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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Readies For Clash With Ivy Goliath Before National TV, Radio Audience
November 02, 2010 | Football
PRINCETON NOTES l PENN NOTES l BUY TICKETS l LIVE AUDIO l LIVE STATS
It's been more than three years since the Princeton football team has knocked off a Top 25 opponent. In front of a VERSUS and SIRIUS national audience, the Tigers will have that opportunity Saturday when it takes on Ivy League unbeaten Penn at 3 p.m. on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium.
| Game Information | |
| Date/Time | Nov. 6/3 p.m. |
| Field | Powers Field at Princeton Stadium |
| Location | Princeton, N.J. |
| TV | VERSUS; Dish Network 151 |
| Radio | 103.3 FM/GoPrincetonTigers.com |
| All-Time Series | Princeton 67-37-1 |
| Last Year | PENN 42, Princeton 7 |
| Last At Site | Penn 14, PRINCETON 9 (2008) |
| Last Five Years | Penn 3-2 |
| Current Streak | Penn 3 |
Game Notes • Week 8
A Few Fast Facts To Get You Ready…
Lights, Camera, Action • Saturday's game will be nationally televised by The VERSUS Network (Dish Network 151). Mike Crispino and Princeton football alumnus Ross Tucker, a former Princeton radio announcer, will provide commentary. The pre-game show on VERSUS will feature a segment on Jordan Culbreath and his triumphant return from aplastic anemia. VERSUS spent a full day on campus last week and filmed interviews with Culbreath, head coach Bob Surace and seniors Trey Peacock and Matt Zimmerman.
Listen Up • Saturday's game will also be available nationally through SIRIUS Satellite Radio on Channel 130, as part of the Ivy League/SIRIUS partnership. Princeton's Ed Benkin (play-by-play) and Dan Loney (color) will provide the commentary.
Down The Stream • Due to contractual obligations with The VERSUS Network, the video stream for Saturday's game will not be available on GoPrincetonTigers.TV.
Following Rank • Princeton's last victory over a nationally ranked team came on Sept. 22, 2007, when the Tigers earned a 20-14 road win at the 22nd-ranked Lafayette Leopards. Penn is ranked inside the Top 20 in both national polls this week.
Third Down • The Princeton-Penn series is the third-longest active rivalry for the Tigers and the eighth longest among two Ivy League teams. This will be the 102nd game between the two nearby programs; although Penn has won the last three, Princeton maintains a 63-37-1 all-time lead in the series.
Close Calls • Prior to last season's 42-7 Penn victory, these games had been coming down to the wire. Between 2006-2008, the average winning margin of these games was three points.
From Beginning To End (Zone) • In Princeton's last three losses to Penn, the Tigers have struggled getting into the end zone. Over the last 12 quarters of this series, Princeton has scored one touchdown, and that came with it already trailing 21-0 last season. In the two games before that — both wins — Princeton scored eight touchdowns.
Passing Fancy • Princeton has completed more passes (160) than Penn has attempted (153). On the flip side, Penn has more rushing touchdowns (17) than Princeton has total touchdowns (16).
The Crystal Ball • Princeton will resume the second-longest rivalry in college football and the longest in the Ivy League next weekend when it heads to New Haven to take on Yale. This will be the 133rd game between Yale and Princeton, with the former holding a 72-50-10 all-time lead. A 30-yard touchdown run by Matt Zimmerman last year helped the Tigers to a 24-17 victory on Powers Field.
Senior Citizens • Senior Day and the 2010 season finale will be Nov. 20 on Powers Field against Ivy League rival Dartmouth. Princeton has a six-game win streak over the Big Green, including the 276-yard rushing effort by Jordan Culbreath in a 28-10 victory in 2008. Members of the Class of 2010 will be honored before the game.
Offensive Notes and Anecdotes…
Seventh Heaven
Jordan Culbreath has rushed for 1,889 yards in his Princeton
career. He needs 111 to become the seventh running back in program history to record more than 2,000 career rushing yards, and he needs 116 to match Marc Washington for sixth place on the all-time Princeton rushing list.
Doing Yardwork
Senior Trey Peacock continues to have one of the best receiving seasons in Princeton history. He ranks third in the nation with 116.3 receiving yards per game and fifth in the country with eight 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 | 80 | 1,16 |
Four Score
Trey Peacock has scored four touchdowns in the last two weeks, including a 92-yard scoring pass from Andrew Dixon in the fourth quarter at Cornell last weekend. That was Princeton's longest touchdown play since the 2003 season, when Matt Verbit and Clinton Wu hooked up for a NCAA-record 99-yard touchdown in a win at Brown.
