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Players Mentioned
Tigers Seek Consistency, Upset When They Head To Ivy Unbeaten Harvard
October 18, 2011 | Football
PRINCETON GAME NOTES
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The Princeton football team is looking to maintain control of its place in the Ivy League championship chase when it heads to league unbeaten Harvard Saturday at 1 p.m. to start the second half of the 2011 season.
Game Information
| Date/Time | Oct. 22/1 p.m. |
| Field | Harvard Stadium |
| Location | Boston, Mass. |
| TV | none |
| Radio | GoPrincetonTigers.com/WPRB 103.3 FM |
| All-Time Series | Princeton 52-44-7 |
| Last Year | Harvard 45, PRINCETON 28 |
| Last At Site | HARVARD 37, Princeton 3 (2009) |
| Last Five Years | Harvard 4-1 |
| Current Streak | Harvard 4 |
Game Notes • Week 6
A Few Fast Facts To Get You Ready…
Still In Control
Despite its loss last week at Brown, Princeton is still in position to control its place in the Ivy League championship race. Only three teams are undefeated in Ivy play, and Princeton plays each of them in the next four weeks; that stretch begins Saturday at Harvard.
Should Princeton win at Harvard this week, there would only be one team ahead of it in Ivy play. The other two Ivy unbeatens are Yale and Penn, and they meet at Franklin Field Saturday at noon on the VERSUS Network.
Trick Or Treat
Princeton dialed up its most creative playcalling in a wild 45-28 loss to Harvard last year. Of Princeton's four touchdowns in the last meeting, one came on a pass by a tight end, one came on a pass by a running back and a third came on a wide receiver run.
Wild Rice
Freshman Chuck Dibilio was recently named to the Jerry Rice Award Watch List; this is the inaugural year for the award, which honors the outstanding freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision. The award is presented by The Sports Network and sponsored by Fathead.com.
Head Of The Class
Freshman Matt Costello was announced as one of five winners of the 2011 NFF National High School
Scholar-Athlete Award, given by The National Football Foundation &
College Hall of Fame (NFF). Costello is the second Princeton football player to win this award in as many years. Offensive lineman Max Coale earned the honor in 2010.
House Of Horrors
Harvard Stadium has been unkind to Princeton recently. The Tigers have lost six of their last seven there, including each of the last two. Princeton's lone win at Harvard since the 1995 Ivy League championship season came in 2005, when All-America senior Jay McCareins returned a fourth-quarter kickoff for a touchdown in a 27-24 win.
Several of Princeton's losses at Harvard have come in excruciating fashion, including a double-overtime loss in 2003 and two 2-point losses that were decided either by late field goals that went in (1997) or just missed (2001).
Unlucky 13
Princeton has lost 13 of its last 15 games to Harvard, including each of the last four. Its two wins came in both 2005 and 2006, the latter coming during the Tigers' most recent Ivy League championship season.
The Long Road Home
Princeton's three-week road trip, which will take the team more than 1,600 miles since its trip to Hampton two weeks ago, finally concludes Saturday. The Tigers will be seeking their first road win since the 2009 season finale at Dartmouth.
Very Special
Princeton has had several special teams highlights through the first half of the season, including:
• Patrick Jacob ranks fourth in the NCAA with 1.8 field goals per game. He is the reigning first-team All-Ivy placekicker and made 14 field goals last season. For his career, he is 23 for 29 in field goals (79.1%), and he has never missed two kicks in one game, or two kicks in a row.
• Joe Cloud leads the Ivy League with a punting average of 42.5 yards per punt; he was a
second-team All-Ivy pick last season after leading the Ivy League in punting average.
• Ivan Charbonneau recorded Princeton's first kickoff return for a touchdown since 2005 with a 92-yard score against Lehigh. The last kickoff return for a touchdown was by Jay McCareins, and it provided the winning margin in a 27-24 victory at Harvard Stadium.
• Caraun Reid blocked a field goal attempt in the season opener against Lehigh, while Mike Catapano blocked one two weeks ago against Hampton.
