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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Looks To Get Back On Track In Front Of National Audience
October 06, 2009 | Football
For the fourth straight season, the ESPNU cameras will make their way to Powers Field at Princeton Stadium to televise one of the original college football programs to the nation. Unlike the previous three years, though, the viewing public will have to bypass the loaded Thursday night lineup.
If you really like those shows, though, you can find a correlation in the upcoming showdown with the undefeated and 23rd-ranked Colgate Raiders.
The Office? You can bet players and coaches have spent hours there, going over Colgate's incredible rushing offense.
Survivor? This may not be a league game, but with no margin for error the rest of the season, Princeton could certainly use a confidence boost before trying to survive the heart of the Ivy League schedule.
For Princeton fans, Thursday truly is Must See TV.
For the Princeton players, though, it is far more than that. After Saturday's disappointing 38-0 loss to Columbia, the short week is actually ideal. There is nothing Princeton would like better than to wipe away the taste from its first home shutout since 1999.
The Tigers have had success on ESPNU, going 2-1 over the last four years. During the 2006 Ivy League championship season, the Princeton defense pitched a near shutout; the Tigers became the first team to keep Brown out of the end zone during the Phil Estes Era. The win was one of nine during the incredible 2006 championship season.
In 2007, Princeton won a 34-31 thriller over Cornell. It was the breakout performance for Jordan Culbreath, who rushed for 158 yards, including touchdowns of 58 and 49 yards. Culbreath could miss the entirety of his senior season, an unfortunate possibility for a captain whose tireless work ethic made him the best running back in the league. But for that one night — and all of last season — Culbreath's brilliance was on full display.
But what about Thursday night's game? Both teams have six weeks of league competition upcoming, so what makes this game in particular so important?
The fact that there are so few football games, especially those that can be seen on national television, makes every game matter. But confidence and momentum absolutely mean something in college football. The last two Princeton-Colgate games are all the proof you'll need.
In 2006, Princeton rallied to force overtime in Hamilton, took a lead and held off the Raiders in overtime for a 27-26 win. No member of that Princeton team had even beaten Colgate; the momentum from that win carried the Tigers to five more victories, including three that were decided in the final minutes.
Last year, Colgate returned the favor with a last-second victory. The Raiders were 3-2 coming into the game; they wouldn't lose again until the NCAA tournament, well after they won the Patriot League title.
Which team will have the springboard into its league season? You can join the nation in finding out Thursday. TiVo Grey's Anatomy if you need to.
(Please note that, due to contractual rights by ESPNU, the game can not be streamed live on GoPrincetonTigers.tv.)
Game Notes • Week 4
Lights, Camera, Action • Thursday night will be Princeton's fourth game on ESPNU; the Tigers are 2-1 all-time on the network. Carter Blackburn and Jay Walker will call Thursday's action.
Are You SIRIUS? • Thursday will be Princeton's second of three games aired live on the SIRIUS Satellite Network, channel 130. The Penn game will be the final one for Princeton on SIRIUS.
Second To None • Three of the last four Princeton-Colgate games have been decided in the final two minutes, and the last two have been decided in the final seconds. In 2006, John Callahan and Tom Methvin made a twopoint conversion tackle in overtime to preserve a 27-26 win. Last season, Colgate's Jacob Stein made a 33-yard field goal with two seconds left to clinch a 27-24 win for the Raiders.
Home Cooking • Princeton has lost three of four games to Colgate at Princeton Stadium, including two straight (2003 and 2005). The Tigers' lone win over Colgate came in 2002, when Princeton scored on both its first and last passes of the game in a 16-14 win.
Road Warriors • The road team has won each of the first three Princeton games this season.
Patriot Games • Ivy League teams are 5-6 against thier Patriot League rivals this season after going 9-9 against them in 2008. Over the last five years, Princeton is 8-4 against the Patriot League, including the Tigers' Week 2 victory at Lehigh.
Tackling The Issue • The Princeton defense received two stellar efforts on its side of the ball last weekend. Senior Scott Britton recorded a career-high 17 tackles against Columbia, while junior Steve Cody recorded a career-high 16 tackles. The two were Princeton's leading tacklers last season.
We're Honored • Both Scott Britton and Steven Cody, each of whom earned All-Ivy honors in 2008, were named to the Ivy League Honor Roll last weekend. For each player, it was their second Ivy League Honor Roll distinction already this season.
A Perfect 10 • Senior captain Wilson Cates recorded a career-high 10 tackles last season against Colgate. In his last game against a Patriot League rival, Cates recorded six tackles, one sack and one interception in a 17-14 win at Lehigh. The defensive co-captain finished third on the team in tackles last season.
