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Princeton University Athletics
Saturday, October 29
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12:30 PM
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Football Friday: Surace Highlights Holuba, Sweigart Play, Discusses Improved Cornell Squad
October 28, 2016 | Football
In the seventh installment of the Football Friday video series with Bob Surace, the Princeton head coach highlights the impressive performances last weekend of both Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week Kurt Holuba and junior offensive tackle Mitchell Sweigart, who played in all 87 offensive snaps in the overtime loss to Harvard. He also looks ahead to Saturday's 12:30 showdown at Cornell (Ivy League Digital Network, One World Sports), including the play of Big Red quarterback Dalton Banks.
You can watch the video by clicking the play link above, or by visiting the Princeton Football YouTube page.
The Week 7 game preview can be found below.
OTHER LINKS: The Jack Guthrie Story l Kurt Holuba Wins Defensive Player of the Week
It's only fitting that the Princeton-Cornell rivarly annually plays out during Week 7 of the Ivy season, typically the closest date to Halloween.
These games, especially the ones at Cornell's Schoellkopf Field, have been particularly spooky over the years.
The Princeton Classes of 1966 and 1977 may not understand that, because they went 2-0 at Schoellkopf Field, site of Saturday's Ivy League 12:30 showdown between Princeton (4-2, 2-1 Ivy) and Cornell (3-3, 1-2 Ivy), which will be shown live on both One World Sports (check local listings) and the Ivy League Digital Network. No other senior class in the last 100 years can make that claim, though the Tiger Class of 2016 wants nothing more than to join that exclusive crowd and keep itself alive in the Ivy League championship race.
This is a rising Cornell program, as shown by wins over both Yale and Colgate this season. The offense has a dynamic leader in quarterback Dalton Banks, who has thrown for just under 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. The defense is led by Ivy interception leader Nick Gesualdi, who has five picks already this season. The Big Red plays three of its last four at home and have the chance to turn 2016 into a foundation for future success, much like the 2012 Princeton Tigers did.
This Princeton team knows what's at stake Saturday. Sure, Saturday's overtime loss to Harvard was disappointing, but plenty can happen over the final four weeks of an Ivy League season. The Tigers can only deal with who remains on their schedule, and Cornell has been a historic trouble spot for this program.
This group of seniors would love nothing more than to create a new mindset at Cornell, and to extend their own title dreams another week.
Lights, Camera, Action
Saturday's Ivy League showdown at Schoellkopf Field will be televised live on One World Sports (check local listings) and streamed on the Ivy League Digital Network. Bill Spaulding and Ken Dunek will call the action for One World Sports. The game can be heard live on WPRB 103.3 FM and the Princeton TuneIn App, with Cody Chrusciel and Craig Sachson providing the call.
Go Fourth
The Princeton Class of 2016 is trying to do something that very few Tiger classes have done — go undefeated against Cornell. In the last 100 years, only two Princeton senior classes (1966, 1977) have gone undefeated against the Big Red. During that same time period, the Tigers have won three straight over Cornell nine times, but they are 2-7 in the fourth meeting.
Schoellkopf Shutdown
Many of Princeton's attempts at four straight wins have been thwarted at Cornell's Schoellkopf Field. Since 1960, Princeton has only won back-to-back games at Schoellkopf Field once (1975 and 1977). In 2014, Princeton's Connor Kelley caught a career-best 13 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-27 win at Cornell.
Staying Alive
Princeton knows that one loss doesn't necessarily end its hopes for an Ivy League title, but it also knows that it doesn't allow any margin for error. In the last 50 years, there has only been one time (1982) when the championship was shared by teams with at least two losses (Dartmouth, Harvard, and Penn). If Princeton defeats Cornell, it would be assured of remaining no worse than one game behind both Harvard and Penn. The following week, Princeton will host Penn, which will be followed by Penn hosting Harvard.
