Princeton Heads To Columbia For ESPNU-Televised Battle Of Unbeatens In Friday Night Ivy Opener

Princeton couldn't ask for much more out of the first two weeks of its football season, but it's also well aware that neither blowout win already this month will mean a thing this Friday night when the Tigers make the short trip to New York City to play their Ivy League opener in front a national audience on ESPNU. After all, Columbia is feeling plenty good about its own 2-0 start, and the Lions are about to play their 2018 home opener.

It's fair to say that one team will have a much deeper appreciation of its opening month by the time Saturday morning rolls around.

The last two Princeton-Columbia meetings have been stark contrasts. Two seasons ago, early on its journey to the 2016 Ivy League title, Princeton scored touchdowns on seven consecutive possessions during a dominant 48-13 win in New York City. Last year, on its way to being the upstart story in the Ivy League — if not the entire FCS — Columbia's Ronald Smith scored on a 63-yard touchdown pass with 1:12 remaining to give the Lions a 28-24 win in Princeton.

In both games, the winning team was in the Ivy League race throughout the entire season. Both teams will fight for the opportunity to continue that trend this fall.

And the entire nation will get to watch.

Week 3: Princeton (2-0, 0-0 Ivy) at Columbia (2-0, 0-0 Ivy)

Date • Time • Location	Sept. 28, 2018 • 6 pm • Wien Stadium • New York, N.Y.
Watch Live	ESPNU l WatchESPN
Tickets	Columbia 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 70-16-1
Last Meeting • Current Streak	Columbia 28, PRINCETON 24 (2017) l Columbia 1
Princeton Information	Note Packet (coming Friday) l Roster l Schedule l Statistics
Columbia Information	Roster l Schedule l Statistics
Ivy League	Standings l Statistics l Weekly Release
Last Week	PRINCETON 51, Monmouth 9 l Columbia 23, GEORGETOWN 15
Next Week	Lehigh at Princeton • Oct. 6, 2018 • 1 pm • ESPN+

Lights, Camera, Action
Princeton will play its 2018 Ivy League opener this Friday night, as the Tigers travel to Wien Stadium in New York City to face the Columbia Lions (6 pm). The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU, and streamed on both WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Chris Cotter (play-by-play) and Jack Ford (analyst) will have the call. Fans can listen to Cody Chrusciel and Craig Sachson on the radio broadcast on either TuneIn or WPRB 103.3 FM.

Original Eleven
The latest edition of the Original Eleven podcast, which you can hear below, featured an interview with 2016 Ivy League Player of the Year John Lovett, who talked about the team's quick start in 2018, the challenges of sitting through the 2017 season, and his transition to a full-time starting quarterback. He also talks about QB cheat codes, his 2017 low moment (which came against Columbia), and plenty more. There are also reflections on the Week 2 win over Monmouth.

Friday Night Lights
Princeton is 3-2 this century on Friday nights, and it has won its last two games in extremely different ways. The Tigers defeated Columbia 10-5 in 2015 during a monsoon at Princeton Stadium; the two teams combined for 426 total yards in the game. Last season, Princeton put up 573 yards by itself in a 52-17 rout at Harvard Stadium on Friday night.

We'll Be Back
Princeton usually plays in New York City every other year, based on the home-and-away rotation of the Columbia series. That will change for next season, as Princeton will face Dartmouth at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 9, 2019 as part of the celebration of 150 years of college football. Princeton played at Rutgers in the first college football game ever on Nov. 6, 1869, so that game will be played 150 years and three days after that historic date.

Three-Pointer
When Princeton defeated Columbia on Friday night in 2015, it marked the first time since 2006 that the Tigers had opened their season with a 3-0 record. After dominant wins over Butler (50-7) and Monmouth (51-9) already, Princeton can have its second 3-0 start in 12 years with a win Friday.

Climbing Ivy
Princeton was picked to finish second to reigning Ivy champion Yale in the 2018 preseason media poll. Five different teams received at least one first-place vote, though Yale (11) and Princeton (3) were the only teams to receive multiple ones. Princeton will play the teams picked first (Yale), third (Harvard), and fourth (Columbia) on the road this season.

Double Trouble
Princeton opened the 2018 season with back-to-back 50-point performances, something the Tigers hadn't done since 1886 when they won consecutive games over Stevens Tech 58-0 and 61-6.

