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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Hopes To Swing Momentum, Stay In Ivy Hunt Saturday Against Brown
October 12, 2010 | Football
PRINCETON NOTES l LIVE STATS l LIVE AUDIO l LIVE VIDEO
It's been nearly three decades since a team with two losses claimed a share of the Ivy League football championship. The Princeton football team is looking to avoid that two-loss area Saturday when it takes on Brown Saturday afternoon on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium.
| Game Information | |
| Date/Time | Oct. 16/1 p.m. |
| Field | Powers Field at Princeton Stadium |
| Location | Princeton, N.J. |
| TV | Verizon Fios1/GoPrincetonTigers.TV |
| Radio | WPRB 103.3 FM/GoPrincetonTigers.com |
| All-Time Series | Princeton 51-25 |
| Last Year | BROWN 34, Princeton 17 |
| Last At Site | Brown 31, PRINCETON 10 |
| Last Five Years | Brown 4-1 |
| Current Streak | Brown 3 |
Game Notes • Week 5
A Few Fast Facts To Get You Ready…
Two Bad • One Ivy League loss does not eliminate you from the title chase, but recent history says that two will; no team has shared an Ivy title with two league losses since 1982, when Harvard, Penn and Dartmouth each went 5-2.
Climbing Ivy • Princeton is finished with non-league play and now faces six straight Ivy League games. It opens Saturday against a Brown team that has won three straight over Princeton, including its first win ever at Princeton Stadium in 2008.
Defending Your House • Princeton is looking to rebound from last week's home loss and move to 2-1 this season at Princeton Stadium. The Tigers have been unable to record a winning home record since the 2006 season.
First And Goal • Princeton is still looking for its first first-quarter touchdown of the season. The Tigers have kicked three field goals in the opening quarter, including one last weekend to grab an early lead against Colgate.
On Time • Princeton has lost the time of possession category in each of its last four games, and it has had the ball at least 11 minutes fewer than its opponents in each of the last three games.
Just For Kicks • Should today's game come down to special teams, two of the top three kickers in the FCS could play a major role. Princeton's Patrick Jacob leads the Ivy League and ranks second nationally with 2.3 field goals per game, while Brown's Alexander Norocea is second in the Ivies and third nationally with two per game.
Special Delivery • Princeton has been solid in both sides of the kicking game this year. The Tigers rank first in the Ivy League and seventh in the FCS in net punting (38.2 yards per punt). Junior Otavio Fleury and sophomore Joe Cloud have rotated duties this season, and the pair rank second and third in the Ivy League, respectively, in punting yardage. Brown's Nathan Lovett leads Fleury for first place by 1.3 yards (43.7 to 42.4).
Point, Counterpoint • Brown has won four of its last five against Princeton. In the four wins, Brown has scored between 31 and 34 points. In its one loss, Brown scored three points.
Familiar Face • Offensive coordinator James Perry, a 2000 Brown graduate, holds the Ivy League career records for passing yards (9,294), completions (789), attempts (1,309), touchdowns (53), 400-yard games (7) and 300-yard games (14). He also holds the Princeton Stadium
single-game record for passing yards (442, 1998).
The Crystal Ball • Princeton will complete its three-game homestand next Saturday at 1 against preseason Ivy League favorite Harvard during Alumni Weekend. The Crimson, which lost its Ivy opener to Brown, has won three straight over Princeton.
Offensive Notes and Anecdotes…
Doing Yardwork
Senior Trey Peacock continues to have one of the best receiving seasons in Princeton history. He leads the nation with 124.8 receiving yards per game and ranks third in the country with 8.5 receptions per game. He is currently challenging both single-season records at Princeton. Here is the top two in both categories and where Peacock's current numbers would project through 10 games.
| Player | Year | Receptions | Receiving Yards |
| Kevin Guthrie | 1983 | 88 | 1,260 |
| Derek Graham | 1983 | 84 | 1,321 |
| Trey Peacock (projected) | 2010 | 85 | 1,248 |
Double Threat
Junior quarterback Tommy Wornham ranks 12th in the FCS and first in the Ivy League with 284.5 yards of total offense per game. He is throwing for 266 yards per game, second-best in the Ivy League, and averaging 18.5 rushing yards per game. The only starting quarterback with more rushing yards than Wornham is Columbia's Sean Brackett, who ranks fifth in the league in overall rushing yards.
Playing The Percentages
Seniors Trey Peacock and Andrew Kerr have become a formidable tandem for Princeton. They have combined for 62% of the team's receptions (63 of 102), 75% of the team's receiving yards (802 of 1,064) and 100% of the team's touchdown receptions (4 of 4).
Nine of Princeton's last 11 touchdown receptions, dating back to Week 4 of the 2009 season, have been caught by either Kerr or Peacock. The lone exception was a score by Meko McCray at Brown in 2009.