Sack Exchange
Princeton junior Kurt Holuba, who missed the final seven games last season with an injury, was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after recording 10 tackles and three sacks in the overtime loss to Harvard. Holuba moved to third in the Ivy League with 4.5 sacks on the season, and 3.5 of them have come in the last two weeks.
Grounded
Princeton's rushing defense moved to the top of the Ivy League and now ranks fourth in the FCS; the Tigers are allowing only 85.0 rushing yards per game, and they have limited opposing rushers to 2.4 yards per carry.
Cool Hand Luke
Senior Luke Catarius ranks eighth in the Ivy League with 7.8 tackles per game, though he has averaged 11 in Princeton's last two games. He had 12 tackles, including 1.5 for losses, in the 23-20 overtime loss to Harvard last week.
Right Turn
Princeton has forced 16 turnovers this season, the most in the Ivy League, and it leads the Ivy League with a +7 ratio. The Tigers forced four turnovers last weekend, including three on interceptions by Sam Huffman, James Gales and Rohan Hylton.
The Princeton offense will need to be sharp, however, because the team that ranks just behind the Tigers in turnover creation is Cornell. The Big Red have forced 15 turnovers on the season, including five on interceptions by Nick Gesualdi.
Lovett Or Leave It
John Lovett, who earned 2015 All-Ivy League honors despite playing less than 60% of the league games due to injury, currently shares the NCAA FCS lead in rushing touchdowns despite playing in at least one fewer game than anybody inside the top 8. He has 12 touchdowns on the year, seven short of Keith Elias' Princeton record of 19, set in 1993. Quinn Epperly '15 made a run at that record during the 2013 Ivy League championship season, but he finished his Bushnell Cup-winning season with 18 rushing scores.
Lovett likely has bittersweet memories of Cornell from last season. He did score two rushing touchdowns in the 47-21 win, but he also suffered an injury and missed the remainder of the season.
More Lovett
John Lovett has been named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week twice over the last three weeks (Georgetown, Brown). Over the last four games, Lovett has rushed for nine touchdowns and thrown for four, and he has accounted for at least three touchdowns in three of the four games. In his last nine starts, dating back to the middle of the 2015 season, Lovett has had more games with at least three touchdowns accounted for (5) than with just one or zero touchdowns (1).
Cup Of Joe
After suffering an injury against Georgetown and being limited against Brown, senior tri-captain Joe Rhattigan was back in full force against Harvard. He rushed 22 times for 90 yards, the only rusher on either side who gained more than 50 yards on the ground. Rhattigan has scored twice in his career against Cornell, including his first collegiate touchdown as a freshman during the Tigers' 2013 Ivy championship season.
Spreading The Love
The Princeton pass game has been spread out among 16 different receivers, 14 of whom caught at least one pass against Georgetown three weeks ago, the most in a game under Bob Surace. Senior Isaiah Barnes holds the team lead in receptions (22) and receiving yards (295). James Frusciante became the first Tiger receiver with multiple TD catches in a game this year when he caught two in the win over Brown.
Strong Armed
Senior quarterback Chad Kanoff, who opened last year's Cornell game with a touchdown pass to tight end Scott Carpenter, needs only 224 passing yards to move into the Princeton Top 10 for career passing yards. Kanoff has completed 61% of his passes this season for 1,050 yards, and he has a 4:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in Ivy League games.
A Work Of Sweig-Art
With injuries — both earlier in the season and during the game — affecting the Princeton offensive line, junior tackle Mitchell Sweigart played all 87 offensive plays for the Tigers last weekend.
Great Scott
Scott Carpenter was recently named a semifinalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy, one of the top scholar-athlete honors in college football. Candidates for the award must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
With Honors
Andrew Griffin, a wide receiver from Avon, Ind., and John Orr, a linebacker from Nashville, Tenn., are two of the five recipients — from a pool of more than 1.1 million high school football players — of the prestigious 2016 NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards. Each of the five recipients is selected as the best of the best from his region of the country at the high school level. The five honorees, who are now playing college football after graduating high school in 2016, are being recognized solely for their accomplishments in high school.
