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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Welcomes Rival Harvard During Alumni Weekend Showdown
October 20, 2010 | Football
PRINCETON NOTES l HARVARD NOTES l LIVE STATS l LIVE AUDIO l GOPRINCETONTIGERS.TV
With a large amount of football alumni expected back to Princeton Stadium this weekend, the Tiger football team will look to get its season back on track against one of its biggest and most historic rivals, Harvard.
| Game Information | |
| Date/Time | Oct. 23/1 p.m. |
| Field | Powers Field at Princeton Stadium |
| Location | Princeton, N.J. |
| TV | Verizon Fios1/GoPrincetonTigers.TV |
| Radio | 103.3 FM/GoPrincetonTigers.com |
| All-Time Series | Princeton 52-43-7 |
| Last Year | HARVARD 37, Princeton 3 |
| Last At Site | Harvard 24, PRINCETON 20 (2008) |
| Last Five Years | Harvard 3-2 |
| Current Streak | Harvard 3 |
Game Notes • Week 6
A Few Fast Facts To Get You Ready…
Old Rivals • Today will be the 103rd Princeton-Harvard game; the rivalry is the seventh-longest in the Ivy League. Princeton leads the all-time series 52-43-7, though Harvard has won 11 of the last 13.
Unhappy Endings • Both teams will be looking to rid themselves of the bad taste of Week 5 games. Princeton led Brown 13-0 at halftime before losing 17-13, while Harvard saw a 17-0 halftime lead dissolve in a 21-19 home loss to Lehigh.
The Common Cold • Princeton and Harvard have three common opponents this year, and they have the same results against all three. Both teams defeated Lafayette and lost to both Brown and Lehigh.
Down To The Wire • Each of the last two Princeton-Harvard games on Powers Field have been decided in the last four minutes, with the trailing team scoring a touchdown for the winning points.
Seven-Eleven • Princeton has scored two touchdowns in the last 11 quarters against Harvard. Both were rushing touchdowns by Jordan Culbreath in the first half of a 24-20 loss to the Crimson in 2008.
Shouldering The Load • Princeton quarterback Tommy Wornham, who has made 15 consecutive starts, injured his shoulder against Brown and will be out indefinitely. Senior Andrew Dixon, who came in last weekend and completed seven of 18 passes for 83 yards, is expected to start Saturday.
Just For Kicks • Princeton junior Patrick Jacob made two more field goals last weekend to maintain the top spot in the NCAA FCS rankings. Jacob has made 11 field goals this season, the most for a Princeton kicker since Derek Javarone made 16 during the 2005 season. Jacob also has two field goals of 40+ yards, the most since Taylor Northrop made three from beyond 40 in 2001.
Max Effort • Freshman Max Coale was named one of five 2010 NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards. He is Princeton's first winner of this prestigious honor in a decade; the last winners came from the same class, as both Tim Kirby and Joseph Weiss, defensive linemen from the Class of 2004, won in 2000.
Lucky 13 • Each of Princeton's 13 championship teams from the 2009-10 academic year will be honored this afternoon at halftime.
The Crystal Ball • Princeton will play its second road game in a six-week stretch on Oct. 30 when it heads to Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca to take on Cornell. The Tigers have won three in a row against the Big Red, though all three have been decided by five points or fewer.
Offensive Notes and Anecdotes…
Doing Yardwork
Senior Trey Peacock continues to have one of the best receiving seasons in Princeton history. He ranks fourth in the nation with 107.8
receiving yards per game and is tied for fourth in the country with 7.6 receptions per game. He is also on pace to become the fourth Princeton wideout to record more than 1,000 receiving yards in a single
season. Here is the full list, along with Peacock's projected numbers:
| Player | Year | Rec. | Yards |
| Derek Graham | 1983 | 84 | 1,321 |
| Kevin Guthrie | 1983 | 88 | 1,260 |
| Kevin Guthrie | 1982 | 75 | 1,003 |
| Trey Peacock (projected) | 2010 | 76 | 1,078 |
Ground Attack
In its win over Lafayette, Princeton averaged five yards per rush. In each of its four losses, the Tigers have averaged fewer than four yards per rush. Last weekend, Princeton averaged 2.9 yards per rush and saw starters Jordan Culbreath and Matt Zimmerman leave the game with minor injuries.
Four Score
Princeton played four different players at the quarterback position last weekend. Junior Tommy Wornham made his 15th straight start, but was knocked from the game in the second quarter. Senior Andrew Dixon came in as the backup and completed 7 of 18 passes for 83 yards. Classmate Andrew Kerr came in as the “Wildcat” quarterback for two plays, while freshman Connor Kelley ran two keeper plays.
