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Princeton University Athletics
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Football Friday: Surace Talks Harvard Loss, Cornell Game, Jim Garrett Story
October 31, 2014 | Football
In the seventh installment of the Football Friday interview series, Princeton football coach Bob Surace reflects on the loss to Harvard, and he looks ahead to the always-challenging road trip to Ithaca, N.Y. He also shares a memory from Jim Garrett, the father of Princeton greats Jason, John and Judd Garrett, who gave Surace a talk he would never forget.
The full game preview can be found below.
Fittingly, Halloween is the night before the Princeton football team makes its way to Schoellkopf Field, which has been a haunted house for the Tigers in recent years. Seven narrow losses, some in the wildest ways, over the last nine trips have left Princeton with a bad taste in its mouth, but the Tigers are looking for a new result this time.
| Princeton Tigers (3-3, 2-1 Ivy) at Cornell Big Red (0-6, 0-3) |
| Game Time/Location | 12:30 pm • Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, N.Y. |
| Game Coverage |
Fox College Sports Atlantic l WPRB 103.3 FM l Live Stats l @PUTigers_Live |
| All-Time Series | Princeton leads 58-36-2 |
| Last Year |
PRINCETON 53, Cornell 20 |
| Last At Site | CORNELL 37, Princeton 35 (2012) |
| Last Five Years |
Cornell 3-2 |
| Current Streak |
Princeton 1 |
| Princeton Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Cornell Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Ivy League Links | Standings l League Leaders l Weekly Release |
| Next Week |
Nov. 8, 3:30 pm • Penn at Princeton (NBC Sports Network) • Tickets |
Follow Along …
Princeton will travel to Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y., Saturday for a 12:30 showdown at Cornell on FOX College Sports Atlantic (DirecTV 608, DISH 440, Verizon FiOS 300). Jerry Trupiano and Steve DeOssie will call the action in Princeton's third of four straight games being shown to a national audience.
You can also listen to the game either on the radio (WPRB 103.3 FM) or online at WPRB.com.
Two Close For Comfort
Schoellkopf Field is one of two Ivy League football stadiums (Dartmouth's Memorial Field) where Princeton has not won under head coach Bob Surace. Princeton led in the fourth quarter each time, but both ultimately ended up as two-point losses (2010: 21-19; 2012: 37-35).
Nine Lives
The last nine Princeton-Cornell games played at Schoellkopf Field have all been decided by seven points or fewer. The average margin of victory in those games has been 3.9 points, and Cornell has won seven of the nine meetings.
Some of the most memorable moments during this 18-year stretch:
2000: Cornell 25, Princeton 24
Princeton's Brian Danielewicz completes a 24-yard TD pass to Chisom Opara with 11 seconds remaining, but Taylor Northrop slips on the icy turf and his PAT was blocked.
2002: Princeton 32, Cornell 25 (OT)
Princeton scores 22 points in the 4th quarter and overtime to rally from a 25-10 deficit. Jay
McCareins forces overtime with a late INT and Blair Morrison catches the winning TD.
2004: Cornell 21, Princeton 20
Cornell throws TD passes of 54 and 79 yards, and Derek Javarone's PAT with 6:48 left in the 4th quarter gets blocked.
2010: Cornell 21, Princeton 19
Princeton scores two TDs in the fourth quarter to cut a 15-point deficit to two points, but a late throw into the end zone is picked off by Cornell's Emani Fenton to preserve the win.
2012: Cornell 37, Princeton 35
Despite 390 passing yards from Connor Michelsen, Cornell QB Jeff Matthews completed 35 of 51 passes for 525 yards and four touchdowns, and John Wells hit the winning FG
from 23 yards with 50 seconds remaining to give Cornell the comeback win.
On The Mark
Princeton quarterback Quinn Epperly set an NCAA Division I record when he completed 29 straight passes in the 53-20 victory over Cornell last season. Epperly completed his first 29 passes of the game, including two touchdown passes to Roman Wilson and one to Seth DeValve. His 29th completion, an eight-yard pass to DeValve, moved Epperly past Richie Williams of Appalachian State, who had 28 straight completions on Oct. 9, 2004.
Epperly, who would go on to be named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, earned National Player of the Week honors following the game.
