Football Friday: Bob Surace Details Lehigh Loss, Breaks Down Ivy Opener At Columbia (FOX Sports TV)

In the Week 3 installment of the Football Friday video series, Princeton head coach Bob Surace takes a more detailed look at the Tiger pass defense, which struggled last weekend in a 42-28 loss at Lehigh, as well as the growth of sophomore running back Charlie Volker, who scored three times against the Mountain Hawks.

Surace also gives his early thoughts on Princeton's first Ivy League opponent, Columbia, which will host the Tigers Saturday at noon on FOX College Sports and FOX Sports Go. You can watch the full preview by clicking the play link above.

The Week 3 game preview is below.

Princeton may have left Goodman Stadium last Saturday with the disappointment of its first loss in 2016, but it also knew that something special was on the immediate horizon.

Forty-six weeks after they were officially eliminated from the 2015 Ivy League chase, the Tigers are back in another title pursuit, and they couldn't be happier about it. That chase will begin Saturday at noon for both Princeton (1-1) and Columbia (0-2), which will host the league opener at Wien Stadium (12 pm) in a game televised live on FOX College Sports and FOX Sports GO.

Princeton is looking for both a beginning and an end this Saturday. Besides sprinting out of the league gates with a win, the Tigers would love to end a road drought that has plagued them since Ivy play began last season. That trend continued in Bethlehem last weekend, when a red-hot Lehigh offense controlled play in a 42-28 victory.

While the Tigers have split a pair of high-scoring games (136 points total in two games), Columbia heads into Saturday having lost two low-scoring ones (53 total points). Turnovers have plagued both teams in their three combined losses; Princeton was -3 in the loss at Lehigh, while Columbia is -6 on the season.

The bad memories of a nonleague loss will be a distant memory late Saturday afternoon for one of these teams, which will begin its October in the best possible way — an Ivy League win.

Week 3: Princeton Tigers (1-1, 0-0) at Columbia Lions (0-2, 0-0)

Date • Time • Location	Oct. 1 • 12 pm • Goodman Stadium
Watch Live	FOX College Sports l FOX Sports Go
Tickets	Columbia Ticket Office
Radio	WPRB 103.3 FM l ILDN Audio
Game Coverage	Live Stats l @PUTigers l @PUTigers_Live l @PUTigerFootball
All-Time Series	Princeton leads 69-15-1
Last Meeting • Current Streak	PRINCETON 10, Columbia 5 (2015) l Princeton 5 straight wins
Princeton Information	Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Statistics
Columbia Information	Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Statistics
Last Week	LEHIGH 42, Princeton 28 l GEORGETOWN 17, Columbia 14
Next Week	Princeton at Georgetown, Oct. 8 (1 pm at Cooper Field)

Lights, Camera, Action
Saturday's Ivy League opener at Columbia will be televised live on FOX College Sports at noon, and will be streamed on FOX Sports GO mobile app. Check your local listings to see which channel on the FOX College Sports package will show the game (FCS Atlantic on much of the East Coast). Scott Sudikoff and Steve DeOssie will call the action from Wien Stadium.
You can also listen to the live broadcast with Cody Chrusciel and Craig Sachson live on 103.3 FM WPRB, with the pregame show beginning at 11:30 am.

Opening Act
Princeton opens its 61st Ivy League season against Columbia, and it will look for its sixth straight 1-0 start in league competition. These two teams have been each other's Ivy-opening opponent every year since 2000; during that time, Princeton has gone 13-3 over that stretch, including a 7-1 record at Wien Stadium

Margin Of Error
While Princeton's 7-1 record in New York City since 2000 seems decisive, the margin of victory was quite close over much of that streak. Princeton won the first five meetings (2000-2008) by an average margin of 4.6 points. In the last three games, including a 2010 Columbia victory, the margin of victory has been 29.0 points.

Rain, Rain Go Away
As of Tuesday morning, the weather forecast for Saturday is for an overcast day with 50% chance of showers. It may not sound ideal, unless you compare it to last year's meeting between the two teams. Princeton's 10-5 victory over Columbia at Powers Field last season featured driving rain and wind gusts exceeding 20 MPH. The two teams combined for a total of 158 passing yards.

On The Road Again …
Princeton dropped its road opener last weekend 42-28 at Lehigh. Dating back to last season, Princeton has lost its last five road games, making it the Tigers' longest road drought since they lost 10 straight games between 2010-2012. The victory that broke that streak was a 33-6 win at Columbia during Week 3 of the 2012 season.

Rush To Judgment
Princeton is averaging 190.5 rushing yards per game this season and has scored all nine of its touchdowns on the ground. Senior tri-captain Joe Rhattigan leads the team and ranks second in the Ivy League with 90.5 yards per game, while sophomore Charlie Volker is coming off a career-best 82 yards last weekend at Lehigh.

Three Wishes
Both Joe Rhattigan (Lafayette) and Charlie Volker (Lehigh) have posted three-touchdown
performances over the first two weeks of the season, and both share the team lead in scoring with All-Ivy quarterback John Lovett, who scored twice against Lafayette and once last weekend.