Princeton is the only school to have multiple honorees of a 2016 National Scholar-Athlete Award, and it is the only Ivy League school to have an honoree. Among the other schools honored are Stanford and Michigan.
Coach Speak
Head coach Bob Surace is one of two men to win an Ivy League championship as both a player (1989) and a head coach (2013). He was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Jr. Head Coach of the Year Award following the 2013 season.
Working Sundays
Mike Catapano '13, Caraun Reid '14, and Seth DeValve'16 are each on NFL rosters this season, marking the first time three drafted Princeton players have all been on NFL rosters for the same weekend since the 1980s. Reid returned a fumble 61 yards for a touchdown at Indianapolis, and he caused a safety on Thursday Night Football two weeks ago in a win over the Super Bowl champion Broncos. Catapano has started for the New York Jets. DeValve, who became Princeton's highest-drafted player of the modern era (fourth round) last April, has seen time on offense for Cleveland.
The Crystal Ball
Princeton returns home next Saturday to take on Penn in a 12 pm showdown on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium. The game will be part of Princeton's Community & Military Heroes Day celebration. You can purchase tickets at GoPrincetonTigers.com, or by calling 609-258-4TIX. If you can't make it to the game, it will be televised on the American Sports Network (check local listings) and the Ivy League Digital Network.
Penn, one of three defending Ivy League champions to come to Princeton this season, enters the weekend with a 3-0 mark in the Ivy League. Penn ended a two-game losing streak to Princeton last year in dramatic fashion; the Quakers blocked Princeton's potential game-winning field goal on the final play of regulation, and then they scored a touchdown to claim a 26-23 win at Franklin Field.
You can watch the video by clicking the play link above, or by visiting the Princeton Football YouTube page.
The Week 7 game preview can be found below.
OTHER LINKS: The Jack Guthrie Story l Kurt Holuba Wins Defensive Player of the Week
It's only fitting that the Princeton-Cornell rivarly annually plays out during Week 7 of the Ivy season, typically the closest date to Halloween.
These games, especially the ones at Cornell's Schoellkopf Field, have been particularly spooky over the years.
The Princeton Classes of 1966 and 1977 may not understand that, because they went 2-0 at Schoellkopf Field, site of Saturday's Ivy League 12:30 showdown between Princeton (4-2, 2-1 Ivy) and Cornell (3-3, 1-2 Ivy), which will be shown live on both One World Sports (check local listings) and the Ivy League Digital Network. No other senior class in the last 100 years can make that claim, though the Tiger Class of 2016 wants nothing more than to join that exclusive crowd and keep itself alive in the Ivy League championship race.
This is a rising Cornell program, as shown by wins over both Yale and Colgate this season. The offense has a dynamic leader in quarterback Dalton Banks, who has thrown for just under 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. The defense is led by Ivy interception leader Nick Gesualdi, who has five picks already this season. The Big Red plays three of its last four at home and have the chance to turn 2016 into a foundation for future success, much like the 2012 Princeton Tigers did.
This Princeton team knows what's at stake Saturday. Sure, Saturday's overtime loss to Harvard was disappointing, but plenty can happen over the final four weeks of an Ivy League season. The Tigers can only deal with who remains on their schedule, and Cornell has been a historic trouble spot for this program.