I'm Honored
Princeton quarterback John Lovett earned his fifth career Ivy League Player of the Week award following the 51-9 victory over Monmouth, when he threw five touchdown passes, rushed for one, and completed 21 of 27 passes for 332 yards and no interceptions. Lovett added a couple of National Offensive Player of the Week honors (CFPA, collegemadness.com), and he took over the FCS lead in points responsible for (30.0 points per game).

Lovett is 10th on the all-time Ivy list with five Player of the Week honors, and he is one short of tying both Keith Elias '94 and Quinn Epperly '15 for the Princeton record.

Lovett Or Leave It
John Lovett, the 2016 Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, missed all of the 2017 season with an injury, but he has returned as Princeton's starting quarterback this season. Here is a reminder of Lovett's top accomplishments while winning Ivy Player of the Year honors:
• he broke Princeton's single-season touchdown rushing record (20)
• he accounted for 31 TDs (20 rush, 10 pass, 1 receive), more than five Ivy teams scored all season
• he accounted for a Princeton-record 7 TDs in a single game at Cornell (4 rush, 2 pass, 1 receive)
• he completed over 66% of his passes and averaged 4.2 yards per rush during the season
• he threw a 95-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Barnes in the win over Cornell

That Winning Feeling
Since the start of the 2015 season, Princeton is 15-4 in games that Lovett plays and 5-8 in games he doesn't play. In his last 12 starts, Lovett has more games when he has accounted for 4+ touchdowns (5, including both this season and the 2016 Columbia game) than he does games when he accounted for either zero (none) or only one (once) touchdown.

Quite The Catch
Senior Jesper Horsted, who is coming off one of the greatest receiving seasons in Ivy history, broke the Princeton record for career touchdown catches last week when he caught his 18th, 19th and record-setting 20th in the win over Monmouth.

His record breaker was one to remember, an 81-yard strike down the home sideline during the second half of the 51-9 win. Horsted already has five TD catches this season and could chase his own single-season record of 14, which he set last year.

Rewriting The Record Book
While Jesper Horsted already has the career record for touchdown receptions, he has a chance at breaking the records for both career catches and receiving yards as well (see chart on page 3 of notes packet). To match both career marks, he needs to average 6.75 catches and 106.5 receiving yards per game the rest of the season.

Two-Sport Star
Horsted is a multiple-time All-Ivy honoree in two sports at Princeton; he earned first-team All-Ivy League honors as a centerfielder on the baseball team last spring. In 2016, Horsted won Ivy League titles for both the baseball and football teams. Horsted has been an All-Ivy football player over each of the last two seasons.

Dynamic Duo
While his teammate may have grabbed most of the headlines in 2017, Stephen Carlson posted a Top-10 all-time season for a Princeton wideout last year, and he put forth a career effort last weekend in the win over Monmouth. Carlson set career highs in both catches (11) and yards (179) in the 51-9 win over the Hawks. He caught two TD passes in the win to move into the Top 5 all-time at Princeton.

Rush To Judgment
Senior running back Charlie Volker became the 10th Princeton player to reach 20 career rushing touchdowns during the season opener, and he became the 19th to reach 1,500 career rushing yards last weekend. Over the last nine games Volker has rushed for 16 touchdowns, including at least one in both of Princeton's games this season.

Stand On The Line
No position saw more change due to graduation than the offensive line (only All-Ivy tackle Reily Radosevich and two-year starter George Attea returned in 2018), but that group has thrived so far in 2018. Among the impressive feats so far by the group:
• Princeton has only allowed one sack this season
• Princeton's rushing offense ranks 5th in the FCS (304.5 yards per game)
• The line has been called for only one penalty, late in the fourth quarter of the Butler win
• Princeton's only negative play from last weekend came on a quarterback kneel on the final play

Singles Party
While the Princeton offense put up 50 points in its first two games, the Tiger defense has been equally impressive. The unit, which was ravaged by injuries last season, held its first two opponents to single digits for the first time since 1987. The last time it did so over the first three games is 1975.

On The Mark
Senior linebacker Mark Fossati saw his 2017 season end prematurely when he broke his leg in a loss to Columbia. Through the first two games of his return season, Fossati has posted a team-best 16 tackles per game.

He picked up right where he left off, recording a team-high seven tackles despite playing a minimal amount in the second half.

Johnson & Johnson
Senior Tom Johnson started all 10 games at the middle linebacker position last season, and he earned first-team All-Ivy honors after ranking third in the Ivy League with 95 tackles. His younger brother James is Tom's backup at middle linebacker, and the duo already ranks second (Tom, 13) and third (James, 12) on the team in tackles this season.

