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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Columbia
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Defense Smothers Columbia For 10-5 Win, Perfect Start To Ivy Campaign
October 02, 2015 | Football
BOX SCORE
Pretty wins. Ugly wins. High-scoring wins. Defensive wins.
They count equally.
And Princeton has three of them, with a lonely zero in the loss column.
The Princeton football team overcame a tenacious Columbia defense, dreadful weather conditions and a flurry of injuries to cling to a hard-fought 10-5 victory over the Lions Friday night in front of 3,694 dedicated fans at Princeton Stadium.
Constant rain and gusty winds blowing over 20 miles per hour were enough to challenge both offenses, but opportunistic defenses on both sides made the night miserable. While the road team allowed fewer yards and first downs, it was Princeton that forced four turnovers in its Ivy League-opening win.
"I told the guys afterwards that you don't always score 52 points," head coach Bob Surace said afterwards. "Sometimes you have to win with 10, and that's what we did tonight. The defense just kept making play after play, and the offense took those final four minutes off the clock. Guys kept going in and getting it done against a Columbia team that I said all week was really good."
Two weeks after allowing one touchdown in the victory at Lafayette, the Princeton defense allowed only one field goal Friday night. That cut the Princeton lead to 10-3 just before halftime, and it went to 10-5 when Max Keefe blocked a punt and recovered it with a foot out of bounds in the end zone. At that point, there were nearly nine minutes remaining in the third quarter, and the Tiger offense had just gained a total of 57 yards on its previous seven drives combined.
That was fine for the defense, which rarely bent and never broke. From that point, the defense forced three 3 and outs, intercepted a pass and kept Columbia off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game. All-Ivy linebacker Rohan Hylton led the way with 12 tackles, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry, while sophomore Kurt Holuba added five solo tackles and a hurry of his own.
Seniors Khamal Brown, John Hill and Andrew Frisby each recorded an interception, while Khalil Bryant recovered a fumble after a sack by freshman Edward Rudinski, who was playing his first collegiate game after a preseason injury. The interception by Brown was the key play of the second half, as it altered field position dramatically.
The offense looked good early, especially after a 47-yard run by DiAndre Atwater that set up the only touchdown of the game. He drove the Tigers down to the Columbia 5 on the second possession of the game, and then sophomore John Lovett hit Trevor Osborne for a five-yard touchdown pass.
A wind-beaten punt (and there were plenty) on the next Columbia drive set up the Tigers once again, and they drove down to the 28 before sending in All-Ivy kicker Nolan Bieck. In perhaps the most impressive kick of his career, he drilled a 45-yard laser through the conditions to open a 10-0 lead.
The next offensive highlight would come hours later, but it would clinch the Princeton win. The Tigers got the ball with 4:19 remaining in regulation and got two first downs, including one on a short fourth-down run by Joe Rhattigan (25 carries, 85 yards) to run out the clock.
Princeton will conclude a three-game homestand Saturday, Oct. 10, when it hosts Colgate at 1 pm. The Raiders, who defeated Cornell 28-21 Friday night, earned a wild 31-30 win over Princeton in Hamilton last year.
NOTES: Princeton has kept Columbia out of the end zone in three of its last four meetings; in the fourth game, the Lions scored only seven points in a 53-7 Tiger win … this is Princeton's first 3-0 start since 2006 and only its fourth 3-0 start in the last 20 years … both Princeton quarterbacks completed four passes apiece, and Princeton wideouts combined to catch two of them (Osborne and Isaiah Barnes) … besides recovering the fumble, Bryant also had a sack during the win … Birk Olson had a key tackle for loss on third down late in the game to force a Columbia punt … after a bad snap and consecutive penalties in the second quarter, Princeton faced a 2nd and 55 (the Tigers did not get that first down) … one of the nation's best third-down teams heading into the night, Princeton was only 3 of 16 on third downs against Columbia … the last time Princeton won a game with fewer than 100 passing yards was Sept. 26, 2009, when the Tigers defeated Lehigh 17-14.