.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Friday: Surace Talks Barnes, Williams, Atwater And Dartmouth Game
November 20, 2015 | Football
You can see the full video by clicking the link above. Saturday's game preview can be found below.
It's been a long time since members of the Princeton football team could enjoy Thanksgiving dinner off the positive feelings from a season-ending win. The Tigers would love to cap a tough second-half of the 2015 season with their first finale victory since 2009, and if they can play the role of spoiler to somebody's else's Ivy championship chances along the way, so be it.
Princeton (5-4, 2-4 Ivy) wanted to be in the position of playing for the Ivy League title during Week 10 this season, but late-game miscues and a rash of injuries have left the Tigers in the middle of the Ivy pack. Now they will go against the team that has arguably been the most dominant in league play, the 21st-ranked Dartmouth Big Green.
Dartmouth, winners of five straight against Princeton, is 8-1 on the season, and its lone loss came by one point in a thrilling 14-13 Friday night loss at Harvard three weeks ago. The Big Green left Boston wondering if their championship dreams ended that night, but they were revived a week ago by Penn's 35-25 win over the Crimson.
Now Dartmouth, Harvard and Penn are all 5-1 in Ivy play, and each needs to win Saturday to clinch a share of the crown. In all likelihood, at least one will win, so it's Championship Or Bust for the trio.
Princeton will do its best to take care of the Big Green Saturday at noon in a game shown on both the American Sports Network and the Ivy League Digital Network. It will be the final game for the Class of 2016, which never experienced a losing season at Princeton and helped claim the 2013 Ivy League title. There is very little that those seniors have never done here.
One of them lays ahead. They've never beaten Dartmouth.
To do it in their final game would make Thanksgiving dinner all the sweeter.
| Princeton Tigers (5-4, 2-4 Ivy) at #21 Dartmouth Big Green (8-1, 5-1 Ivy) |
| Time/Location | Nov. 21, 2015 • 12 pm • Memorial Field |
| Coverage |
American Sports Network/Ivy League Digital Network l WPRB 103.3 FM l Live Stats |
| @PUTigers l @PUTigerFootball l @PUTigers_Live | |
| All-Time Series | Dartmouth leads 47-43-4 |
| Last Meeting |
Dartmouth 41, PRINCETON 10 (11/22/14) |
| Last At Site | DARTMOUTH 28, Princeton 24 (11/23/13) |
| Last Five Years |
Dartmouth 5-0 |
| Current Streak |
Dartmouth 5 |
| Princeton Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Yale Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Last Week | Yale 35, Princeton 28: Game Story l Highlights/Interviews |
| Next Week |
Happy Thanksgiving! |
Follow Along
Princeton's 2015 finale will be televised live on the American Sports Network and the Ivy League Digital Network Saturday at noon. Check your local listings to see if the game will be in your area, or you can check @PUTigers later in the week for a link of all local stations. Scott Sudikoff and Ken Dunek will provide commentary for the game.
You can also listen live to WPRB 103.3 FM or WPRB.com, as Dan Loney and Craig Sachson will provide the radio commentary.
It Ain't Easy Beating Green
This is the 95th meeting between Princeton and Dartmouth, and the Big Green is currently in the midst of its longest win streak in the series (five games). Dartmouth has won every meeting in the series since Bob Surace has taken over as head coach, including a 41-10 victory on Powers Field last season.
Ironically, the closest games have been played at Memorial Field. In the three games in Princeton, Dartmouth has won by an average of 25.3 points. In the two games at Dartmouth, the Green has won by 5.5 points.
Rank And File
Princeton is looking for its first victory over a ranked team since Oct. 20, 2012, when the
Tigers rallied from a 24-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 39-34 victory over the 22nd-ranked
Crimson. Dartmouth enters Saturday's game ranked 21st nationally.
Returning The Favor
The last time Princeton traveled to Hanover, it was seeking its first perfect Ivy League season since 1964. Dartmouth won the game 28-24 and forced Princeton to share the title with Harvard. This weekend, Dartmouth is seeking its first title since 1996, and Princeton can keep it from the title with a road victory.
That Winning Feeling
Princeton needs one more victory for its second winning season over the last nine years. Between 2007-11, the Tigers went 18-42 (.300). Since the start of the 2012 season, the Tigers have gone 23-16 (.590).
