Princeton Falls To Yale

Saturday, November 16

Princeton, N.J.

1:00 PM

Princeton University

7-2 , 4-2

Yale

8-1 , 5-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

YALE

Princeton Tigers

Zach Keller runs for a touchdown in the third quarter of Saturday's game against Yale.

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

November 16, 2019 | Football

Box Score

The script was a familiar one for the Princeton football team, even if the roles were reversed.

Get a lead. Make the big plays. Start to pull away. Never let the other team back in it.

That was the formula that built the recent 17-game winning streak, and that was the formula that Princeton had to see from the other sideline of Powers Field Saturday afternoon. This time, it was Yale who did all those things, en route to a 51-14 win over the Tigers.

If that win wasn't enough for the Bulldogs, they also got the help they needed about 30 minutes after the game at Princeton ended, when word came that Cornell had shocked previously unbeaten Dartmouth 20-17. Those results left Yale and Dartmouth tied for first in the Ivy League at 5-1, with 4-2 Princeton still alive for a share of the championship heading into final week of the season, one that will see Princeton at Penn, Dartmouth at Brown and Yale at home against Harvard.

For Princeton it was the second-straight loss after that 17-game winning streak, which ended last week at Yankee Stadium against Dartmouth in what had been a battle of unbeatens.

"I don't think there was any kind of letdown after last week," said Princeton head coach Bob Surace. "They just executed really well and made a lot of big plays. They got on us and we never really were able to get going. You have to congratulate the other team when they do that. They were very impressive. Now we have one more week to turn it back around."

Yale's Kurt Rawlings threw six touchdown passes, one off of Princeton quarterback Kevin Davidson's Ivy League record. Rawlings, who missed last year's game against Princeton with an injury, threw for 338 yards, completing 22 of 34.

The Bulldogs led 10-0 before Davidson led the Tigers down the field for a touchdown, courtesy of a 15-yard Collin Eaddy run for his Ivy League-leading 10^th rushing TD, cutting it to 10-7 with five minutes gone in the second. The Tiger defense then got a stop, but a fumbled punt set Yale up at the Princeton 34.

That came with six minutes to go in the half. Yale then did what Princeton was so good at it during the streak – taking advantage of the opportunity to break a game open.

Rawlings would throw three of his touchdown passes in the next six minutes, the last with nine seconds to go before the break, and suddenly and stunningly it was 30-7 at the half.

Yale built it to 37-7 with a touchdown drive on its first possession in the third quarter.

The Tigers scored again, on a one-yard Zach Keller run after a 38-yard pass from Davidson to Andrei Iosivas, making it 37-14, but the Tigers would get no closer.

Davidson had an 18 for 34 day for 164 yards. Andrew Griffin led Princeton with six catches for 68 yards, and Eaddy was the leading rusher with 80 yards on 18 carries.

Delan Stallworth led Princeton defensively with eight tackles.