Brian's Song
Freshman Brian Mills scored his first collegiate touchdown last weekend at Cornell. In for an injured Jordan Culbreath, Mills scored on a two-yard run to ignite a 13-point fourth quarter run. Mills is the only Princeton underclassman with a touchdown this season, and he became the first Tiger freshman to score a touchdown since Bill Foran, who scored on an 80-yard pass at Cornell in 2003.
Playing The Percentages
In his two starts since Tommy Wornham's injury against Penn, senior quarterback Andrew Dixon has completed an impressive 58.2 percent of his passes and is averaging 205 passing yards per game. He doesn't qualify for the Ivy League rankings because he hasn't played in enough games, but Dixon would rank second in passing yardage, behind only Yale's Patrick Witt.
Ground Attack
Princeton has averaged five yards per rush or more twice, a
36-33 win over Lafayette and the 21-19 loss to Cornell last weekend. In the five other games, Princeton has lost by an average margin of 19.2 points.
Flag Football
Princeton has had four penalties or fewer in each of the last five games, including only two penalties last weekend against Cornell. In each of the last five games, Princeton has been the lesser-penalized team.
Time's Up
Princeton has had more than 30 minutes of possession time only twice in the last 21 games, and both came in victories over Dartmouth. This season, Princeton has lost the time of possession statistic in each game and had less than 11 minutes of possession time in five games.
Defensive Notes and Anecdotes…
Welcome Matt
For the first time since his injury in the season opener, junior safety Matt Wakulchik was able to lead the Princeton defense at Cornell. He recorded eight tackles and a pass breakup, but his biggest play was a forced fumble late that allowed the Tiger offense a chance at a possible go-ahead drive.
Putting The O In Defense
Senior middle linebacker Jon Olofsson led the Tiger defense with 15 tackles last weekend at Cornell. He had seven solo tackles, more than any player for either team during the game, and assisted on the late forced fumble at Cornell.
Right Turn
Two Princeton defensive starters recorded their first career turnovers last weekend. Lineman Dan Fitzsimmons caught a tipped pass at the line for an interception, while linebacker Tim Kingsbury recovered the fumble caused by Matt Wakulchik in the fourth quarter.
The Stark Truth
Sophomore Andrew Starks leads Princeton with 65 tackles this season, though Jon Olofsson is only one behind heading into November. 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.
In His Kingdom
Sophomore Tim Kingsbury has played his best on Powers Field; in the four home games this season, he leads Princeton with 45 tackles, including 23 solo stops.
Rush Season
Princeton has struggled defending rushing offenses this season, and will be facing one of the best on Saturday. The Tigers have allowed more than 200 yards rushing three times and more than 350 yards rushing twice this season; Penn is averaging 219.4 yards rushing, 14th best in the FCS and second best in the Ivy League.
Just For Kicks
Princeton has the Ivy League leader in both special teams categories; Joe Cloud ranks first in punting average (43.9 y/punt), while Patrick Jacob ranks first in field goals made (11 of 13).
Last Year: PENN 42, Princeton 7
The Princeton football team knew it would have to play near-perfect football as it traveled to take on the top-ranked defense in the Ivy League. Unfortunately, three turnovers and third-down miscues on both sides of the ball were far too much to overcome in a 42-7 loss at Penn.
The Quaker defense bottled up the Princeton running game better than any opponent this season; the Tigers ran for only 25 yards, including 16 from junior Matt Zimmerman. Sophomore quarterback Tommy Wornham completed 18 of 34 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown, but he had two interceptions, including one that was returned for a 60-yard touchdown.
Junior Andrew Kerr caught eight passes for 71 yards and a touchdown, while Trey Peacock added five catches for 52 yards.
The Princeton defense had three players with a team-best nine tackles. Senior Dan Kopolovich and juniors Steven Cody and Keola Kaluhiokalani each recorded nine stops, while John Callahan recorded eight tackles. Caraun Reid and Matt Boyer both recorded a pass breakup, while Joel Karacozoff blocked a field goal.
Princeton caught a pair of bad breaks on its first defensive drive of the game. Dan Kopolovich nearly recorded an interception on one Kyle Olson pass, but both he and Kyle Derham wrestled with the ball to the ground and the Penn wideout was awarded possession. One play later, John Callahan tipped an Olson pass, but it landed directly in the hands of Luke DeLuca, who brought the ball to the Tiger 1. One play later, DeLuca surged through the line for an early 7-point lead.
Princeton found itself down 21-0 before generating some offense that it hoped would fuel a second-half comeback. Kerr caught a two-yard pass from Wornham with 58 seconds remaining in the quarter to cut the deficit to 14 points, but Penn scored on its first drive of the third quarter to rebuild a three-touchdown edge.