Head Inside
Princeton radio voice Dan Loney is part of the new “Inside Ivy League Football,” an in-depth look at both the on-field action and all the news and notes surrounding Ivy football. The 10-episode show airs Wednesdays at 7 p.m. on BlogTalkRadio.com, and features interviews with players and coaches, as well as analysis on each of the Ivy teams.
Social Gathering
Fans can follow Princeton via social media on Facebook through facebook.com/PrincetonUniversityAthletics, and on Twitter through @PUTigers or @PrincetonFBall.
The Crystal Ball
Princeton will take on Cornell Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium. Each of the last seven meetings have been decided by seven points or fewer, and three of the last four were decided by three points or fewer.
Princeton has won four straight at home over Cornell, though the Big Red owns a one-game win streak in the series after recording a late interception in the end zone to secure a 21-19 win.
A Princeton Win Would …
• be Princeton's first win over Harvard since 2006
• be Princeton's first win at Harvard Stadium since 2005
• be Princeton's first Ivy road victory since the 2009 season finale at Dartmouth
• be Princeton's first victory over a first-place Ivy League team since the 2006 matchup against Harvard, when both teams were tied for first
• be Princeton's third victory over Harvard since the 1996 season
• keep Princeton in control of its own destiny in the Ivy League title race
• give Princeton its best Ivy League start since the 2006 championship season (3-0)
Offensive Notes And Anecdotes
Fresh(man) Face
Freshman Chuck Dibilio, who was recently named to the watch list for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in the NCAA FCS, has already rewritten the Princeton record book in his first five games. His 147-yard rushing performance two weeks ago was a single-game rushing record for a Princeton freshman, and his 401 yards is already a freshman single-season record.
Since the 2006 season, only two runners have rushed for more yards in a full season than Dibilio has rushed for in five weeks. Jordan Culbreath ran for 1,206 yards in 2008, and R.C. Lagomarsino rushed for 451 yards in 2006.
Ground Chuck
Freshman Chuck Dibilio ranks third in the Ivy League with 80.2 rushing yards per game. His 6.3 yards-per-rush average is the highest of any player in the Top 10, and his 147-yard effort at Hampton is the second-highest single-game total from any Ivy back this season.
Dibilio is the only freshman running back in the Ivy League Top 10, and he is the highest-ranking underclassman on the list.
Twice As Nice
Chuck Dibilio has earned two Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors this season, the latter coming after he rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown against Hampton.
We're Honored
Chuck Dibilio is only the third Princeton freshman to win the Ivy League Rookie of the Week honor twice. The other two were a pair of special teams standouts, placekicker Taylor Northrop (2001) and punter Colin McDonough (2003).
Fountain Of Youth
Another freshman, Matt Costello, is having a strong season at the wide receiver position. Costello is second on the team with 18 catches this season, and he leads Princeton with 212 receiving yards. His 18th catch moved him past Blair Morrison for the Princeton single-season freshman receiving record; Morrison caught 17 passes during the 2000 season. Costello, who is averaging 11.8 yards per reception, needs 11 yards to catch Morrison for the single-season freshman receiving yardage record.
Seven For No. 7
Senior Tommy Wornham became the seventh Princeton quarterback to throw for more than 3,500 career yards during the Hampton game, and he could move into the Princeton Top 5 this weekend. Wornham currently has 3,581 passing yards in his career; he is 43 yards behind Bob Holly '82 for sixth, and he is 81 yards behind Ronald Beible '76 for fifth.
Catching On
Senior Isaac Serwanga had the best game of his career at Hampton, catching seven passes for 73 yards. He leads Princeton with 20 catches on the season.
Ray Of Light
Freshman fullback Jason Ray moved from linebacker in the offseason and is already having an impact on the offense. He ranks fourth on the team and leads all running backs with eight receptions.
