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Princeton University Athletics
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Undefeated Tigers Seek First Colgate Win, Perfect Patriot Mark, Since 2006
October 06, 2015 | Football
It's true that the Ivy League season started last Friday in successful, albeit very wet, fashion with a 10-5 win over Columbia. And it's also true that the next six weeks is a full eight-team sprint towards a league championship.
But that shouldn't take anything away from what you'll watch Saturday at 1 pm, when the Colgate Raiders come to Powers Field (Ivy League Digital Network, WPRB 103.3 FM). Colgate-Princeton has offered some pretty thrilling shows over the latter end of this series, and with both teams taking Powers Field off winning streaks, there is no reason to assume anything less.
Princeton concludes its three-game homestand today with hopes of entering the heart of Ivy League season on the momentum of four straight wins. The last two home wins have borne no resemblance to each other, outside of the locker room celebration afterwards.
Whether it's another 50-point offensive outburst, like the Lehigh win, or another dominant defensive day, like the Columbia win, Princeton really couldn't care less. The Tigers haven't beaten Colgate in a while, and they haven't been 4-0 in a while, and they'd be happy to get there by any means necessary.
| Colgate Raiders (2-3) at Princeton Tigers (3-0) |
| Time/Location | Oct. 10 • 1 pm • Powers Field at Princeton Stadium |
| Coverage |
Ivy League Digital Network l WPRB 103.3 FM l Live Stats l @PUTigers_Live |
| All-Time Series | Colgate leads 26-25-1 |
| Last Meeting |
COLGATE 31, Princeton 30 (10/11/14) |
| Last At Site | Colgate 44, PRINCETON 10 (10/9/10) |
| Last Five Years |
Colgate 2-0 |
| Current Streak |
Colgate 4 |
| Princeton Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Colgate Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Last Week | Princeton 10, Columbia 5: Game Story l Interviews l Highlights |
| Next Week |
Oct. 17, 12 pm • Princeton at Brown • American Sports Network/Ivy Digital |
Follow Along
Princeton's showdown with Colgate will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network (subscription required), with Dan Loney and Dave Giancola calling the game. All of Princeton's remaining games are scheduled to be streamed through the Ivy League Digital Network.
You can also listen live on WPRB 103.3 FM, as well as WPRB.com.
Go Fourth
Princeton is looking for its first 4-0 start since 2006 and only its second 4-0 start over the last two decades. The last two times Princeton has started 4-0, it went on to win the Ivy League
championship (1995, 2006).
Princeton achieved a 4-0 record in 2006 with an overtime road win at Colgate, which is the last time the Tigers have beaten the Raiders.
Point, Counterpoint
Princeton scored 52 points in a victory over Lehigh two weeks ago, and it followed up with 10 points in a win over Columbia last week. The last time Princeton scored at least 42 points fewer in the second week of back-to-back wins was the 1928 season, when the Tigers defeated Lehigh 47-0, and then defeated Cornell 3-0 the next week.
Third Time's A Charm
Princeton has scored 102 points over the first three games of the season, which is the third-most for the Tigers over the last 65 years.
It is also the third-most for the Tigers over the last three years. Two seasons ago, Princeton scored 131 points en route to breaking Ivy League records for total and scoring offense. Last year, the Tigers scored 123 points over that same stretch.
A Perfect 10
Princeton topped Columbia by a 10-5 score during a windy, driving rainstorm last Friday night on the NBC Sports Network. That was the fewest points Princeton scored in a win since 2008, when it defeated Lehigh 10-7. It was also the first time in program history that Princeton won a game by that exact score.
Patriot Games
Princeton has gone 2-0 against Patriot League teams to start the season, including its first win over Lehigh in seven years. Today, the Tigers will have a chance to complete their first 3-0 mark against the Patriot League since 2006.
Swinging 'Gate
If Princeton goes 3-0 against the Patriot League, it would also mark the Tigers' first win over Colgate since that same 2006 season.
Since the turn of the century, Colgate has gone 9-2 over Princeton. The lone Tigers wins were both memorable ones:
2002 • PRINCETON 14, Colgate 10
Quarterback David Splithoff threw touchdowns on both his first (62 yards) and last (73) passes of the game.
2006 • Princeton 27, COLGATE 26 (ot)
Jeff Terrell scored on a quarterback keeper in overtime, and Tom Methvin stopped a quarterback draw on a two-point conversion attempt later in overtime to clinch the win.
Close Encounters
While Colgate has dominated this series recently, most of the games have been close, including last year's 31-30 Colgate win. Besides 2003, when Colgate went to the NCAA championship game, and 2010, when Princeton went 1-9, the average margin of victory in this series has been only 4.7 points since 2002.
Princeton jumped out to a 16-0 lead last season, but Colgate scored two touchdowns in the final minute of the first half and shut the Tigers out in the final quarter to claim the 31-30 win. Princeton tailback DiAndre Atwater had a career-high 131 rushing yards in the win.
The Hylton Hotel
Junior Rohan Hylton, a second-team All-Ivy League linebacker last season, led the Tiger defense with 12 tackles last weekend in the win over
Columbia. He currently leads Princeton with 23 tackles this season, and he ranked seventh in the Ivy League last season with 75.