This group of seniors would love nothing more than to create a new mindset at Cornell, and to extend their own title dreams another week.
| Week 7: Princeton Tigers (4-2, 2-1 Ivy) at Cornell Big Red (3-3, 1-2 Ivy) |
| Date • Time • Location | Oct. 29 • 12:30 pm • Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, N.Y. |
| Watch Live | One World Sports l Ivy League Digital Network |
| Tickets | Cornell Ticket Office l 607-254-BEAR |
| Radio | 103.3 FM l Listen Live on the TuneIn App |
| Game Coverage | Live Stats l @PUTigers l @PUTigerFootball |
| All-Time Series | Princeton leads 60-36-2 |
| Last Meeting • Current Streak | PRINCETON 47, Cornell 21 (2015) l Princeton 3 straight wins |
| Princeton Information | Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Statistics |
| Cornell Information | Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Statistics |
| Ivy League | Standings l Statistics l Weekly Release |
| Last Week | Harvard 23, PRINCETON 20 (OT) l BROWN 28, Cornell 21 (2 OT) |
| Next Week | Penn at Princeton, 12 pm (ILDN, American Sports Network) |
Lights, Camera, Action
Saturday's Ivy League showdown at Schoellkopf Field will be televised live on One World Sports (check local listings) and streamed on the Ivy League Digital Network. Bill Spaulding and Ken Dunek will call the action for One World Sports. The game can be heard live on WPRB 103.3 FM and the Princeton TuneIn App, with Cody Chrusciel and Craig Sachson providing the call.
Go Fourth
The Princeton Class of 2016 is trying to do something that very few Tiger classes have done — go undefeated against Cornell. In the last 100 years, only two Princeton senior classes (1966, 1977) have gone undefeated against the Big Red. During that same time period, the Tigers have won three straight over Cornell nine times, but they are 2-7 in the fourth meeting.
Schoellkopf Shutdown
Many of Princeton's attempts at four straight wins have been thwarted at Cornell's Schoellkopf Field. Since 1960, Princeton has only won back-to-back games at Schoellkopf Field once (1975 and 1977). In 2014, Princeton's Connor Kelley caught a career-best 13 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-27 win at Cornell.
Staying Alive
Princeton knows that one loss doesn't necessarily end its hopes for an Ivy League title, but it also knows that it doesn't allow any margin for error. In the last 50 years, there has only been one time (1982) when the championship was shared by teams with at least two losses (Dartmouth, Harvard, and Penn). If Princeton defeats Cornell, it would be assured of remaining no worse than one game behind both Harvard and Penn. The following week, Princeton will host Penn, which will be followed by Penn hosting Harvard.
Sack Exchange
Princeton junior Kurt Holuba, who missed the final seven games last season with an injury, was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after recording 10 tackles and three sacks in the overtime loss to Harvard. Holuba moved to third in the Ivy League with 4.5 sacks on the season, and 3.5 of them have come in the last two weeks.
Grounded
Princeton's rushing defense moved to the top of the Ivy League and now ranks fourth in the FCS; the Tigers are allowing only 85.0 rushing yards per game, and they have limited opposing rushers to 2.4 yards per carry.
Cool Hand Luke
Senior Luke Catarius ranks eighth in the Ivy League with 7.8 tackles per game, though he has averaged 11 in Princeton's last two games. He had 12 tackles, including 1.5 for losses, in the 23-20 overtime loss to Harvard last week.
Right Turn
Princeton has forced 16 turnovers this season, the most in the Ivy League, and it leads the Ivy League with a +7 ratio. The Tigers forced four turnovers last weekend, including three on interceptions by Sam Huffman, James Gales and Rohan Hylton.
The Princeton offense will need to be sharp, however, because the team that ranks just behind the Tigers in turnover creation is Cornell. The Big Red have forced 15 turnovers on the season, including five on interceptions by Nick Gesualdi.
Lovett Or Leave It
John Lovett, who earned 2015 All-Ivy League honors despite playing less than 60% of the league games due to injury, currently shares the NCAA FCS lead in rushing touchdowns despite playing in at least one fewer game than anybody inside the top 8. He has 12 touchdowns on the year, seven short of Keith Elias' Princeton record of 19, set in 1993. Quinn Epperly '15 made a run at that record during the 2013 Ivy League championship season, but he finished his Bushnell Cup-winning season with 18 rushing scores.
Lovett likely has bittersweet memories of Cornell from last season. He did score two rushing touchdowns in the 47-21 win, but he also suffered an injury and missed the remainder of the season.