Head Of The Class
The Princeton Class of 2015, which still has three games remaining, will be the first graduating class without a single losing season (5-5, 8-2, 5-5, 5-4) since the Class of 1995.
In the two years prior to the arrival of the Class of 2015, Princeton went 2-18.
Saved The Best For Last
In his first preseason scrimmage on Powers Field (2012), Isaiah Barnes suffered an ankle injury that would basically keep him off the field for two full seasons. In his Senior Day finale on Powers Field last weekend, Barnes caught six passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns, including a spectacular leaping grab that gave the Tigers a third-quarter lead.
Climbing The Charts
Senior Seth DeValve enters his final Princeton game with 113 catches for 1,226 yards over his career. He currently ranks 10th in program history in career recemptions, and he would need 11 Saturday to tie Philip Wendler for ninth. His receiving yards ranks 13th in program history, and he is 159 yards behind Judd Garrett for 12th place.
A Perfect 10
Junior quarterback Chad Kanoff became the 10th Princeton quarterback to throw for at least 2,000 yards in a season last weekend, and he can move up several spots on the single-season chart in the finale. He currently has 2,069 yards, ninth-most in program history. He needs only 148 passing yards to move past Quinn Epperly (2013), Doug Butler (1984), and current Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett (2217) to move into sixth place. He would need 388 yards to tie Jeff Terrell for fifth place in program history.
Lovett Or Leave It
Despite not playing either of the last two games, sophomore quarterback John Lovett continues to lead the Ivy League with 10 touchdowns this season (nine rush, one receiving). He has also thrown two touchdowns this season.
Tackling The Issue
Princeton safety Dorian Williams, a two-year starter at free safety and an All-Ivy League honoree last year, grabbed a share of the Ivy League lead in tackles last weekend when he made a career-best 15 against Yale. Williams now has 81 tackles on the season, which is tied with Yale's Hayden Carlson for the most in Ivy play..
Cool Hand Luke
Junior inside linebacker Luke Catarius has started the four three games following an injury to All-Ivy starter Rohan Hylton during the Brown game. In the first 24 games of his Princeton career, Catarius recorded 20 tackles. In the last five, he has made 52 tackles, and he has averaged 14.5 stops per game over the last two weeks.
Despite not starting in any of the first four games of the season, Catarius ranks sixth in the Ivy League with 62 tackles on the season.
Welcome Matt
Senior linebacker Matt Arends has started at both cornerback and safety during his career, but he has thrived at the linebacker position. He ranks third on the team with 54 tackles this season, and he has added a team-best six tackles for loss, as well as three pass breakups, two forced fumbles, two blocked kicks and 1.5 sacks.
Double Trouble
Senior Anthony Gaffney leads all Tigers with nine interceptions in his career. That is the most for any Princeton player since Jay McCareins '06, who finished his career with 19 interceptions.
Just For Kicks
Senior placekicker Nolan Bieck moved into a tie for second place on the all-time field goals list at Princeton when he made three in the overtime loss at Penn two weeks ago. He has made 38 career field goals, which is tied with his former kicking coach, Taylor Northrop '02. The all-time leader is Derek Javarone '06, who made 45 in his career.
Graduation Day
Princeton football tied for the top spot in FCS in the latest graduation success rate, as announced by the NCAA, with a final total of 98%.
Telling Mason's Story
Junior Mason Darrow, who publicly came out in a piece on OutSports.com prior to the 2015 season opener at Lafayette, was featured on a piece by College Gameday. Show host Rece Davis was on campus Tuesday, Oct. Oct. 20, and interviewed Darrow, head coach Bob Surace and two of Darrow's teammates, Jack Knight and Caleb Slate.
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 37 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.
The other man to win an Ivy League title as both a player and head coach will be standing on the opposite sideline Saturday — Buddy Teevens.
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 Immersion Program in Quebec.
The Crystal Ball
Princeton concludes its 2015 season on the road this weekend, and it will find itself back there three times over the first four weeks next year. The Tigers are scheduled to open the 2016 at home against Lafayette (Sept. 17), and then will take on Lehigh, Columbia & Georgetown on the road. The Tigers will play four Ivy home games next season: Brown (Oct. 15), Harvard (Oct. 22), Penn (Nov. 5) and Dartmouth (Nov. 19). All dates are tentative, and times will be announced over the summer. Follow GoPrincetonTigers.com throughout the year for updates on the Princeton Football team, as well as all 38 varsity teams.