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Princeton University Athletics
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Football Friday: Surace Reflects On Colgate, Talks Special Teams/Brown Game
October 17, 2014 | Football
In the fifth installment of our Football Friday series, head coach Bob Surace looks back on the physical 31-30 loss at Colgate, discusses the play of his run game and special teams, and gives some early thoughts on what should be another physical showdown against a Brown squad on a two-game win streak.
You can watch the interview by clicking the link above. The game preview is below.
Throughout his five years as head coach, from the dark days at 1-9 through the championship run last year, Bob Surace has consistently preached one message — compete. On Saturday, his Princeton football team will have the opportunity to do so against a program that has been the model of dedicated competitiveness for nearly two decades.
A six-week sprint to what both programs hope is an Ivy League championship finish will begin Saturday at 3:30 pm (NBC Regional Sports Networks/Ivy League Digital Network) for both Brown and Princeton. While the Tigers were able to get their Ivy season off on a winning note with a 38-6 victory at Columbia, Brown is the side that brings in two weeks' worth of winning momentum.
Brown's 27-24 double-overtime win over Holy Cross last week was the 200th in the illustrious career of head coach Phil Estes, and it was a microcosm of the program he has built: grind out yards, fight for every point, win in the end.
Princeton is looking to rebound from a 31-30 loss at Colgate last weekend, and they've been pretty solid in this area recently. Since a loss to Penn in Week 8 of the 2012 season, Princeton is 4-0 in games following a loss, which includes the 56-17 win over Davidson in the home opener three weeks ago.
Princeton has won two straight in the series, and has only won three straight once in the last two decades. It's a testament to the program Estes has built, and a vision for the one Surace is still trying to construct.
| Brown Bears (2-2, 1-0 Ivy) at Princeton Tigers (2-2, 1-0 Ivy) |
| Game Time/Location | 3:30 pm • Powers Field at Princeton Stadium |
| Game Coverage |
NBC Sports Regional l Ivy Digital l WPRB 103.3 FM l Live Stats l @PUTigers_Live |
| All-Time Series | Princeton leads 53-27 |
| Last Year |
Princeton 39, BROWN 17 |
| Last At Site | PRINCETON 19, Brown 0 (2012) |
| Last Five Years |
Brown 3-2 |
| Current Streak |
Princeton 2 |
| Princeton Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Brown Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Next Week |
Oct. 25, 1 pm • Harvard at Princeton (ESPN3) • Tickets |
Follow Along …
Princeton will take on Brown Saturday at 3:30, and the game will be shown live on several NBC Sports Regional stations (SNY, TCN Philadelphia, CSN New England, CSN Mid-Atlantic, CSN Bay Area, and CSN California), with Jon Gurevitch and Kevin Riley providing the call. The game will also be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
You can also listen to the game either on the radio (WPRB 103.3 FM) or online at WPRB.com.
Home Sweet Home
Princeton has won five straight home games dating back to last season, including four when it scored at least 50 points. In the home opener this season, Princeton hit that mark in a 56-17 victory over Davidson.
Princeton is 6-2 all-time against Brown at Princeton Stadium, although the two teams have split the last four meetings.
The Chase Is On
Only Ivy League games remain for both Princeton and Brown. Princeton is one of three teams without an Ivy loss this season; both Dartmouth and Harvard are 2-0, while Princeton is 1-0. Brown lost its Ivy League opener 22-14 to the Crimson, though the Bears led for much of the game.
D+
In the last meeting between the two teams at Princeton Stadium (Oct. 13, 2012), Princeton snapped an Ivy League record 162-game scoring streak by Brown and stayed unbeaten in Ivy League play with a 19-0 victory. The win came days after starting cornerback Khamal Brown suffered a rupture of the arteriovenous malformation (AVM) that required immediate brain surgery.
Brown was forced to miss the remainder of the 2012 season and all of 2013, but he has returned this year and has played in every game.
Rallying Cry
After trailing 17-0 early in Providence last season, Princeton scored 39 unanswered points for its first victory at Brown since 2003. Quinn Epperly rushed for 95 yards and three touchdowns, and Connor Michelsen hit Des Smith for a 28-yard touchdown pass that put the Tigers ahead for good.
Grounded
Princeton is currently ranked third in the FCS in rushing defense, allowing only 78.0 yards per game. Colgate entered last weekend's game ranked 16th nationally with 227.0 rushing yards per game, but the Tigers held them to only 2.3 yards per carry (48 for 111).
Hylton Express
Sophomore Rohan Hylton is coming off a career performance at Colgate, where he led the team with 18 tackles and a sack. Hylton has moved into the Top 3 in the Ivy League in tackles this season (9.2 per game) Brown's Xavier Russo also ranks in the Top 5; he is currently fifth with 8.2 tackles per game.