More Lovett
John Lovett has been named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week twice over the last three weeks (Georgetown, Brown). Over the last four games, Lovett has rushed for nine touchdowns and thrown for four, and he has accounted for at least three touchdowns in three of the four games. In his last nine starts, dating back to the middle of the 2015 season, Lovett has had more games with at least three touchdowns accounted for (5) than with just one or zero touchdowns (1).
Cup Of Joe
After suffering an injury against Georgetown and being limited against Brown, senior tri-captain Joe Rhattigan was back in full force against Harvard. He rushed 22 times for 90 yards, the only rusher on either side who gained more than 50 yards on the ground. Rhattigan has scored twice in his career against Cornell, including his first collegiate touchdown as a freshman during the Tigers' 2013 Ivy championship season.
Spreading The Love
The Princeton pass game has been spread out among 16 different receivers, 14 of whom caught at least one pass against Georgetown three weeks ago, the most in a game under Bob Surace. Senior Isaiah Barnes holds the team lead in receptions (22) and receiving yards (295). James Frusciante became the first Tiger receiver with multiple TD catches in a game this year when he caught two in the win over Brown.
Strong Armed
Senior quarterback Chad Kanoff, who opened last year's Cornell game with a touchdown pass to tight end Scott Carpenter, needs only 224 passing yards to move into the Princeton Top 10 for career passing yards. Kanoff has completed 61% of his passes this season for 1,050 yards, and he has a 4:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in Ivy League games.
A Work Of Sweig-Art
With injuries — both earlier in the season and during the game — affecting the Princeton offensive line, junior tackle Mitchell Sweigart played all 87 offensive plays for the Tigers last weekend.
Great Scott
Scott Carpenter was recently named a semifinalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy, one of the top scholar-athlete honors in college football. Candidates for the award must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
With Honors
Andrew Griffin, a wide receiver from Avon, Ind., and John Orr, a linebacker from Nashville, Tenn., are two of the five recipients — from a pool of more than 1.1 million high school football players — of the prestigious 2016 NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards. Each of the five recipients is selected as the best of the best from his region of the country at the high school level. The five honorees, who are now playing college football after graduating high school in 2016, are being recognized solely for their accomplishments in high school.
Princeton is the only school to have multiple honorees of a 2016 National Scholar-Athlete Award, and it is the only Ivy League school to have an honoree. Among the other schools honored are Stanford and Michigan.
Coach Speak
Head coach Bob Surace is one of two men to win an Ivy League championship as both a player (1989) and a head coach (2013). He was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Jr. Head Coach of the Year Award following the 2013 season.
Working Sundays
Mike Catapano '13, Caraun Reid '14, and Seth DeValve'16 are each on NFL rosters this season, marking the first time three drafted Princeton players have all been on NFL rosters for the same weekend since the 1980s. Reid returned a fumble 61 yards for a touchdown at Indianapolis, and he caused a safety on Thursday Night Football two weeks ago in a win over the Super Bowl champion Broncos. Catapano has started for the New York Jets. DeValve, who became Princeton's highest-drafted player of the modern era (fourth round) last April, has seen time on offense for Cleveland.
The Crystal Ball
Princeton returns home next Saturday to take on Penn in a 12 pm showdown on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium. The game will be part of Princeton's Community & Military Heroes Day celebration. You can purchase tickets at GoPrincetonTigers.com, or by calling 609-258-4TIX. If you can't make it to the game, it will be televised on the American Sports Network (check local listings) and the Ivy League Digital Network.
Penn, one of three defending Ivy League champions to come to Princeton this season, enters the weekend with a 3-0 mark in the Ivy League. Penn ended a two-game losing streak to Princeton last year in dramatic fashion; the Quakers blocked Princeton's potential game-winning field goal on the final play of regulation, and then they scored a touchdown to claim a 26-23 win at Franklin Field.
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