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Princeton University Athletics
Saturday, November 11
Princeton, N.J.
12:00 PM
Princeton University
vs
Yale
Princeton Football Seniors
Football Set For Yale on Senior Day/Salute To Service Saturday
November 10, 2023 | Football
Watch | Live Stats | Listen | Game Notes | Tickets | Yearbook | Program
By Craig Sachson
PrincetonTigersFootball.com
The oldest rivalry in the Ivy League — and the second oldest in all of college football — resumes Saturday afternoon at Princeton Stadium, and there will be plenty on the line for both teams.
The 145th playing of the Princeton-Yale football game will bring together two of the most successful Ivy League teams over the last decade, both of whom remain in the title race with only two weeks to go. Yale is one of three teams with control of their own championship destiny; Princeton needs to beat two of those three, and then hope one of them beats the third.
Confused?
Harvard, whose lone Ivy loss came at Princeton Stadium last month, enters the weekend alone in first place with a 4-1 record. Princeton, Yale, Penn and Dartmouth each have 3-2 league records entering the weekend, but both Penn (this week) and Yale (next week) still have games remaining against Harvard. If either Penn or Yale win out, they are assured at least a share of the title.
Like Harvard, Princeton also plays both Penn and Yale over the final two weeks. Unlike Harvard, the Tigers have no margin for error. A loss this weekend would eliminate Princeton from championship contention. A win, however, would make for a very exciting Week 10.
But let's leave that for Week 10.
In truth, Princeton and Yale could find a field somewhere between the two schools, have no stakes on the line, and still find plenty of motivation to come out on top. One of the great rivalries in the Ivy League, these teams will compete in front of a national audience (ESPNU) when they meet Saturday at 12 pm. It will be the final home game of the season and the final home game ever for the senior class, which traveled a long, strange road during their collegiate careers. Many entered college during the heart of the COVID pandemic, and didn't start making connections within the team until their second season.
But they built a chemistry that earned the program one Ivy championship (2021), and they hope their final home game gets them one step closer to a second one.
WEEK 9 GAME NOTES
History Lesson • The second-oldest rivalry in Division I, Yale and Princeton first met on November 18, 1873 and have played 144 times overall. Yale leads the all-time series 79-55-10, but the rivalry has been extremely close recently; the two teams have split the last two, four, six and 10 games.
We Are The Champions • The winner of the last six Princeton-Yale games has gone on to earn at least a share of the Ivy League championship that season.
Getting Defensive • Princeton has the top-ranked Ivy League unit in each of the top four major defensive categories, and it stands near the top of several national rankings as well:
Category Total Ivy Rank FCS rank
Scoring Defense 14.4 pts/game 1st 2nd
Total Defense 261.5 yds/game 1st 1st
Rushing Defense 78.3 yds/game 1st 1st
Passing Defense 183.3 yds/game 1st 20th
Host With The Most • The Princeton defense has been especially strong at home this season. In four games this year, the Tigers are allowing an average of 12.3 points per game this season. In its most recent home game, Princeton held a Harvard offense that averages 34.4 points per game this season to 14 in the Crimson's lone loss of the year.
Wizard of Oz • Senior linebacker Ozzie Nicholas leads the Ivy League and ranks 13th nationally with 10.1 tackles per game. Dating back to last season, Nicholas has recorded at least nine tackles in 10 of his last games, and he added an interception against Yale last season.
It's Been A While • No Ivy League player has recorded 100 tackles in a season since 2017, when Penn's Nick Miller had 104. Nicholas needs 19 stops over the final two weeks to reach 100.
Tackling The Issue • Three of the top four tacklers in the Ivy League will be on Powers Field Saturday afternoon. While Nicholas leads the league with 81 tackles, both Yale's Joseph Vaughn and Princeton's Liam Johnson — the 2022 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year — are tied for third with 66.
Moving Up • Senior quarterback Blake Stenstrom is currently in fourth place on Princeton's all-time passing list with 4,638 yards. He needs to average 181 yards per game to become the 31st Ivy League quarterback with at least 5,000 passing yards, and he needs to 282 yards per game to tie Matt Verbit '05 — son of Princeton defensive coordinator Steve Verbit — for third on the Tigers' all-time list.
Cool Hand Luke • Junior Luke Colella had the first 100-yard game of his career last Friday when he caught five passes for 107 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown reception, at Dartmouth.
Long Shot • Seven of Princeton's last 12 touchdowns have come outside the red zone:
Jiggie Carr 53 run (Brown)
AJ Barber 45 pass from Blake Stenstrom (Brown)
Tyler Picnic 21 pass from Stenstrom (Brown)
Carr 34 run (Harvard)
Tamatoa Falatea 77 pass from Stenstrom (Cornell)
Luke Colella 33 pass from Stenstrom (Cornell)
Colella 62 pass from Stenstrom (Dartmouth)
Twice As Nice • John Volker, who is tied for second in the Ivy League with six rushing touchdowns this season, had the first multi-touchdown game of his career last weekend when he scored on rushes of 1 and 9 yards last weekend at Dartmouth.
Five and Ten • Princeton claimed Ivy League championships both five and 10 years ago, and each included a high-scoring win over Yale to help clinch the title. In 2013, Princeton defeated Yale 59-23 in what was the highest-scoring game in series history to clinch the program's first title in seven years. That record lasted five years, though. In 2018, Princeton defeated Yale 59-43 en route to its first undefeated season since 1964.
Coming Up Next • Princeton will conclude its 2023 season on Saturday, Nov. 18, with a 1 pm showdown against Penn at Franklin Field. How wide-ranging could the stakes of that game be? If Princeton and Penn both lose this weekend, both will be eliminated in the Ivy title chase.
