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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Friday: Bob Surace Wraps Up Preseason, Talks D Line, San Diego
September 19, 2014 | Football
VIDEO PREVIEW SERIES LINKS: Offensive Line l Receivers/Tight Ends l Quarterbacks/Running Backs l Defensive Line l Linebackers l Defensive Backs l Special Teams/Final Thoughts
WRITTEN PREVIEW SERIES LINKS: Offensive Line l Receivers/Tight Ends l Quarterbacks/Running Backs l Defensive Line l Linebackers l Defensive Backs l Special Teams/Final Thoughts
TWITTER: @PUTigers l PUTigers_Live l PUTIgerFootball
THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS: All-Access: Training Camp l Coordinators' Comments l TIgerCast
Football season is back, and so is the weekly Football Friday Chat with Bob Surace, the Charles W. Caldwell Jr. '25 Head Coach of Football. In this debut edition, Surace wraps up a competitive preseason and focuses on some intriguing players and position battles. He talks about the philosophy of being one play away from seeing the field, looks ahead to San Diego and shares some of the West Coast alumni excitement he has felt.
All of the preseason coverage from GoPrincetonTigers.com can be found through the above links, including some of this week's highlights, including the All Access: Training Camp feature — Hard Knocks meets the Ivy League — and the debut of TigerCast this year, featuring Seth DeValve and Garrit Leicht.
Below is the game preview, with the full notes packet and other key links for this weekend, which will include both audio and video coverage.
It's been a while. The wait is almost over.
Princeton Football is back.
After weeks of preseason camp and watching other teams begin their own college football seasons, the reigning Ivy League champion Princeton Tigers will finally begin their own 10-week journey this Saturday. It's an opener unlike any other in the 146 seasons of Princeton football, as the Tigers head west to California for a showdown at the University of San Diego.
| Princeton Tigers (0-0) at San Diego Toreros (1-1) |
| Game Time/Location | 1 pm PDT • Torero Stadium • San Diego, Calif. |
| Game Coverage |
Free Video Stream l WPRB 103.3 FM l @PUTigers_Live |
| All-Time Series | Princeton 2-0 |
| Last Meeting |
PRINCETON 20, San Diego 17 (9/24/05) |
| Last At Site | Princeton 24, SAN DIEGO 17 (9/25/04) |
| Last Five Years |
no meetings |
| Current Streak |
Princeton 2 |
| Princeton Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| San Diego Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Next Week |
Sept. 27, 6 pm: Davidson at Princeton • Ivy Digital Network • Tickets |
Finally …
While several college teams will have already started their fourth game by kickoff Saturday, the 146th season of Princeton football will finally begin Sept. 20 at 1 pm PDT when the Tigers take on the University of San Diego. The game will be streamed live on www.usdtoreros.com (a link can be found on GoPrincetonTigers.com), and can be heard live on WPRB 103.3 FM.
Slow Starts
Princeton has lost its last seven season openers, as well as 12 of its last 15. The Tigers led for much of the 2013 opener against a nationally ranked Lehigh squad, but the Mountain Hawks outscored Princeton 26-6 in the second half to rally for a 29-28 win.
A New Beginning
In the last 60 years, Princeton has opened its season against one of only six teams: Rutgers, Cornell, Dartmouth, Lehigh, Lafayette and The Citadel.
It's Been A While
This will be the third all-time meeting between Princeton and San Diego. The first came at Torero Stadium on Sept. 25, 2004, when the Tigers used defensive touchdowns on back-to-back plays to take control of a 24-17 win. The next season, Princeton got a three-interception performance from Jay McCareins to earn a 20-17 home win.
What's He Up To Now?
In those first two meetings between these teams, San Diego was coached by Jim Harbaugh.
Hotel California
This is only the second time that Princeton has ever played a game in California; the other was the 2004 game against the Toreros.
Could Be A Good Omen
The last time Princeton won a season-opening road game was 2006, when the Tigers won 14-10 at Lehigh. The Tigers went on to win the Ivy League championship that season.