Flag Football
Princeton has done a good job of cutting down on its penalties this season. Since recording 10 penalties in its season opener at Lehigh, Princeton has recorded seven, four and two penalties over the last three weeks.
Ground Attack
In its win over Lafayette, Princeton averaged five yards per rush. In each of its three losses, the Tigers have averaged fewer than four yards per rush. The Tigers have also been held to below 100 yards rushing in each of the last two games.
Conversion Chart
One key for the Princeton offense today will be keeping drives alive in the second half. In its victory over Lafayette, the Tigers converted on six of seven third-down opportunities. In the last two weeks, Princeton is 1 for 12 combined in the second half.
What's Your Line
After graduating four starters on the offensive line last season, Princeton has already had to remake its line numerous times this season. Likely tackle starter Kevin Mill suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason. Center Mike Muha was lost for more than a month in the opener, and guard Matt Allen missed last weekend with an injury. The only two starters to play all four games this season is senior guard Andrew Mills and junior tackle Kevin DeMaio.
Nine Lives
Junior Patrick Jacob kicked his ninth field goal of the season last weekend. In all of last season, Princeton made eight field goals. Jacob's 43-yard kick against Lehigh was Princeton's longest since 2005.
Defensive Notes and Anecdotes…
Tackling The Issue
Senior Jon Olofsson, who was moved to middle linebacker following the season-ending injury to Steven Cody, leads the team and is ranked fourth in the Ivy League with 9.3 tackles per game. Olofsson has recorded double-digit tackles in each of Princeton's home games, including a 16-tackle effort against Lafayette.
Block Party
Junior Adam Shippey blocked a Colgate extra point attempt last weekend. It was the first blocked extra point for Princeton since Matt Murphy blocked one against Hampton during the 2007 season. Shippey leads all Princeton linemen with 22 tackles.
The Stark Truth
Sophomore Andrew Starks, a converted defensive back, is second on the team with 36 tackles this season. He leads the team with 17 solo tackles this season.
Just A Second
The Princeton defense has struggled most in the second quarter. The Tigers have given up 63 points in the second quarter (15.8 per game), and in their three losses, they have allowed the opposition to convert on third downs 56.2% of the time (9 of 16).
Young Guns
Princeton knew it would have several inexperienced spots on defense, but injuries have thrust even more younger players into key positions. The Tigers are currently starting only one senior in each of the three defensive areas; four of Princeton's top nine tacklers this season are sophomores, and four more are juniors.
Quick As A Cat
Junior Mike Catapano has filled the stat sheet more than any member of the Princeton defense. Besides his 20 tackles, he has two tackles for loss, one sack, two pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Reid To Achieve
Sophomore defensive lineman Caraun Reid, a co-winner of Princeton's top defensive freshman honor last season, was injured in the season opener at Lafayette. He began to practice prior to the Colgate game and could make his return this afternoon. Reid made 34 tackles, including 4.5 for losses, and broke up four passes during his freshman season.
Last Year: BROWN 34, Princeton 17
The Princeton football team suffered two crushing losses during a cold afternoon in Providence last season, and both left the team in a deep hole the rest of the season. The Tigers fell to 0-2 in the Ivy League with a 34-17 loss to Brown, and Princeton lost leading tackler Scott Britton for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Britton, who suffered his injury in the first half and headed to the locker room on a golf cart, could have been a major asset on the game-clinching drive for Brown. In the fourth quarter, ahead by 10 already at that point, Brown rolled off a 19-play, 74-yard drive that ate more than 11 minutes off the clock and effectively clinched the game. The drive was a frustrating mix of third-down conversions and fumbles that were recovered by the home team.
Britton still ended the game second on the team in tackles. His seven finished just behind Steven Cody's 10, giving the Princeton junior four straight games of double-digit tackles. Prince-ton also got six tackles and a fumble recovery from Glenn Wakam, as well as five tackles and a forced fumble from Wilson Cates. Sophomore Matt Wakulchik recorded his first career interception, while Princeton also had four pass breakups.
The Princeton offense was crisp in the first half, but never got the engine running fully in the second half. Sophomore quarterback Tommy Wornham completed 28 of 35 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown, while Meko McCray rushed the ball eight times for 24 yards. Both McCray and Matt Zimmerman caught seven passes, and McCray added a touchdown catch late in the first half. Wornham scored Princeton's other touchdown on a 12-yard run early in the game.
If there was a standout side for Princeton, it was the punting game. Joe Cloud averaged 43.0 yards on four punts and pinned Brown inside the 3 twice, while Otavio Fleury averaged 41.5 yards on two punts and pinned Brown on the 1 once.
It was both Princeton's third straight loss to Brown and third straight loss at Brown; the Tigers haven't won in Providence since 2003, and they haven't beaten Brown anywhere since a 17-3 victory in the 2006 Ivy League championship season.