If Princeton and Penn both win this weekend? The winner would clinch at least a share of the Ivy title.
By Craig Sachson
PrincetonTigersFootball.com
The oldest rivalry in the Ivy League — and the second oldest in all of college football — resumes Saturday afternoon at Princeton Stadium, and there will be plenty on the line for both teams.
The 145th playing of the Princeton-Yale football game will bring together two of the most successful Ivy League teams over the last decade, both of whom remain in the title race with only two weeks to go. Yale is one of three teams with control of their own championship destiny; Princeton needs to beat two of those three, and then hope one of them beats the third.
Confused?
Harvard, whose lone Ivy loss came at Princeton Stadium last month, enters the weekend alone in first place with a 4-1 record. Princeton, Yale, Penn and Dartmouth each have 3-2 league records entering the weekend, but both Penn (this week) and Yale (next week) still have games remaining against Harvard. If either Penn or Yale win out, they are assured at least a share of the title.
Like Harvard, Princeton also plays both Penn and Yale over the final two weeks. Unlike Harvard, the Tigers have no margin for error. A loss this weekend would eliminate Princeton from championship contention. A win, however, would make for a very exciting Week 10.
But let's leave that for Week 10.
In truth, Princeton and Yale could find a field somewhere between the two schools, have no stakes on the line, and still find plenty of motivation to come out on top. One of the great rivalries in the Ivy League, these teams will compete in front of a national audience (ESPNU) when they meet Saturday at 12 pm. It will be the final home game of the season and the final home game ever for the senior class, which traveled a long, strange road during their collegiate careers. Many entered college during the heart of the COVID pandemic, and didn't start making connections within the team until their second season.
But they built a chemistry that earned the program one Ivy championship (2021), and they hope their final home game gets them one step closer to a second one.
WEEK 9 GAME NOTES
History Lesson • The second-oldest rivalry in Division I, Yale and Princeton first met on November 18, 1873 and have played 144 times overall. Yale leads the all-time series 79-55-10, but the rivalry has been extremely close recently; the two teams have split the last two, four, six and 10 games.
We Are The Champions • The winner of the last six Princeton-Yale games has gone on to earn at least a share of the Ivy League championship that season.
Getting Defensive • Princeton has the top-ranked Ivy League unit in each of the top four major defensive categories, and it stands near the top of several national rankings as well:
Category Total Ivy Rank FCS rank
Scoring Defense 14.4 pts/game 1st 2nd
Total Defense 261.5 yds/game 1st 1st
Rushing Defense 78.3 yds/game 1st 1st
Passing Defense 183.3 yds/game 1st 20th
Host With The Most • The Princeton defense has been especially strong at home this season. In four games this year, the Tigers are allowing an average of 12.3 points per game this season. In its most recent home game, Princeton held a Harvard offense that averages 34.4 points per game this season to 14 in the Crimson's lone loss of the year.
Wizard of Oz • Senior linebacker Ozzie Nicholas leads the Ivy League and ranks 13th nationally with 10.1 tackles per game. Dating back to last season, Nicholas has recorded at least nine tackles in 10 of his last games, and he added an interception against Yale last season.
It's Been A While • No Ivy League player has recorded 100 tackles in a season since 2017, when Penn's Nick Miller had 104. Nicholas needs 19 stops over the final two weeks to reach 100.
Tackling The Issue • Three of the top four tacklers in the Ivy League will be on Powers Field Saturday afternoon. While Nicholas leads the league with 81 tackles, both Yale's Joseph Vaughn and Princeton's Liam Johnson — the 2022 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year — are tied for third with 66.
Moving Up • Senior quarterback Blake Stenstrom is currently in fourth place on Princeton's all-time passing list with 4,638 yards. He needs to average 181 yards per game to become the 31st Ivy League quarterback with at least 5,000 passing yards, and he needs to 282 yards per game to tie Matt Verbit '05 — son of Princeton defensive coordinator Steve Verbit — for third on the Tigers' all-time list.
Cool Hand Luke • Junior Luke Colella had the first 100-yard game of his career last Friday when he caught five passes for 107 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown reception, at Dartmouth.
Long Shot • Seven of Princeton's last 12 touchdowns have come outside the red zone:
Jiggie Carr 53 run (Brown)
AJ Barber 45 pass from Blake Stenstrom (Brown)
Tyler Picnic 21 pass from Stenstrom (Brown)
Carr 34 run (Harvard)
Tamatoa Falatea 77 pass from Stenstrom (Cornell)
Luke Colella 33 pass from Stenstrom (Cornell)
Colella 62 pass from Stenstrom (Dartmouth)
Twice As Nice • John Volker, who is tied for second in the Ivy League with six rushing touchdowns this season, had the first multi-touchdown game of his career last weekend when he scored on rushes of 1 and 9 yards last weekend at Dartmouth.
Five and Ten • Princeton claimed Ivy League championships both five and 10 years ago, and each included a high-scoring win over Yale to help clinch the title. In 2013, Princeton defeated Yale 59-23 in what was the highest-scoring game in series history to clinch the program's first title in seven years. That record lasted five years, though. In 2018, Princeton defeated Yale 59-43 en route to its first undefeated season since 1964.
Coming Up Next • Princeton will conclude its 2023 season on Saturday, Nov. 18, with a 1 pm showdown against Penn at Franklin Field. How wide-ranging could the stakes of that game be? If Princeton and Penn both lose this weekend, both will be eliminated in the Ivy title chase.
If Princeton and Penn both win this weekend? The winner would clinch at least a share of the Ivy title.
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