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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
5-0 , 2-0
Brown
1-4 , 0-2
Birmelin, Davidson Lead Princeton Past Brown 65-22
October 19, 2019 | Football
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What better way could there have been to end a half that saw Princeton score seven touchdowns and put up 51 points? It had to involve Davidson and Birmelin, who were extraordinary in those first 30 minutes.
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By the end, Princeton had itself a 15th straight victory, courtesy of a 65-22 win at Brown. The Tigers, with the second-longest winning streak in the FCS behind North Dakota State, improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Ivy League ahead of this coming Saturday's Homecoming game against Harvard.
Princeton led 51-19 at the break and had every player who traveled play in the game. Kevin Davidson finished 27 for 35 for 379 yards and five touchdowns; the FCS leader in completion percentage at 72.6 percent prior to the game actually had that number go up.
"Our emphasis this week was to get on them early," Birmelin said. "Coach [Bob] Surace and Coach [Andrew] Aurich really made that the key this week in practice."
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So just how good were Davidson and Birmelin in the first half? By intermission, these were their numbers:
Birmelin 11Â catches, 176 yards and two touchdowns, along with 61 more yards on three punt returns.
Davidson 21 for 28 for 271 yards and three TDs.
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Again, that was in the first half.
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The game started with an eight-play, 75-yard Brown TD march that certainly got Princeton's attention. The Tigers answered with a field goal, and then had their remaining eight first half possessions go touchdown, touchdown, tipped pass for interception and then five more touchdowns.
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Again, that was the first half.
"Kevin was perfect with his timing," Birmelin said. "Our offensive line was blocking incredibly. The receivers were open in the right positions, as well as the running backs."
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Ryan Quigley ran for three first-half touchdowns, and senior Sam Johnson had the first TD reception of his career. Another senior, Tyler Campbell, kept a TD drive alive with a 37-yard run on a fourth-and-one from the Princeton 35 and finished with a team-best 91 yards on 12 carries, eclipsing his previous career total of 86 rushing yards.
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For all that, Brown quarterback E.J. Perry and the Bear offense seemed like they were going to match the Tigers drive-for-drive. Then the game turned in a big way early in the second quarter.
With Princeton up 17-12, Brown took advantage of that interception to get a first and goal at the Tiger 5 and a second and goal at the 1. Sultaan Shabazz then stopped Perry for a four-yard loss, and James Johnson and Joey DeMarco then stopped Perry for no gain. On fourth and goal, Brown head coach James Perry – the former Princeton offensive coordinator and the uncle of E.J. Perry – went for it with a double-reverse pass that didn't connect in the end zone, and Princeton still had the lead.
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It took less than three minutes for Princeton to score a pair of touchdowns. And, 11:51 after Brown almost took the lead, Davidson found Birmelin again for the TD that made it 51-19 at the break.
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Princeton went 79 yards in four plays to start the second half to make it 58-19.
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Davidson finished the day 27 for 35 for 379 yards and five touchdowns. He came into the day as the FCS leader in completion percentage at 72.6 percent and had that number go up, as he completed 77.1 percent against the Bears.
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Birmelin caught one pass in the second half, making him the 11th player in program history to catch 12 passes in a game.
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Zach Kelly joined Johnson with his first career touchdown reception, on a 40-yard diving grab.
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Defensively, Samuel Wright led Princeton with seven tackles and a sack. In fact, five different Tigers had a sack in the game. Christian Brown had four tackles and an interception.
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Freshman Daiveon Carrington had his first career interception.
Princeton finished with 634 yards of offense. Along with Brown's 400, the game featured 1,034 total yards.
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Team Stats
PRIN 0, BRWN 6
BRWN - Prall, Jakob 37 yd pass from Perry, EJ (Goepferich, D. kickfailed) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:32
PRIN 3, BRWN 6
PRIN - Rice, Tavish 24 yd field goal 8 plays, 59 yards, TOP 2:52
PRIN 10, BRWN 6
PRIN - Quigley, Ryan 4 yd run (Rice, Tavish kick), 5 plays, 53 yards, TOP 1:12
PRIN 17, BRWN 6
PRIN - Quigley, Ryan 12 yd run (Rice, Tavish kick), 8 plays, 54 yards, TOP 2:50
PRIN 17, BRWN 12
BRWN - Smith, Allen 1 yd run (Goepferich, D. kickblocked), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:07
PRIN 24, BRWN 12
PRIN - Birmelin, Jacob 28 yd pass from Davidson, Kevin (Rice, Tavish kick) 6 plays, 95 yards, TOP 1:46
PRIN 31, BRWN 12
PRIN - Quigley, Ryan 1 yd run (Rice, Tavish kick), 4 plays, 25 yards, TOP 1:06
PRIN 31, BRWN 19
BRWN - Gemmell, Dan 21 yd pass from Perry, EJ (Goepferich, D. kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:32
PRIN 37, BRWN 19
PRIN - Johnson, Sam 3 yd pass from Davidson, Kevin (Rice, Tavish kickfailed) 10 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:48
PRIN 44, BRWN 19
PRIN - Keller, Zach 1 yd run (Rice, Tavish kick), 4 plays, 40 yards, TOP 1:03
PRIN 51, BRWN 19
PRIN - Birmelin, Jacob 3 yd pass from Davidson, Kevin (Rice, Tavish kick) 7 plays, 26 yards, TOP 1:08
PRIN 58, BRWN 19
PRIN - Classi, Dylan 39 yd pass from Davidson, Kevin (Rice, Tavish kick) 4 plays, 79 yards, TOP 1:48
PRIN 58, BRWN 22
BRWN - Goepferich, D. 30 yd field goal 14 plays, 69 yards, TOP 4:43
PRIN 65, BRWN 22
PRIN - Kelly, Zach 40 yd pass from Davidson, Kevin (Rice, Tavish kick) 4 plays, 56 yards, TOP 2:04