Lovett Or Leave It
Junior John Lovett, who earned 2015 All-Ivy League honors despite playing less than 60% of the league games due to injury, currently ranks among the top three at Princeton in rushing yards per game (3rd, 50.5), rushing yards per attempt (1st, 7.2), rushing touchdowns (1st, 3), passing yards per game (2nd, 38.5), and receptions (2nd, 7). Over his last six games, dating back to last season, he has accounted for at least one touchdown in every game, and multiple touchdowns in four of the six.

Conversion Chart
Princeton has converted on 51.7% of its third down attempts this season, the sixth-best total in the FCS. It has been balanced in its conversions — 24 rush, 23 pass, two penalty — and only three of its 26 offensive possessions (11.5%) this season have results in a three-and-out.

Passing Thoughts
Senior quarterback Chad Kanoff is completing 56.7% of his passes on the season, and he has thrown for 2,631 yards in his Tiger career. He needs 361 yards to become the 11th player in program history to throw for more than 3,000 career yards.

Spreading The Love
Through two games this season, 12 different Princeton players have caught at least one pass. Included in that total are seven wide receivers, two running backs, two quarterbacks, and one tight end. Two of the receivers who caught passes at Lehigh, James Frusciante and Jesper Horsted, suffered preseason injuries and missed the opener against Lafayette.

Deep-Sixed
Senior Isaiah Barnes leads the team with nine catches for 142 yards. Dating back to the start of the 2015 season, here are his splits over the first six and last six games.
First Six: 19 catches, 238 yards, 0 TDs, 39.7 yards per game, 12.5 yards per catch
Last Six: 23 catches, 370 yards, 2 TDs, 61.7 yards per game, 16.1 yards per catch.

One And Done
Senior wide receiver Trevor Osborne, who has five catches for 52 yards this season, scored the lone touchdown in Princeton's 10-5 victory over Columbia last season. Osborne went in motion, took a quick flip from Kanoff and found the inside of the right pylon in the first quarter.

Go Fourth
Senior tri-captain Dorian Williams has started every game of his career, and he is the unquestioned leader of the defensive backfield this season. After starting at nickel cornerback during the 2013 Ivy championship season, Williams has started at free safety every game since the start of the 2014 season, and he recorded an interception in the win over Lafayette last weekend.
Williams has 224 tackles (141 solo), eight tackles for loss, four sacks and two interceptions over his impressive career.

Cool Hand Luke
Senior linebacker Luke Catarius went from a rotation player to an All-Ivy linebacker in the middle of last season when he became a starter following Rohan Hylton's injury. He ranked second on the team with 73 tackles, and he had a team-best 13 stops in the win over Lafayette.

Staying At The Hylton
Of course, Princeton is thrilled to have Rohan Hylton back in the lineup. A 2014 All-Ivy League honoree, Hylton was well on his way to another postseason honor last year when he suffered a season-ending injury at Brown. Both he and Catarius have a team-best 17 tackles this season.

Just For Kicks
Princeton's Nolan Bieck was the first-team All-Ivy League placekicker in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons, and he is being replaced this season by freshman Tavish Rice, an all-county placekicker from Belen Jesuit Prep in Florida.
Rice had a strong debut in his starting role; he went 5 for 5 on PATs, helped Princeton post the second-best kickoff defense in the Ivy League, and he earned the Ivy League Rookie of the Week honor following Princeton's Week 1 win over Lafayette. It was the first such honor for a Princeton freshman since Charlie Volker claimed it in Week 4 of the 2015 season. He is 9 for 9 on PATs this season, though he has yet to even attempt a field goal.

O Captain, Our Captains
Princeton will be led by a trio of captains this season. Returning quarterback Chad Kanoff and Joe Rhattigan represent the offensive side of the ball, while four-year starter Dorian Williams represents the defense.

Double Trouble
Princeton head coach Bob Surace is one of two people to win the Ivy League championship as both a player and a coach. He was a senior All-Ivy center on the championship-winning 1989 Tiger squad, and he coached the record-breaking 2013 team to a title.

Poll Position
Princeton was picked to finish fifth in the Ivy League media preseason poll. The top three teams — Harvard, Penn and Dartmouth — all shared the 2015 Ivy League title, and each will be visiting Princeton Stadium during the second half of the 2016 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 recorded his first sack for San Diego in the season opener, and he returned a fumble 61 yards for a touchdown at Indianapolis, while Catapano started at outside linebacker for the New York Jets. DeValve, who became Princeton's highest-drafted player of the modern era (fourth round) last April, saw time on offense for Cleveland.

The Crystal Ball
Princeton will complete its three-game road trip next weekend when it heads to Cooper Field in Washington, D.C., to take on the currently unbeaten Georgetown Hoyas (3-1). Princeton leads the all-time series 6-1, including a 50-22 road win during their most recent meeting (2013).

Home Sweet Home
Princeton returns home Oct. 15 for a 3 pm showdown with Brown. The first 1,000 students will receive a 'Tiger Up' t-shirt. Former head coach Bob Casciola will be honored at halftime of the game.

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