Oh Brother
The Johnsons aren't the only set of brothers on the team. Backup offensive lineman Stefan (guard) and Nikola (center) Ivanisevic are also brothers; Stefan is a senior, while Nikola is a junior.

Line It Up
Princeton saw an avalanche of injuries to its defensive line last season, a run that coincided with the team's season-ending losing streak. Between the season opener (Jake Strain) and the Cornell game (Matt Hampson and Joe Percival), Princeton lost five starting offensive linemen over a seven-week stretch. Those injuries allowed for the early development of players like Jay Rolader and Samuel Wright, both of whom recorded a sack in the season opener. Fifteen different Princeton players have at least a half tackle for loss over two games this season.

Back In The Backfield
Princeton had three new starters (SS Ben Ellis, FS TJ Floyd and CB CJ Wall) in the defensive backfield at the start of 2017, and then-freshman cornerback Delan Stallworth worked his way into the lineup late in the season. Those four players are all back this season, and they have helped Princeton limit a pair of pass-heavy offenses over the first two weeks. Floyd had his second career interception last weekend; his first one came last season against Columbia.

Flag Football
Princeton ranks first in the FCS in fewest penalties per game (2.0) and fewest penalty yards per game (20.0).

Turnover Time
Princeton ranks second in the Ivy League (Dartmouth) and eighth in the FCS with a +1.5 turnover margin this season. The Tigers have forced three turnovers (two fumbles, one interception) and haven't committed a single one yet in 2018. Since Bob Surace took over as head coach in 2010, Princeton is 26-8 in games it has at least a +1 advantage in turnovers.

Time After Time
Since the start of the 2016 season, Princeton is 13-0 in games where it has the time of possession advantage (including 2-0 this season) and 2-7 in games that it doesn't. Under Surace, Princeton is 24-4 in games with time of possession advantage, and 3 of those 4 losses were by an average of 4.0 points.

O Captain, Our Captains
Princeton has four captains for the 2018 season. Senior John Lovett is the lone captain from the offense, while Mark Fossati, Kurt Holuba, and Tom Johnson are captains from the defensive side. Of those four, only Johnson was healthy for the entire 2017 season, when he earned first-team All-Ivy honors.

Fresh Faces
Princeton brought in the FCS' top-ranked recruiting class (per HeroSports.com and 247sports.com) last summer, and several members have played over the first two weeks. Among the highlights:
• Matthew Jester, Alex Kilander and Uche Ndukwe already have at least a half tackle for loss
• Trey Gray is averaging 4.7 yards per carry and is fourth on the team with 75 rush yards this season
• George Triplett is the team's starting punter, and he connected on a 43-yard kick last weekend

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 Arizona in the offseason and made the team's practice squad.

ESP(rinceton)N
The new partnership between the Ivy League and ESPN means that all Princeton home games, as well as Ivy League road games, will be streamed live on ESPN+; that partnership extends throughout all Princeton sports, meaning the majority of Princeton home games will be streamed at ESPN+. A monthly ($4.99) or yearly ($49.99) subscription is less expensive than the Ivy League Network subscription would be, and it gives you access to the full platform of live events and other features of ESPN+.
Princeton will make its return to ESPNU later this season as well; the Tigers will head to New York City this Friday to face Columbia at 6 pm.

Listen Up
There will be two weekly podcasts during the football season for Princeton fans. The "Original Eleven" returned for its second season, and it will be available at the beginning of each game week (typically Monday, Tuesday at the latest) to recap the previous game and chat with a member of the team. The new "Bob Surace Show" will be available on Thursday nights, and it will be a replay of the radio show held each Thursday at Alchemist & Barrister at Princeton. You can have both podcasts downloaded automatically — as well as the full library of Princeton
Athletics podcasts — by subscribing to "Princeton Tigers."

Coach 'Em Up
Princeton head coach Bob Surace '90, the 2016 Ivy League Coach of the Year, is a three-time finalist for FCS National Head Coach of the Year honors. He is one of two men to win an Ivy League championship as both a player (1989) and a head coach (2013/2016).

The Crystal Ball
Princeton plays its final non-league game of the season next weekend when it hosts Lehigh at 1 pm. The Mountain Hawks have won five of the last six meetings, including a 42-28 game at Lehigh in 2016. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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