Football Friday: Surace Reflects On Run Game vs. Yale, Penn Matchup, Kurt Holuba Impact

Saturday, November 17

Princeton, N.J.

1:00 PM

Princeton University

Penn

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Photo by: Patrick Tewey

Football Friday: Surace Reflects On Run Game vs. Yale, Penn Matchup, Kurt Holuba Impact

November 16, 2018 | Football

You can purchase tickets to Saturday's potentially historic Penn-Princeton football game (1 pm, Princeton Stadium) by calling 609-258-4TIX or clicking here.

On the eve of the 2018 Princeton finale, head coach Bob Surace looks back at a pair of impressive rushing performances from the likes of Collin Eaddy and Ryan Quigley in a 59-43 win at Yale. He breaks down Saturday's Penn game and discusses a pair of Ivy League standouts in running back Karekin Brooks and linebacker Nick Miller, and then he discusses something fans can't see on Saturday — the impact from injured senior captain Kurt Holuba on the 2018 championship season.

You can watch the full episode above; the game preview is below.

Fans who make their way to Princeton Stadium this Saturday will have the opportunity to experience something nobody ever has in the 20-year existence of this venue. In fact, they could experience a moment that no Tiger fan has had in more than 50 years.

And if you really want to get specific, those ticket holders could see something that no Princeton fan has witnessed since 1903.

Princeton assured itself at least a share of the program's 12th Ivy League championship last weekend, courtesy of a wild 59-43 victory over Yale in New Haven. The Tigers' last three Ivy titles have been shared ones; this team is feeling a bit greedy right now.

A win over Penn would give Princeton its first outright Ivy League title since 1995, and only the fourth in program history. It would also give the program its first undefeated season since 1964, and its first undefeated season with double-digit wins since 1903.

Also, this will be the final collegiate game for an incredible Class of 2018, the winningest set of seniors at Princeton since the Class of 1996. They will graduate with two Ivy League titles, both coming over the last three years, and they will have laid the foundation for more success to come.

But they aren't worried about that future just yet. The present opportunity is a great one — an opportunity to put itself in a truly elite class of Princeton teams.

You can purchase tickets to Saturday's potentially historic Penn-Princeton football game (1 pm, Princeton Stadium) by calling 609-258-4TIX or clicking here.

Week 10: Penn (6-3, 3-3 Ivy) at #9 Princeton (9-0, 6-0 Ivy)

Date • Time • Location	Nov. 17, 2018 • 1 pm • Powers Field at Princeton Stadium
Watch Live	ESPN+
Tickets	Princeton Ticket Office
Radio	103.3 FM l Listen Live on the TuneIn App
Game Coverage	Live Stats l @PUTigerFootball l @PUTigers
All-Time Series	Princeton leads 66-42-1
Last Meeting • Current Streak	PENN 38, Princeton 35 (2017) l Penn 1
Princeton Information	Note Packet l Roster l Schedule l Statistics
Penn Information	Roster l Schedule l Statistics
Ivy League	Standings l Statistics l Weekly Release
Last Week	Princeton 59, YALE 43 l Harvard 29, PENN 7
Next Week	Happy Thanksgiving!

Lights, Camera, Action
The 9th-ranked Princeton Tigers will play their 2018 season finale Saturday at 1 pm against Penn. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+, and Cody Chrusciel (play by play), Dave Giancola (analyst), and Jon Mozes (sideline) will broadcast the game. You can also listen to Patrick McCarthy (play by play), Tom Criqui (analyst) live on TuneIn Radio and WPRB 103.3 FM.

Original Eleven
Two days after Princeton clinched at least a share of the 2018 Ivy League championship, sophomore tailback Collin Eaddy joins the podcast to reflect on his 266-yard, 3-TD performance at the Yale Bowl, which helped him earn Offensive Player of the Week honors. He also discusses the leadership of the senior class, keeping focus on the finale, and when it's good to be greedy. Host Craig Sachson also looks back at the win over Yale and shares quick thoughts on the matchup with Penn.
Movin' On Up
Princeton is now ranked ninth in the AFCA Coaches Poll, which is the highest Princeton has been ranked in either poll since Division I-AA/FCS level began in 1978. Princeton also moved to #11 in the FCS Stats media poll; both are two spots higher than the previous week. This is the highest any Ivy League team has been ranked since 1993, when Penn moved to #8 in The Sports Network I-AA poll.

Raising Ivy
With its win over Yale, Princeton clinched a share of the program's 12th Ivy League championship, as well as its second in three years and third in six years. The last time Princeton won three Ivy League titles over a six-year span was 1964, 1966 and 1969.

Going For Seconds
The 1964 Princeton team is the only one in school history to go 7-0 in league play since the Ivy League officially formed before the 1956 season.

Han Solo
Of Princeton's 12 Ivy League championships, only three have come as outright titles (1957, 1964, 1995). The 1995 Tigers clinched the solo championship with a game-tying field goal on the final play of the season finale. Thus, the last team to win its finale to claim an outright title was (you guessed it) the 1964 Tigers.

Top Of The Line
Princeton ranks either first or second in the Ivy League in every major offensive and defensive team statistic; the Tigers are first in scoring, total and rushing offense, and they are second in passing offense, as well as total/scoring/rushing/passing defense.