Passing Fancy
While Quinn Epperly had a historic performance against Cornell last season, classmate Conner Michelsen had a career day in the 2012 meeting at Schoellkopf. Michelsen completed 29 of 35 passes for 390 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown, in a wild 37-35 shootout loss to the Big Red. That remains the most single-game passing yards for a Princeton quarterback since the 2010 season opener and the 13th-most in program history.
Both Sides Of The Story
In Princeton's last two games, the Tiger defense is allowing 149.5 rushing yards per game. Harvard rushed for 306 last weekend, while Brown rushed for -7 the week before.
In the first 11 halves of the Princeton football season, the opposing team rushed for a total of 368 yards, or an average of 33.5 yards per half. In the second half last week, Harvard rushed for 243 yards.
Hylton Express
Sophomore Rohan Hylton ranks third in the Ivy League with 8.5 tackles per game. He also ranks in the top three of the league in both tackles for loss (2nd, 1.42) and sacks (3rd, .75).
Saturday's game will feature two of the Ivy League leader in tackles, as Cornell sophomore Miles Norris ranks second in the Ivy League with 8.7 tackles per game.
Close The Dor-ian
Sophomore Dorian Williams, who moved from nickel cornerback to safety during the offseason, averaged five tackles per game over the first three weeks of the season. In the last three weeks, he has averaged 10.7, including a career-best 13 last weekend against Harvard.
Mike'd Up
Senior co-captain Mike Zeuli leads the Ivy League with 9.0 tackles for loss, and he is tied with teammate Rohan Hylton for third in the Ivy League with 3.5 sacks. He averages 7.5 tackles per game at weakside linebacker, the fourth different position he has played during his career at Princeton (safety, 2011; nickel cornerback, 2012; strongside linebacker, 2013).
Welcome Matt
Senior Matt Costello moved to fourth on the all-time Princeton receptions list last weekend; he currently has 141 career catches, which is tied with 2011 graduate Trey Peacock. Costello needs 13 catches to tie Chisom Opara '03 for third on the all-time Princeton list. He also has 1,580 receiving yards, which is 10th most at Princeton. He can make a big jump in one game, though; he needs two yards to tie Roman Wilson '14 for ninth, 21 to tie Phil Wendler '01 for eighth, 23 to tie B.J. Szymanski '04 for seventh and 38 to tie Brendon Circle'08 for sixth.
Costello had a career day against Brown two weeks ago; he caught eight passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
Run To Freedom
Princeton has had at least one rushing touchdown in each of its last 18 games, though it took until the late stages last week to keep that streak intact. Sophomore Joe Rhattigan scored from two yards out during the final minute for Princeton's lone touchdown of the game.
The most consistent runner over the previous five weeks has been senior Will Powers, who rushed for at least one touchdown every game between Week 2 and Week 5.
Half And Half
Princeton was shut out in the first half against Harvard last week; the last time Princeton went scoreless for an entire half was against 13th-ranked Lehigh in the 2012 season opener.
Margin Of Error
Turnovers continue to be a critical statistic for Princeton. The Tigers are 3-0 this season when they are at least even in the turnover margin, and they are 0-3 when they are -1 or worse.
Back On Track
Princeton has shown impressive resilience following losses recently. Dating back to Week 9 of the 2012 season, Princeton has gone 4-0, including two wins this season, in games following a loss.
Return To Sender
Junior Dré Nelson made history during his last trip to the Empire State; he returned the opening kickoff a Princeton-record 100 yards in the
31-30 loss at Colgate. Nelson is the only player in the entire FCS with multiple kick returns for touchdowns this season, and his 27.0-yard average on returns ranks in the Top 15 nationally.
Just For Kicks
The two Ivy League punting leaders will match up this weekend. Princeton sophomore Tyler Roth currently leads the Ivy League with a punting average of 42.6 yards, while reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year Chris Fraser is second with a 41.6-yard average. Nobody else in the Ivy League is above 40 yards.
Roth had punts of 65 and 67 yards last week.
A Perfect Year
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 12 kicks.
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 lineman at Plant HS 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.
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.
The Crystal Ball
Princeton will return to Powers Field next weekend for a 3:30 home game against Penn. Last season, the Tigers fell into an early 16-0 hole, but they outscored the Quakers 21-3 in the second half for a 38-26 victory at Franklin Field. The game will be shown live on the NBC Sports Network, and tickets are available by calling 609-258-4TIX.
The game will be the final one between the two local rivals for retiring Penn head coach Al Bagnoli, who is the only coach in league history to win nine outright Ivy League titles.