High Fives
Princeton has scored at least 50 points five times in the last eight games. Prior to that, Princeton had scored 50 points five times in the previous 469 games.
Coach Speak
Princeton head coach Bob Surace, an All-Ivy center and member of the 1989 Ivy League championship team, was named one of 20 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award, given by The Sports Network for the FCS National Coach of the Year.
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.
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.
Oh Captain, Our Captains
Seniors Quinn Epperly and Mike Zeuli were named co-captains prior to the 2014 Spring Game. Epperly, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, is the first offensive player to be named captain since Tommy Wornham in 2011. Zeuli, an All-Ivy linebacker last season, led the Tigers with 72 tackles last season, including a career-best 18 in the 2013 season opener against Lehigh.
History Lesson
In case you forgot about last season (and if you're reading these, you probably haven't), here's a quick synopsis of a magical 2013 season:
• Princeton won its 10th Ivy League championship, going 6-1 in the league to share the crown with Harvard.
• Princeton broke the Ivy League records for both total offense and scoring offense; the Tigers averaged more than 43 points per game and scored at least 50 in four different games; prior to that season, Princeton had scored 50 points four times in a span of 469 games.
• Princeton won a second straight “Big Three” championship and earned a bonfire with wins over both Harvard and Yale. The win over the Crimson was another thriller, as the Tigers rallied twice in overtime and won 51-48 in triple overtime.
• Quinn Epperly, who set a Division I record with 29 straight completions in a single game, was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year. He was one of 17 All-Ivy honorees, including nine who will return to the field this season.
• Caraun Reid, an All-America defensive lineman, was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. It was the second straight year that a Princeton defensive lineman was selected in the NFL Draft.
So, yes, it was a pretty good year.
Just Quinn, Baby
En route to his 2013 Bushnell Cup honor as the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, Quinn Epperly put his name all over the Princeton record book. He led all of FCS football in points responsible for per game (26.6), he matched a Princeton single-season record with 25 passing touchdowns, and he was one short of matching the single-season record for rushing touchdowns (18). He set a Division I record with 29 straight completions in a 53-20 home win over Cornell, and he broke the Princeton single-game completions (37) and touchdown passes (six) record in a 51-48 triple-overtime win at Harvard. Epperly also ranked fifth in the nation in completion percentage (68.0%).
Motion Offense
Two key factors in Princeton's record-breaking offense last season were pace and efficiency. While the Tigers did have 13 scoring drives that lasted five plays or fewer, it had more than twice that many (29) that lasted nine plays or more. As an offense, Princeton averaged 89.6 plays per game, as opposed to only 71.3 plays for its opponents. The Princeton number is more than 15 plays better than it averaged in the 2013 season.
Welcome Matt
Senior wideout Matt Costello enters the 2014 season ranked eighth all-time at Princeton in career receptions (108) and 12th in career receiving yards (1,191). He needs 29 receptions to move into the Top 5 of the former category, and he needs 194 yards to move into the Top 10 of the latter.
We're Honored
Lining up next to Costello at wide receiver will be two seniors who earned All-Ivy League honors last season. Seth DeValve earned second-team honors after a season in which he ranked in the Top 50 nationally in receptions (5.4) and the Top 100 in receiving yards (58.6); both totals ranked among the Top 10 in the Ivy League. DeValve caught only 11 passes in the first five games of the 2014 season; he caught 49 in the final five games. Connor Kelley earned All-Ivy League Honorable Mention after catching 42 passes for 444 yards and six touchdowns.
Princeton had All-Ivy honorees at every skill position last season: quarterback, Quinn Epperly (1st); running back, DiAndre Atwater (2nd); wide receivers Seth DeValve (2nd) and Connor Kelley (HM); tight end Des Smith (HM).