Trench Warfare
Princeton has gotten consistency up front, where the same line of Kevin Mill, Matt Allen, Joe Goss, Mike Muha and Kevin DeMaio has started every game together throughout the season. Both Allen and DeMaio started all 10 games last season, while Goss started eight of 10 at center. Mill was projected to start at left tackle before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the preseason.
Defensive Notes And Anecdotes
A Perfect Ten
Junior linebacker Andrew Starks, who finished fourth in the Ivy League in tackles last season, has had two strong games against Harvard in his career. He is averaging 10 tackles per game against the Crimson and added an interception last season.
Despite playing only four games this season, Starks leads the team with 36 tackles. He missed the Brown game and will likely be a gametime decision this weekend at Harvard.
Reid It And Weep
Junior lineman Caraun Reid was named to the Ivy League honor roll after leading Princeton with nine tackles at Brown. Reid leads Princeton in tackles for loss (6.5) and sacks (3), and he leads all Tiger defensive linemen with 31 tackles. Reid didn't play in last season's Harvard game after suffering a season-ending injury in Week 1 of the 2010 season.
Cross Your Fingers
Senior safety Chance Cross broke into the starting lineup at free safety during Week 2 this season and had a career effort at Hampton. Cross made six tackles, intercepted a pass and both forced and recovered a fumble in the near upset of Hampton. Cross was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll after the game and is the only Princeton defensive player to record two turnovers this season.
King For A Day
Junior linebacker Tim Kingsbury had a career day last season against Harvard. He recorded a team-best 12 tackles, the most any current Princeton player has recorded against the Crimson.
What Can Brown Do For You
Princeton freshmen aren't only getting it done on the offensive side of the ball. Khamal Brown has started the last four games at cornerback and has 21 tackles this season, sixth-most on the team and most among all Tiger underclassmen. His 14 solo tackles are second-most on the team.
Safety Mike Zeuli and linebacker Garrit Leicht have also made strong contributions as freshmen. Both have worked their way into the rotation, and each has made eight tackles this season.
Turn For The Better
Princeton is continuing to search for more forced turnovers. In the two games that the Tigers have forced at least one turnover, they are 1-1 and have been outscored 49-47. In the three games they haven't forced a turnover, they have been outscored 120-31.
Last Year: Harvard 45, PRINCETON 28
PRINCETON, N.J. — Despite a creative array of touchdowns, including scoring passes from a running back and a tight end, the Princeton football team fell 45-28 to Harvard.
The Crimson grabbed control of the game with its dominant running game; led by Gino Gordon's first career 200-yard game (204), Harvard ran 54 times for 394 yards. Harvard scored at least one touchdown in each quarter to hold off a Princeton offense that also scored a touchdown in each quarter and gained 365 yards of total offense.
The passing attack was led by senior quarterback Andrew Dixon, who showed great improvement after a full week of practice as the No. 1 starter. Dixon completed 20 of 29 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. Four Princeton players completed passes, and three had touchdowns throws; besides Dixon, Princeton also got touchdown passes from tight end Harry Flaherty and running back Jordan Culbreath.
Senior wideout Trey Peacock, the Ivy League leader in receptions and receiving yards, outdid both of his season averages and continues his assault on the Princeton record books. He caught 11 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown, and he added a one-yard scoring run late in the game. Peacock now has 48 receptions for 678 yards this season and is on pace to become the fourth Tiger receiver to record more than 1,000 receiving yards in one season. Classmate Andrew Kerr caught five passes for 45 yards and two touchdowns, while Flaherty caught six passes for 49 yards.
Linebacker Tim Kingsbury led the Princeton defense with 12 tackles, despite missing the fourth quarter, while classmate Andrew Starks added 11 tackles, including one for a loss, and recorded one of Princeton's three interceptions. Both Weston Palmer and Jaiye Falusi added interceptions, while five Tiger players had pass breakups.
Princeton had two punts of more than 60 yards, and both began Harvard drives inside its own 2. Otavio Fleury booted a 61-yarder in the first quarter, while Ivy leader Joe Cloud hit a 66-yarder that left Harvard at the 1.