He set his career high at Colgate last year, when he recorded 18 tackles. He added a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Take It Away
Princeton was -4 in turnover margin last season, but it is a +6 through three games this season. In each of the last two games, the Tiger defense forced four turnovers. Senior Khamal Brown, who moved to safety during the offseason, is the only player in the Ivy League with multiple interceptions this season.
Sack Exchange
Princeton leads the Ivy League with nine sacks this season. Both Kurt Holuba and Henry Schlossberg have two on the season, while freshman
Edward Rudinski recorded his first career one last weekend. Rudinski's sack forced a fumble that Princeton recovered.
Cup Of Joe
Junior Joe Rhattigan took the majority of the offensive load on his shoulders when senior teammates DiAndre Atwater and Dré Nelson were injured against Columbia. He ended the game with 85 rushing yards on 25 attempts, and he iced the game with a 4th-and-1 conversion in the final two minutes.
Rhattigan leads Princeton and ranks sixth in the Ivy League with three touchdowns scored this season.
Catch Of The Day
Junior Trevor Osborne didn't have a touchdown reception in the first two seasons of his career, but he currently leads Princeton with two this season. After scoring the team's first points of the season against Lafayette, he caught a five-yard pass last weekend for the only touchdown in a 10-5 victory over Columbia.
Lovett Or Leave It
Sophomore John Lovett threw the touchdown pass to Osborne last weekend, and he had a key third-down conversion run late in the win. He ranks second on the team in passing yards and fourth in both rushing yards and receiving yards.
Against Lehigh, in only his second collegiate game, Lovett led the team with 71 receiving yards, ranked second with 33 passing yards and ranked third with 59 rushing yards. That followed a Lafayette game when he had two touches that accounted for a total of two yards, one rushing and one passing. Both of those went for touchdowns.
Ahead Of The Game
Princeton has led for 143:29 of a possible 180:00 of game action this season. It has trailed for only 1:11, and never in the second half.
Return To Sender
Princeton's last special teams touchdown came one year ago, when Dré Nelson returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Nelson, who returned two kicks for touchdowns last season, earned All-Ivy League honors as a returner in 2014.
The Longest Yard
From Week 2 of the 2000 season through Week 7 of the 2014 season, no Princeton kicker made a field goal of at least 45 yards. Since Week 8 of last season, reigning first-team All-Ivy League kicker Nolan Bieck has made kicks of 46, 46, 45 and 45 yards. The latter 45-yarder came during the gusty, rainy Columbia game last weekend.
Bieck has now made 21 of his last 22 field goal attempts, with the only miss hitting the upright.
Five Alive
Nolan Bieck ranks fifth all-time at Princeton with 31 career field goals. He needs one field goal to tie for fourth (Christopher Lutz, 1988-90), and he needs five to tie Alex Sierk (1995-98) for third. Twenty years ago, Sierk made one of the biggest field goals in program history …
We Are The (Only) Champions
At halftime of Saturday's game, the 1995 Ivy League champion Princeton football team will be honored. That Tiger team is the only one over the last 50 years to win an outright Ivy League championship. You can read a piece on that team, which was led by Bushnell Cup winner Dave Patterson, on page 37 of this week's gameday program.
Princeton won the outright Ivy League title on the final day of the season when Sierk booted an 18-yard field goal to clinch a 10-10 tie at Dartmouth. That was the final year when college football games could end in ties.
Coach Speak
Bob Surace, one of two men to win an Ivy title as both a player (1989) and head coach (2013), won only two of his first 22 games at Princeton. He has won 18 of 28 since, including eight in a row during the 2013 championship season. He was a 2013 finalist for the Eddie Robinson Jr. National Head Coach of the Year award.
Head Of The Class
Senior co-captain Matt Arends was named one of 135 semifinalists for the 2015 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments, by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.
Arends, a senior in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, has played cornerback, safety and linebacker during his Princeton career. He has earned both All-Ivy and Academic All-Ivy League honors, and he has also served internships with the US Global Leadership Coalition in Washington, DC, as well as the US Department of State in the US Embassy in Paris. Arends also spent five weeks in an intensive French Immershion Program in Quebec.
Reid It And Weep
Caraun Reid, the co-captain of the 2013 Ivy League champion football team, became the first Princeton football player to score an NFL touchdown in nearly 30 years when he scooped up a Russell Wilson fumble and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown this past Monday night.
The last Princeton player to score an NFL touchdown was Bob Holly '82, then quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, who scored on a 20-yard run against San Francisco.
The Crystal Ball
Princeton will return to its new road uniforms next weekend when it heads to Brown to return to Ivy League competition. The Tigers have won three straight games against Brown, including a 39-17 comeback win in Providence two seasons ago. Princeton trailed 17-0 in that game, but it scored 39 unanswered points en route to its most recent Ivy League championship.
The game will be televised on the American Sports Network. Check the Princeton web site this week for local listings.
Trick Or Treat
Princeton will return to Powers Field in three weeks, when it hosts Cornell at 3:30 pm on Halloween Day. The game will also be shown live on the American Sports Network. Princeton has won the last two in this series, including a 53-20 win on Powers Field two years ago. Tickets are available by calling 609-258-4TIX.