.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Rested Football Team Looks To Ignite Ivy Title Chase Saturday VERSUS Brown
October 13, 2009 | Football
With eight full days off before a second straight nationally televised game (Saturday, 12:30 p.m., VERSUS Network), the Princeton football team is looking to kick off a six-game Ivy League run with a much-needed win at Brown.
Princeton (1-3, 0-1 Ivy) vs. Brown (2-2, 0-1 Ivy)
Date/Time Oct. 17/12:30 p.m.
Field Brown Stadium
Location Providence, R.I.
TV Versus Network
Radio 103.3 FM/GoPrincetonTigers.com
All-Time Series Princeton leads 51-24
Last Year Brown 31, PRINCETON 10
Last At Site BROWN 33, Princeton 24
Last Five Years Brown 3-2
Current Streak Brown 2
Game Notes • Week 5
Must See TV • Princeton will play its second consecutive nationally televised game this weekend when it takes on Brown at 12:30 on the Versus Network. Mike Crispino will handle the play-by-play, while Princeton alum Ross Tucker '01 will handle color commentary. Tucker started for Princeton during Roger Hughes' first year as head coach and also served as the radio color commentator in 2007.
Raising Ivy • Princeton will play each of its final six games in the Ivy League, including four games on the road. The Tigers start this six-game league stretch with no margin for error after losing the Ivy opener against Columbia.
The Race Is On • Recent history says that losing your first Ivy League game does not eliminate you from championship competition. Last season, Harvard lost its opener to Brown before winning its final six league games to share the Ivy League title.
Two Bad • Recent history does say that losing two Ivy League games might be too much too overcome. It has been 27 seasons since a 5-2 league record was good enough to earn a share of the Ivy title (1982: Harvard, Penn and Dartmouth).
Home Sweet Home • Brown is 2-0 at home and 0-2 on the road this season.
Road Warriors • Princeton is 1-0 on the road and 0-3 at home this season.
The Longest Rhode • Princeton has lost two straight games at Brown Stadium; that is the longest road losing streak for the Tigers against any Ivy League rival.
Safe At Home • Over the last 11 years, the home team has won nine times in the Brown-Princeton series. The lone exceptions were 2003 (Princeton) and last year (Brown).
Digging Out • Princeton's only win at Brown this decade was in 2003, which followed its only other loss to Columbia during the same time frame.
Three's Company • Princeton has not lost three straight games to Brown since the mid-1980s, when the Tigers lost four straight from 1984 through 1987.
Tackling The Issue • Junior linebacker Steven Cody leads the Ivy League and ranks second in the nation with 14.3 tackles per game this season. George Howard of Morgan State leads the nation with 14.4 tackles per game.
Great Britton • Senior linebacker Scott Britton ranks second in the Ivy League and fourth nationally with 12.3 tackles per game. In the double-overtime loss to Colgate last Thursday, Britton recorded 16 stops, including 2.5 for losses, and had one sack.
I'm Honored • Scott Britton was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after his performance against Colgate. Britton is Princeton's first individual Ivy League award winner this season and its first Defensive Player of the Week since Tom Methvin (10/16/2006).
Sweet Sixteen • Both Steven Cody and Scott Britton have each recorded at least 16 stops in Princeton's last two games. In 2008, no Princeton player recorded as many as 12 tackles in a single game.
On And Karacozoff • Senior defensive lineman Joel Karacozoff recorded a career-best 12 tackles against No. 23 Colgate. He helped lead an effort that limited the Raiders to 168 yards rushing in regulation, 109 below their season average.
Swinging Cates • Senior Wilson Cates has recorded two interceptions in the last three games and made 10 tackles last weekend against Colgate.
Welcome Matt • Sophomore Matt Wakulchik made his first collegiate start last weekend after Cart Kelly missed the game with injury; it was Kelly's first missed start since the end of the 2006 season. Wakulchik has made at least seven tackles in all four games this season and has made eight in three of the four (The Citadel, Lehigh and Colgate).
Driven To Succeed • Princeton scored two touchdowns in its final five drives against Colgate after scoring only one in a span of 47 drives before it. Five different players have scored touchdowns this season, and only one has come from inside the 20.