Line It Up
Princeton senior Spenser Huston, along with graduated center Joe Goss, ended a 13-year drought of Princeton offensive linemen earning first-team All-Ivy honors. Huston, who has started the last 24 Tiger games, earned the honor at left tackle, and he is one of five seniors who could start on the line this weekend. Projected starters Mike Ramos (RT) and Jack Woodall (LG) started all 10 games last season, while Taylor Pearson (RG) started all 10 games of the 2012 season before missing last year. Joe Tull, who was a consistent member of the guard rotation last year, moves to center and will start in place of Joe Goss, who had started 38 of Princeton's 39 prior games at center.
Brown Is The New Orange & Black
Junior Khamal Brown had started 13 straight games at cornerback for Princeton before he suffered a rupture of an arteriovenous malformation and required immediate, life-saving surgery about 23 months ago. Brown has been fully cleared and will return to the field Saturday; this is more than just a feel-good story, as Brown had 72 tackles in 14 games as a starter before his medical condition. He's tall, athletic and itching to get back on the field.
Cornering The Market
Princeton is loaded with experience in the defensive backfield, especially at the cornerback position. Current Princeton players (Anthony Gaffney, 20; Khamal Brown, 14; John Hill, 10; Matt Arends 6) have a total of 50 career starts at the cornerback position, and freshman Dorian Williams started most of the season as the nickel cornerback.
Gaffney has started every game of his career at cornerback, and he is a three-time first-team All-Ivy League honoree, despite the fact that he has only played two seasons. Besides his back-to-back spots as an All-Ivy cornerback, he was a first-team All-Ivy return specialist as a freshman.
Tackling The Issue
Mike Zeuli is entering his fourth season as a key member of the Princeton defense, and he is doing it in the fourth different position on the depth chart, though this change is the most minimal. After spending his freshman year at safety and his sophomore one at nickel cornerback, Zeuli moved to strong-side linebacker last season and led Princeton with 72 tackles. He moves to weak-side linebacker this season, though he played that spot plenty in 2013 when Princeton went into a nickel defense.
Zeuli has 120 career tackles entering the season, 30 more than any of his teammates. He will line up next to Garrit Leicht, who remains at the middle linebacker position for a second straight year.
Early Introductions
One of Princeton's strengths last season was on the defensive line, where the Tigers started three seniors and had a two-man senior rotation at the rush linebacker spot. The team will head to San Diego without a single player who has started one career game on the defensive line.
Two players who gained a fair amount of experience last year were Evan Kappatos (eight tackles), and Ty Desiré (two sacks).
Feeling A Draft
Those defensive linemen have some significant shoes to fill. Between 1991 and 2012, only one Princeton player (Dennis Norman, 2001, seventh round) was selected in the NFL Draft. In the last two seasons, two Princeton defensive linemen were selected. Mike Catapano was selected with the first pick of the seventh round by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, while Caraun Reid was picked in the fifth round this past year by the Detroit Lions.
Reid has been active for Detroit in both of its games this season, while Catapano played in 15 games for the playoff-bound Chiefs last season. He is currently on the reserve/non-football illness list and hasn't played this season.
Coach Speak
Bob Surace, one of two men to win an Ivy League championship as both a player (1989) and head coach (2013) won only two of his first 22 games at Princeton. He has won 13 of 18 since then, including eight in a row during Princeton's 2013 championship season. He was a 2013 finalist for the Eddie Robinson Jr. National Head Coach of the Year award.
The Crystal Ball
Princeton will make its home debut, as well as its lone appearance on Powers Field until mid-October, on Saturday, Sept. 27, when it hosts Davidson at 6 pm. The game will be Community & Staff Day and feature a postgame fireworks show.
Princeton and Davidson have played only once, a 42-6 Princeton win at Davidson on Sept. 26, 1987. Current Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett threw for three touchdowns, including two to his brother Judd, in the win. Dean Cain, the actor who later held the lead role in the long-running Superman series, broke the Princeton interceptions record in the game when he recorded off his 13th career interception.
Tickets can be ordered here, or by calling 609-258-4TIX (4849).