newest and finest facilities in the Division I FCS. Powers Field, a FieldTurf surface, was added in 2005 after a generous gift from alumnus William Powers '79.
What's The Frequency ? The longtime voice of Tiger athletics, Ed Benkin returns as the play-by-play voice of Princeton football. Dan Loney, who has handled football and basketball radio duties at Princeton recently, returns as the color commentator.
TV Watch ? Princeton will have two nationally-televised games in November. The 100th meeting between Penn and Princeton will be seen live on ESPNU (DirecTV 609) Friday night, Nov. 7, while the 131st meeting between Princeton and Yale will be shown on the Versus Network (DirecTV 608) Saturday, Nov. 15, at noon.
The Crystal Ball ? Princeton will travel to Colgate next weekend for its final non-league game of the season, which you can listen to live on GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton's next home game will be at 1 p.m. on Oct. 18 against Ivy League rival Brown.