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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Friday: Surace Talks Special Teams, Penn, Prior To Philly Showdown
November 06, 2015 | Football
You can watch the full video by clicking on the link above. The game preview is below.
The Princeton football team will make the short trip south to Philadelphia this Saturday in search of its second winning season over the last nine years, as well as an opportunity to grab a victory over one of the league's hottest teams.
Not that the Tigers need either of those for motivation. Penn-Princeton week is more than enough for both sides.
Princeton, building off a 47-21 win over Cornell last weekend, will travel to historic Franklin Field to take on a Penn team that has won its last three games and is one of only two teams in the league to control its own destiny in the Ivy League championship chase. If the Quakers win this weekend, they'll have a chance to move into first place at nationally ranked Harvard.
These Princeton seniors would love nothing more than to take that opportunity away. They can also be the first class to win twice on Franklin Field in more than two decades.
The noon matchup will be shown live on the American Sports Network and streamed on the Ivy League Digital Network.
| Princeton Tigers (5-2, 2-2 Ivy) at Penn Quakers (4-3, 3-1 Ivy) |
| Time/Location | Nov. 7, 2015 • 12 pm • Franklin 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 | Princeton leads 65-40-1 |
| Last Meeting |
PRINCETON 22, Penn 17 (11/8/14) |
| Last At Site | Princeton 38, PENN 26(11/9/13) |
| Last Five Years |
Penn 3-2 |
| Current Streak |
Princeton 2 |
| Princeton Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Penn Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Last Week | Princeton 47, Cornell 21: Game Story l Highlights/Interviews |
| Next Week |
Nov. 14, 1 pm • Yale at Princeton • Ivy League Digital Network |
Follow Along
Princeton's showdown with Penn will be televised on the American Sports Network (check local listings) and streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network (subscription required). Jason Knapp and Jack Ford will call the action on the American Sports Network. Each of Princeton's remaining games are scheduled to be streamed through the Ivy League Digital Network, and three of the four will also be shown on the American Sports Network.
You can also listen live on WPRB 103.3 FM, as well as WPRB.com.
That Winning Feeling
Princeton needs one more victory for its second winning season over the last nine years.
Between 2007-2011, the Tigers went 18-42 (.300). Since the start of the 2012 season, the Tigers have gone 23-14 (.622).
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, 5-2) since the Class of 1995.
In the two years prior to the arrival of the Class of 2015, Princeton went 2-18.
The Streets Of Philadelphia
Princeton is looking for its first back-to-back on-field wins at Franklin Field since 1989 and 1991; the former of which included Bob Surace as the starting center for the victorious Tigers. Princeton did technically follow a 1995 victory with a win in 1997, but that came by forfeit when Penn used an ineligible player.
Princeton is also looking for its first three-game win streak over Penn since it won four straight games between 1989-92.
Cup Of Joe
Junior Joe Rhattigan, who missed the Brown game due to injury and was limited at Harvard, posted a Princeton season-best 127 rushing yards and a touchdown in the 47-21 victory over Cornell last weekend. Rhattigan currently ranks fourth in the Ivy League with 69.3 rushing yards per game, one spot ahead of Penn junior Brian Schoenauer, who is averaging 63.4 per game. Penn and Princeton have four of the top nine rushers in the Ivy League.
Dr. Dré
Princeton senior Dré Nelson achieved a rare double last weekend; he both returned a kickoff 100 yards (probably closer to 103) for a touchdown and scored on a one-yard touchdown run. The return touchdown was the third of his career, while it was the sixth rushing touchdown of his career.
Nelson is averaging 7.3 yards per carry and 15.6 yards per catch this season. An All-Ivy League returner in 2014, Nelson is averaging 28.6 yards per return, 10th-best in all of FCS football.
Lovett Or Leave It
Princeton sophomore John Lovett has become one of the most versatile offensive threats in the Ivy League, as well as one of the most proficient scorers in the nation. Lovett leads Princeton in receptions (25) and receiving yards (318); he ranks second on the team in rushes (43) and rushing yards (284), and he ranks second on the team in both completions (11) and passing yards (94).
Lovett also leads the Ivy League with 10 touchdowns scored (9 rush, 1 receiving), including nine over the last four weeks; he rushed for two touchdowns in the win over Cornell last weekend. Lovett has also thrown two touchdown passes this season, including one at Harvard.