Welcome Matt • Sophomore Matt Wakulchik, who has earned significant playing time in the defensive backfield, has recorded at least seven tackles in each of the first three games this season. Wakulchik currently ranks third on the team with 7.3 tackles per game and recorded eight apiece in each of Princeton's first two games.
Tommy Boy • Princeton quarterback Tommy Wornham, who will make his fourth career start Thursday night against Colgate, ranks higher on the Ivy League rushing chart (fifth, 65.7 yards per game) than he does on the passing chart (seventh, 126.7). Wornham has Princeton's lone rushing touchdown this season, a 68-yard score at Lehigh, and he rushed for 99 yards last weekend against Columbia.
Trey Bien • Junior wideout Trey Peacock caught five of Princeton's 11 completions last weekend against Columbia. After recording 21 career receptions in his first two seasons, Peacock has caught 15 passes in the first three games this year.
McCray Of Light • Junior Meko McCray earned a start at running back last weekend and ran the ball six times for 43 yards against Columbia. McCray is also a sprinter for the Princeton track & field team.
Razor Sharp • Freshman Akil Sharp, an all-state running back in Nevada last year, rushed the ball 12 times for 40 yards last weekend after having zero rushes in his first two games.
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.
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.
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 make its first of three road trips to New England next weekend when it takes on reigning Ivy League co-champion Brown (Saturday, 12:30 p.m., Versus Network). Princeton has lost two straight to Brown and hasn't won in Providence since 2003; the two-game road losing streak is the longest for Princeton against an Ivy League opponent.
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 both games weren't 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.
Princeton on ESPNU
PRINCETON 17, Brown 3: During the 2006 Ivy League championship season, the Princeton defense pitched a near shutout; the Tigers became the first team to keep Brown out of the end zone during the Phil Estes Era. The win was one of nine during the incredible 2006 championship season and was highlighted by a spectaculr diving interception by first-team All-Ivy cornerback J.J. Artis.
PRINCETON 34, Cornell 31: In 2007, Princeton won a 34-31 thriller over Cornell. It was the breakout performance for Jordan Culbreath, who rushed for 158 yards, including touchdowns of 58 and 49 yards. Culbreath could miss the entirety of his senior season, an unfortunate possibility for a captain whose tireless work ethic made him the best running back in the league. But for that one night — and all of last season — Culbreath's brilliance was on full display.
Penn 14, PRINCETON 9: Princeton's only loss on ESPNU came last season, when the Tigers fell in a 14-9 defensive battle against Penn. The Tigers outgained the Quakers 309-288 in the game, but their inability to convert on third downs — both offensively and defensively — sent Penn to the victory. Jordan Culbreath rushed for a touchdown, while Scott Britton recorded 10 tackles.
Last Year: COLGATE 27, Princeton 24
Despite a spectacular effort from Princeton tailback Jordan Culbreath, the Colgate football team used a 33-yard field goal from Jacob Stein with two seconds remaining to pull out a 27-24 home victory over Princeton at Andy Kerr Stadium.
The game was a back-and-forth thriller that saw Colgate hold four different leads and Prince-ton hold three. The Tigers eliminated an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter with a six-play, 59-yard drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown pass to Billy Mitchell, who came into the game with one career touchdown reception. A two-yard crossing pass to Will Thanheiser on the two-point conversion evened the score with 9:23 remaining.
Colgate took over and moved into Princeton territory, but a botched handoff on fourth down gave Princeton the ball with 4:42 remaining. A first-down run by Brian Anderson, who used his legs to keep the Colgate defense off balance throughout the game, gave Princeton a first down at midfield. Two short runs and an incompletion forced a punt, which was nearly downed at the 1 but was ruled a touchback. Colgate quarterback Greg Sullivan finished a brilliant day of his own with completions of 14, 21 and 10 yards on a drive that went 64 yards on seven plays in 1:08. That allowed Stein to kick the game-winning 33-yarder with two seconds left.
Culbreath, in a head-to-head showdown against NCAA rushing leader Jordan Scott, ran 18 times for 153 yards and a touchdown; it was the first time an opponent ran for more than 150 yards against Colgate in 17 games, and for a while, it stood as Culbreath's career high. Anderson added 77 yards rushing, including an impressive 24-yard touchdown run with 17 seconds left in the first half; the Princeton tri-captain ended the run by driving a trio of Colgate defenders over the final three yards and into the end zone. Will Thanheiser ended the day with three catches for 85 yards, but no other Princeton player had more than one catch.
The defense was led by Wilson Cates and Steven Cody, both of whom had 10 tackles. Cody, who has recorded four consecutive double-digit tackle games to open his career, added an 11-yard sack late in the first half that kept Colgate from potentially taking a double-digit lead. Junior Scott Britton and senior Pete Ploszek both made eight tackles.