Margin Of Success
When Princeton won the 2013 Ivy League championship, it ended the year as a +10 in turnover margin. Through four games this season, Princeton hasn't won the turnover margin once; in the Tigers' two losses, they have been a minus in turnover margin, and in their wins, they have been even.
Wait A Minute
Princeton had allowed only one scoring drive of more than six minutes in the previous 24 games heading into last weekend, but the Tigers allowed two at Colgate. The final one, a 13-play, 74-yard drive, led to the game-winning field goal.
Turn The Paige
Sophomore linebacker R.J. Paige, in his first year as the starter at strong-side linebacker, recorded a career-best 11 tackles in the 31-30 loss to Colgate. Paige also added the first sack of his career.
Where There's A Will …
Senior running back Will Powers, who had a touchdown in Princeton's 19-0 victory over Brown in 2012, has rushed for touchdowns in each of the Tigers' last three games. Following fourth-quarter scores in the wins over Davidson and Columbia, Powers scored from 12 yards out in the third quarter to give the Tigers a 30-21 lead at Colgate.
DiAndre The Giant
In the first 22 games of his collegiate career, DiAndre Atwater had rushed for 100 yards once. He has doubled that effort in the last two weeks; following a 107-yard performance in a downpour at Columbia, he rushed for a career-high 131 yards last weekend at Colgate.
Atwater has Princeton's three longest runs of the season (59 at Colgate, 54 at San Diego, 51 at Columbia).
Welcome Matt
Senior Matt Costello is seventh all-time at Princeton with 125 career receptions, and he needs one more to match former teammate Roman Wilson '14 for sixth on the all-time list. Costello also ranks 10th with 1,393 receiving yards, but it will be a longer climb to match Wilson — Costello needs 189 to tie for ninth.
Costello recorded his second touchdown catch of the season last weekend on a 28-yard pass from Connor Michelsen. He had 94 receiving yards against Colgate, one short of his career high, set last season in the 38-17 win over Brown.
Return To Sender
Junior Dré Nelson made history last weekend when he returned the opening kickoff a Princeton-record 100 yards in the 31-30 loss at Colgate. Nelson has now returned the opening kickoff for touchdowns in two of the last three weeks (Davidson was the other game), and he is the only player in the entire FCS with multiple kick returns for touchdowns this season. He was named the Ivy League Co-Special Teams Player of the Week.
A Perfect 10
Nolan Bieck missed four of his first seven field goal attempts last season. Beginning with an overtime conversion at Harvard, Bieck has now made each of his last 10 kicks, including at least one in every game the team has played. After making one field goal of at least 40 yards in his first 21 starts, he made 40-yarders against both Davidson and Columbia.
On The Mike
Senior offensive lineman Mike Ramos was one of two players in the Ivy League to be nominated for the 2014 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team. The 182 nominees throughout all divisions of college football represent those who stand out both on and off the field.
Ramos started all 10 games last season at right tackle and helped Princeton break the Ivy League record for total and scoring offense.
I'm Honored
Freshman offensive lineman Richard Bush was named one of the five recipients of the 2014 NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards, which was announced by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. Bush was an all-state offensive lineman at Plant High School in Tampa, Fla.
Though the NFF only hands out five national Scholar-Athlete Awards per year, Bush is the third member of this Princeton team to have earned the honor. The other two are senior Matt Costello and sophomore Nick Peabody.
Poll Position
For the first time since 1992, Princeton was picked first in the annual Ivy League preseason poll. The reigning Ivy League champion Tigers received nine of 17 first-place votes and topped fellow co-champion Harvard (which received the other eight) by one point in the preseason poll. Dartmouth, Penn and Yale held the next three spots. Brown was picked sixth.
Princeton would love to break a recent trend in the voting, as no preseason favorite has won the outright Ivy League title in a decade.
National Audience
Starting with today's game against Brown, Princeton will play five of six games that will be shown to a national audience. Today's game is being televised on multiple NBC Sports Regional Networks, as well as the Ivy Digital Network. Both the Harvard and Dartmouth home games will be streamed live on ESPN3, while the home game against Penn will be on the NBC Sports Network. The game at Cornell will be on FOX College Sports.
The Crystal Ball
Princeton will face Harvard next Saturday for the 107th time, though it will be the first time that the two teams enter the game as reigning Ivy League co-champions. The two have also produced two of the most memorable games in recent Ivy history over the last two seasons. In 2012, Princeton rallied from a 34-10 deficit with 29 unanswered points — the final seven on a 36-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining — in a 39-34 comeback win.
Last season, quarterback Quinn Epperly threw a Princeton-record six touchdown passes, the final one again to Wilson, to lead the Tigers to a 51-48 triple-overtime road win over the Crimson.
Tickets are available by calling 609-258-4TIX.
Welcome Back
Princeton will honor the members of the undefeated 1964 Ivy League championship team next weekend. That squad, led by College Football Hall of Fame inductee Cosmo Iacavazzi '65, is the last Princeton team to go undefeated in either the league or overall season.