Double Trouble
Only 11 Princeton players have rushed for double-digit touchdowns in a season at least once in their careers. Over the last decade, only Quinn Epperly (18, 2013) and Jordan Culbreath (10, 2008) have achieved that feat. John Lovett needs one more to become the 12th, and he needs three more to move into the single-season Top 10 at Princeton.
Ground Attack
In Princeton's five wins this season, the Tigers have averaged 237 rushing yards per game, and 17 of their 19 rushing touchdowns have come in those wins, including four last weekend. In the two losses, Princeton has averaged only 64.5 rushing yards per game.
Call For A Carpenter
Junior tight end Scott Carpenter, who earned All-Ivy Honorable Mention last season, caught one pass for Princeton over the first three games of the season. Since then, he has averaged three catches per game, including four for 47 yards last weekend, and he took over the team lead in touchdown receptions with an 8-yard score against Cornell. He also caught Princeton's only successful two-point conversion this season.
Strong Arm Of The Law
Junior Chad Kanoff, who became the first Princeton quarterback to win the first four starts of his career since the 1991 season, is averaging 216.1 passing yards per game. He is completing 56.4 percent of his passes, and he has spread the ball to 16 different receivers this season.
Tackling The Issue
Princeton safety Dorian Williams, who ranks second in the Ivy League in tackles (56), has been one of the team's top defensive players since the opening game of his freshman season. A two-year starter at free safety and an All-Ivy League honoree last year, Williams recorded a season-best 13 tackles (10 solo), broke up three passes, and returned an interception 85 yards in the 22-17 victory over Penn last season.
Cornering The Market
Senior Anthony Gaffney, who recorded an interception in the victory over Cornell last season, 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. In his only game at Franklin Field (2013), Gaffney recorded a late interception to help secure a 38-26 win.
Welcome Matt
Princeton senior Matt Arends has been a starter in the Ivy League since Week 5 of the 2012 season, and he earned All-Ivy League recognition during the 2013 championship season. He may have had his best two-game run over his career over the last two weeks.
At Brown he recorded 12 tackles, including eight solo stops, and two tackles for loss, as well as two pass breakups, a sack, an interception and a blocked field goal at Brown. It was Arends' second blocked kick of the season. At Harvard, Arends had 11 tackles, forced two fumbles, and he recorded both a quarterback hurry and a tackle for loss. He would have had his third blocked kick of the season, but it was called back on a penalty.
Last season, Arends had a season-best 12 tackles in the 22-17 victory at Penn. He had 11 solo stops and an interception in the victory.
An Olson Twin
Junior lineman Birk Olson paced the Tiger defense with two sacks in the 47-21 win over Cornell last weekend. After recording only six tackles last season, Olson leads all defensive linemen with 29 this season, and he has a Princeton-best four sacks on the year.
Cool Hand Luke
Junior inside linebacker Luke Catarius has started the last two 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 three, he has made 23 tackles, and he added his first career interception last weekend in the win over Cornell.
Mr. Smith
Junior Chris Smith made his first career start against Cornell last weekend and set a career high with 10 tackles in the 47-21 win.
Three Threes For Second
Nolan Bieck ranks fourth all-time at Princeton with 35 career field goals. He needs one to tie Alex Sierk (1995-98) for third and three to tie Taylor Northrop (1998-01) for second. The all-time leader is Derek
Javarone, who kicked 45 field goals between 2002-05.
Just For Kicks
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 25 of his last 26 field goal attempts, with the only miss hitting the upright.
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.
If you haven't seen the piece yet — it was excellent — you can find it through the @PUTigers and
@PUTigerFootball Twitter feeds.
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.
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.
The Crystal Ball
The Princeton Football Class of 2016 will take Powers Field one last time in two weeks, when the Tigers host Yale Nov. 14 at 1 pm (Ivy League Digital Network). The teams have split the last six games in this series, with the home team going 4-2. Princeton scored 59 points in the last meeting on Powers Field, but Yale came back with a 44-30 home win at the Yale Bowl last season.
This is the second-longest-running active rivalry in all of college football; next Saturday's game will be the 138th time these teams have met (Yale leads 75-52-10). Only Lehigh-Lafayette (150) has been played more often. You can order tickets on GoPrincetonTigers.com or by calling 609-258-4849.