Trick Or Treat
Princeton ran a 31-yard trick play late last weekend against Brown. If you were there, but weren't exactly sure what happened, here is the play: Andrew Dixon threw a quick slant to Shane Wilkinson, who pitched the ball to Trey Peacock, who was coming across the field towards the home sideline. Peacock pitched it back to Dixon, who turned across the field and threw a slightly backwards pass to Wilkinson, who was along the right sideline. Wilkinson got the ball to midfield in Princeton's late hopes for a go-ahead touchdown.
Eight Isn't Enough
Excluding the trick play mentioned above, Princeton gained only eight yards in the second half against Brown. The Tigers gained 109 yards and led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.
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 the Colgate with an injury. The only two starters to play all four games this season is senior guard Andrew Mills and junior tackle Kevin DeMaio. Allen is back in the starting lineup, and Princeton is hopeful that Muha could return within the next couple of weeks.
Cloud Of Dust
Sophomore Joe Cloud, who kicked a 61-yarder last weekend, leads the Ivy League with a 44.3-yard punting average. Junior Otavio Fleury ranks third with a 40.4-yard average.
Defensive Notes and Anecdotes…
King For A Day
Sophomore Tim Kingsbury, who moved into the starting lineup after the season-ending injury to Steven Cody, recorded a career-best 14 tackles last weekend against Brown. He is averaging nine tackles in Princeton's home games this season.
The Stark Truth
Sophomore Andrew Starks leads Princeton with 47 tackles this season and is averaging 11.5 stops in two Ivy League games. Two of Princeton's top linebackers of the last decade have led the Tigers in tackles as sophomores: Justin Stull led the 2003 team with 114 stops, while Steven Cody led the 2008 team with 85.
Pointless
The Princeton defense recorded its first 30-minute shutout last weekend since the 2009 season finale at Dartmouth. Brown gained only 85 yards of total offense in the first two quarters last weekend.
Elite Eight
One of Princeton's most improved defensive players lately has been cornerback Blake Clemons. After averaging only three tackles over the first two weeks of the season, Clemons has had eight tackles per game in each of Princeton's last two games.
Conversion Chart
The Princeton defense had its best day on third downs against Brown. The Tigers held Brown to a 28.6% conversion rate on third downs, the best percentage of the season for Jared Backus' defense. Brown was 0 for 6 in the first half.
Pass It On
The Princeton pass defense had its most effective day last weekend. In the two previous weekends, Princeton had allowed 10.9 and 12.8 yards, respectively, per pass. Princeton held Brown to a season-low 5.4 yards per pass.
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 went through pregame last weekend, but he wasn't able to play in either game. He could make his return against Harvard. Reid made 34 tackles, including 4.5 for losses, and broke up four passes during his freshman season.
Last Season: HARVARD 37, Princeton 3
Special teams miscues and breakdowns on both sides of the ball led the Princeton football team to a 37-3 loss at Harvard during a rainy Saturday afternoon in Cambridge.
The offense struggled to get in gear throughout the game. Sophomore quarterback Tommy Wornham completed 15 of 27 passes for 110 yards, although two of his longest passes came on Princeton's first drive, which ended in a field goal. Tight end Harry Flaherty had the best game of his career with five catches for 47 yards, while fullback Matt Zimmerman caught five passes for 24 yards.
The running game couldn't get any sort of momentum, as freshman Akil Sharp ended up with a team-best 21 yards on seven carries.
Senior Dan Kopolovich led Princeton with 12 tackles, while Andrew Starks, Peter Yorck and Steven Cody each recorded nine tackles apiece. Cody, the Ivy League leader in tackles, added two sacks, while both Matt Boyer and Mark Ethridge also added a sack.
Harvard got on the board first with a play that evoked bad memories from the previous week's loss to Brown. After stopping the Crimson on two short runs, the Tiger defense was looking for a 3-and-out on Harvard's first drive. Instead, Collier Winters launched a deep throw to Chris Lorditch, who ran a double move down the home sideline and caught a 77-yard touchdown.
The Princeton offense immediately went on the move during its first possession, with long passes to Zimmerman and Andrew Kerr helping move the ball to the 10. The 19-yard pass to Kerr came on third-and-10, a middle post that Kerr caught in traffic, set up a screen pass to Zimmerman to get the ball to the 2. Senior Ben Bologna hit from 19 yards to make the score 7-3 with 9:20 left in the first quarter.
Princeton's next drive stalled, and disaster ensued. A low snap bounced short of punter Joe Cloud, who couldn't collect it and had to sprint back towards his end zone. His attempt to scoop and kick was thwarted by an onrushing Crimson defender. One play later, the first of the second quarter, Winters hit Kyle Juszczyk for a three-yard score that ignited a 30-0 run.