Football Ready For Ivy Opener At Columbia Saturday

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By Craig Sachson
PrincetonTigersFootball.com

Princeton and Columbia have faced each other in their respective Ivy League openers for a quarter century. Over the previous 25 years (1976-1999), both teams played another Ivy rival in their actual season opener; for Princeton, it was either Cornell or Dartmouth. Prior to the 2000 season, the Ivy League moved to a format which featured at least one nonleague game for each team to open the season.

Both Princeton and Columbia play two nonleague games first, and then they finally start league play in Week 3 of the Ivy season (and Week 6 for most other college football teams). Ivy teams were given the opportunity to learn more about themselves before moving into the seven critical games of their fall.

Due to the COVID pandemic, this won't be the 25th Ivy opener between Princeton and Columbia, but there is a clear advantage to the team that gets off to a winning start in league play. Princeton is 19-4 in Ivy openers against Columbia since 2000, including a gritty, rain-soaked 10-7 home win last year; they have averaged 4.3 Ivy wins per season in the 19 years following a win, and 1.8 Ivy wins following the four losses.

On the flip side, Columbia averaged 3 Ivy wins in those four seasons with a win over Princeton, including a 2000s-best five during the 2017 season, and 1.5 wins in the other 19 seasons.

Statisticians — of which some of the finest reside at both institutions — can debate correlation versus causation in those totals, but history has clearly favored the winner of this historic Ivy showdown over the 21st century.

The players that will line up Saturday at 12 pm (ESPN+) at Wien Stadium in New York City weren't born when this rivalry became the Ivy League opener, but each group has more recent success that they can build upon. Princeton followed a tough season opener with an impressive 30-13 home win over Howard last weekend. The Tigers rushed for 195 yards, played turnover-free football and kept the Bison off the scoreboard for more than 41 minutes.

Columbia drew national attention in Week 1 when it defeated #14 Lafayette 31-20 in its home opener. Bryson Canty caught two of his Ivy League-best three touchdown receptions in that win, while Hayden McDonald recorded 10 tackles in the win. McDonald now has 16 stops on the season, good enough for fourth in the Ivy League and third on Columbia; Rocco Milla has 18 stops, second-most in the Ivies, while Anthony Roussos has 17.

"We are excited to kick off our Ivy League season Saturday," said head coach Bob Surace. "Columbia is a talented, experienced, well-coached team that is off to a great start, including a Top-15 win. In addition to some of their outstanding individual statistics, they are among the best in the country in the red zone on both sides of the ball."

There is something special about the Ivy League opener. One team leaves having taken one step closer to its year-long goal, while the other knows that all margin for error is gone.

Week 3 Game Notes

History Lesson • This will be the 93rd meeting between Princeton and Columbia, and the Tigers hold the all-time edge 75-16-1. Princeton has won five straight in this series and 11 of the last 12, though last year's result was a narrow 10-7 comeback win for Princeton. Columbia is looking for its first home win over Princeton since Oct. 2, 2010, which was the first Ivy League game for Bob Surace as Princeton head coach.

Poll Position • Princeton was picked to finish fourth in the 2024 Ivy League preseason poll, while Columbia was picked to finish eighth.

Exit Polls • How do those polls look so far? There have been two Ivy League games in 2024, and the teams that combined to garner 13 of the 16 first-place votes (Yale 6, Harvard 7) lost to teams picked seventh (Cornell) and sixth (Brown), respectively.

Ground Attack • Three of the Ivy League's top six rushers will be featured in Saturday's game. Columbia's Joey Giorgi ranks second in the league with 69 rushing yards per game, while teammate Malcolm Terry II is just behind him with 68.5 yards per game. Princeton's John Volker, who scored the winning touchdown in last year's comeback win over Columbia, is sixth in the league with 58 yards per game.

On The Other Side • While three of the top Ivy League rushers play for either Columbia or Princeton, none of the Ivy League's top six receivers play for either team. The Lions' Bryson Canty ranks seventh in the league with 78 receiving yards per game, while Princeton's Luke Colella is 11th with 61.5 yards per game. Both Canty and Colella have at least one touchdown reception in each game this season.

High Five • Princeton defeated Howard last weekend while completing only five passes for a total of 80 yards. That is the fewest number of completions for a Princeton team under Bob Surace.

The Chase Is On • Sophomore linebacker Chase Christopher has made a quick impact on the Tiger defense. He leads the group with 14 tackles this season, including eight in last weekend's win over Howard.

King of the Hill • Junior Nasir Hill, a second-team All-Ivy selection in 2023, led all returning defensive players in tackles (62), interceptions (3), and pass breakups (5) last season. He is off to another strong start this season, averaging 6.5 tackles per game.

O Captain, Our Captains • Princeton announced five captains for the 2024 season, as voted on by the team: Nicholas Hilliard, John Volker, Collin Taylor, Tommy Matheson and Mason Armstead.

Coach 'Em Up • Head coach Bob Surace is in his 14th season as the Princeton head coach at Lehigh, the longest run of consecutive seasons for any head coach in program history (Hall of Famer Bill Roper coached 17 years over three different stints). With the Howard win last weekend, he passed his own head coach, Steve Tosches, and stands alone in second place in all-time program wins (79). He is currently 11 behind Roper for the all-time program lead, and his four Ivy League titles matches the Princeton record set by Hall of Famer Dick Colman.

A Look Ahead • For the second time in three weeks, the oldest team in college football will face a brand new opponent. The Tigers will travel to Five Star Stadium in Macon, Ga., to take on undefeated Mercer Saturday, Oct. 12, at 3:30 pm. The Bears have a bye this weekend, so they will take a 5-0 record into the game.

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