Point, Counterpoint
Princeton has the nation's top-ranked scoring offense at 47.6 points per game. The Tigers also have the No. 3 total offense and the No. 6 rushing offense, thanks in large part to a 489-yard effort on the ground last weekend against Yale.

Targeting Other Tigers
Princeton has scored 428 points this season, the second-highest total in Ivy League history. The Tigers need nine points to match the Ivy record, which was set by Princeton during its 2013 Ivy championship season. That team was led by Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year Quinn Epperly, a senior quarterback who once mentored a freshman teammate named John Lovett. Let's see how his career progressed …

You Gotta Lovett
Senior quarterback John Lovett, the 2016 Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, can set an Ivy League record today with one rushing touchdown. He has rushed for at least one score in 19 straight games, which tied Yale's Mike McLeod (2006-08) for the league record last week. Lovett is the second player in team history with at least 40 rushing TDs (41); he had two in the win at Yale. Keith Elias '94 has the record with 49. He also has a chance at breaking Princeton's career completion percentage mark; he is currently at 66.0%, while Jason Garrett has the record at 66.5%.

Lovett Or Leave It
John Lovett has played in 25 games since the start of the 2015 season; Princeton is 21-4 in those games, including 17-2 in the last 19. Lovett has only played in one Penn game, a 28-0 victory in 2016 that helped the Tigers clinch a share of that championship. He rushed for a one-yard touchdown in that game.

Born To Run
Sophomore Collin Eaddy rushed for 266 yards in Princeton's 59-43 win at Yale last weekend, the sixth-highest single-game total in program history. He opened the game with a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play, and he added a 17-yard run on Princeton's next play from scrimmage (following an interception). He had three career rushing touchdowns entering that game, and he doubled that total by scoring three at the Yale Bowl.

So Close
The single-game team rushing record for Princeton is 491 yards, set Oct. 5, 1957 against Columbia. Princeton rushed for 489 against Yale last week. Only three players ran the ball at the Yale Bowl. Eaddy led the trio with 266 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns, while Ryan Quigley added 11 rushes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. John Lovett had 110 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.

What A Catch
Senior receiver Jesper Horsted already owns the Princeton record for touchdown catches (25), but he is within striking distance of the record for career receptions. Horsted enters today's finale with 188 catches, while record holder Kevin Guthrie ended his career with 193. Horsted could also surpass Guthrie into second place on the all-time receiving yards list at Princeton. He currently has 2,538 career yards, which is 108 behind Guthrie. The record holder is Derek Graham, who has 260 more receiving yards than Horsted.

Seeing Red
Princeton has 38 touchdowns in the red zone this season. No other Ivy League team has reached the red zone 38 times.

The Mark Of A Closer
Senior linebacker Mark Fossati had two interceptions in the win over Yale last weekend, including one that ended the Bulldogs' final offensive drive when the lead was trimmed to 16 points. Fossati shares the team lead in tackles with fellow senior co-captain Tom Johnson (58).

We're Honored
Princeton had the Offensive (Collin Eaddy), Defensive (Mark Fossati), and Special Teams (Nicolas Ramos) Players of the Week following Saturday's win at Yale. Ramos went 8-for-8 on PATs and added a field goal; he broke Princeton's single-season extra points record during the win.

I'll Take That
Junior TJ Floyd ranks second in the Ivy League with six interceptions this season. That total is the most for any Princeton player since Jay McCareins had nine during his 2015 All-America season. He is currently tied for sixth-most in single-season history; the Princeton record holder is former Superman/Ripley's star Dean Cain, who has 12 during the 1987 season.

Sack Exchange
Princeton and Penn enter today's game as the Ivy League leader in sacks (Penn first with 29; Princeton second with 26). Mike Wagner (4.5) and Samuel Wright (4.0) are the individual sack leaders for Princeton this season.

Right Turn
Princeton ranks second in the Ivy League and third in the nation with a +14 turnover margin, a figure that includes a +4 performance in the win at Yale last weekend. The Tigers have 19 takeaways this season and have only committed five turnovers over nine games.

Coach Speak
Head coach Bob Surace, a three-time finalist for FCS Coach of the Year honors and one of two men to win an Ivy League title as both a coach and player, went over the .500 mark as a Princeton head coach for the first time in his career with the win over Brown. That is made all the more remarkable by the fact that Surace went 2-20 in his first 22 games at his alma mater.

Working Sundays
Seth DeValve '16 became Princeton's highest-drafted player in the modern era when the Cleveland Browns selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He entered his third season with 70 catches and three touchdowns for the Browns, where he plays tight end. Chad Kanoff '18, the reigning Ivy Offensive Player of the Year, signed a contract with the Arizona Cardinals in the offseason and made the team's practice squad. Earlier this season, Caraun Reid '14 signed a contract with the Dallas Cowboys, and he had a sack in the Monday Night game against Tennessee.

The Crystal Ball
Princeton's next home game will be Sept. 21, 2019, when the season opens at home against Butler. Princeton will play five home games next season, including showdowns with both Harvard and Yale, and it will take on Dartmouth Nov. 9, 2019 at Yankee Stadium. Tickets for that game are set to go on sale in January.