Tommy Boy • Sophomore Tommy Wornham, who had the first multiple-touchdown game of his career last week against No. 23 Colgate, made his collegiate debut last season against Brown after starter Brian Anderson suffered an injury.
McCray Of Light • Junior running back Meko McCray had the best rushing day of his career against Colgate when he ran the ball eight times for 74 yards, an average of 9.2 yards per carry. McCray has one career touchdown, and it came in the 2008 loss to Brown.
Razor Sharp • Freshman Akil Sharp led Princeton with 17 carries against Colgate; it was the most rushes for any Princeton player this season. Sharp ran the ball 29 times over the last two weeks after not running once in the first two games.
Trey Bien • Junior wideout Trey Peacock recorded a career-best 83 receiving yards last week against Colgate. He caught a 31-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to force overtime against the Raiders. Peacock has two career touchdowns, and both have either tied the score or put Princeton ahead in the fourth quarter.
Kerr-b Your Enthusiasm • Junior Andrew Kerr had a career effort against Colgate with five catches for 73 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown reception in overtime that gave Princeton a temporary 14-7 lead in overtime.
Head Of The Class • Senior defensive back Dan Kopolovich was recently named a semifinalist for the 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy (formerly known as the Draddy Trophy), an honor given by the National Football Foundation to honor the best both on the field and in the classroom in college football.
Spinning A Web • The official Princeton athletics web site, www.GoPrincetonTigers.com, has a new look and a new partner,www.GoPrincetonTigers.tv. Princeton football fans will be able to find pre- and post-game stories, as well as features, videos, live and replayed games, game highlights, audio interviews, statistics, future schedules and much more. You can also listen live to Ed Benkin and Dan Loney broadcast each game on either GoPrincetonTigers.com or on WPRB 103.3 FM.
The Crystal Ball • Princeton will continue its tour of New England next weekend when it takes on reigning Ivy League co-champion Harvard Saturday at noon. Princeton has lost two straight to the Crimson and has lost five of its last six games at Harvard Stadium.
The Powers That Be • Princeton will return to Powers Field at Princeton Stadium on Halloween for a showdown against Cornell. The Tigers have won two straight against the Big Red, although neither game was decided until the final play. The last two home games against Cornell have been three-point victories, with both having last-second kicks to either win the game in overtime (Princeton, 2005) or force overtime (Cornell, 2007; the kick missed).
Ticket To Ride • Tickets are still available for both the Cornell and Yale (Nov. 14) home games. They can be purchased online at www.GoPrincetonTigers.com/tickets or by calling 609-258-4TIX.
Last Year: Brown 31, PRINCETON 10
Brown quarterback Michael Dougherty didn't post the same record-breaking numbers he had the previous week, but he guided a talented offense to two first-quarter touchdowns and two third-quarter touchdowns in a 31-10 victory over Princeton on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium.
While the Brown offense had deservedly gotten much of the credit at that point of the season, it was the defense that really thwarted Princeton for much of the day. The Bears limited Princeton to a season-low 197 total offensive yards, including 76 on the ground. Junior running back Jordan Culbreath, who entered the weekend leading the Ivy League in rushing, was limited to 67 yards and held out of the end zone for the first time all season. Teammate Meko McCray, running twice on end arounds, scored Princeton's lone touchdown of the day on a 12-yard run in the second quarter.
The passing game struggled in more ways than one. Starter Brian Anderson completed 11-of-22 passes for 109 yards and threw one interception, although he suffered an upper-body injury during the second quarter. He played the first two drives of the third quarter, but he overthrew a handful of passes and had to be replaced. Head coach Roger Hughes played both Dan Kopolovich (1-of-2, 10 yards) and Tommy Wornham (1-of-3, 2 yards), but neither could generate much in the second half.
The Princeton defense was led by Scott Britton, who made a game-high 11 taclkles and added a sack, while both Wilson Cates and Steven Cody recorded seven tackles apiece. Carlos Roque recorded his first career interception, while Mark Ethridge recovered a fumble, marking the first time Princeton forced two turnovers in the game. Unfortunately, both came deep in Princeton territory and didn't lead to scores. Brown got a fumble recovery from Neil Rooney at the Princeton 20-yard-line in the fourth quarter, and two plays later, Buddy Farnham scored from three yards out to give Brown the three-touchdown lead.