Football Begins 2024 Season at Lehigh

Saturday, September 21

Bethlehem, Pa.

12:00 PM

Princeton University

Lehigh

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Tamatoa Falatea

Photo by: Sideline Photos, LLC

September 20, 2024 | Football

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By Craig Sachson
PrincetonTigersFootball.com

It's time to take the battle somewhere else.

The schedule says that Princeton football plays its first game this weekend, but the players themselves know that competition began a long time ago. The Tigers return significant depth in a variety of positions (wide receivers, offensive/defensive linemen, defensive backs), but they also have spots where All-Ivy standouts have graduated (quarterback, inside linebackers).

Either way, guys have been competing daily to get better and earn the trust of head coach Bob Surace and the Princeton staff. Those competitions then extend to guys on the other side of the field, as offensive and defensive linemen battle in the trenches while receivers take on cornerbacks and running backs challenge linebackers.

Throughout the process, Surace has seen growth and answered several questions his staff had weeks earlier.

Several questions, but not all. Some don't get answered until gameday, and finally — FINALLY — the Tigers are on the eve of gameday.

Princeton will open its 154th season of college football at 12 pm Saturday when it travels to Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pa., for its 63rd meeting with the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. While the Tigers will be finding out about themselves, the Patriot League has spent much of September finding out something about Lehigh — this team is going to be a challenge.

Lehigh enters Saturday with a 2-1 record and has won back-to-back games against both Wagner (49-13) and LIU (20-17). Its lone loss came in the opener at Army, and Lehigh leads the Patriot League in rushing offense (166.0 ypg), passing defense (121.7 ypg), total defense (333.7 ypg) and third down conversions (43.8%).

"We are excited to start the season after a very demanding training camp," Surace said. "Our Lehigh games have historically been great battles and they are a tough, physical team that has played nearly mistake-free football to start the season."

Starting the season is exactly what Princeton will do Saturday. They're ready to take the competition to somebody else.

Week 1 Game Notes

Opening Act • Princeton has now won eight straight season openers, a stretch that began with a 40-7 road win at Lafayette in the 2015 opener. One of those wins came at Goodman Stadium, a 32-0 win over Lehigh in Princeton's first game back after the missed 2020 season. Prior to this eight-game win streak, Princeton had lost eight straight season openers (2007-2014), and five of those losses came to Lehigh.

Go Fourth • Princeton has won three straight games over Lehigh, including a 29-17 home win during the 2022 season. Though the Tigers hold an all-time series lead of 43-17-2, the last time Princeton defeated Lehigh four straight times was 1926-29.

The Last Time • Current senior John Volker rushed for the go-ahead touchdown and classmate Jeffrey Sexton connected on three field goals in the 29-17 Princeton win over Lehigh two years ago on Powers Field. Wide receiver Andrei Iosivas put the game away with a 65-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter; last weekend, Iosivas scored two touchdowns for the Cincinnati Bengals in a last-second loss at Kansas City.

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.

We're Honored • Princeton returns four All-Ivy League honorees this season. Junior defensive back Nasir Hill earned second-team All-Ivy honors, while senior wideouts AJ Barber and Luke Colella and freshman punter Brady Clark each earned All-Ivy honorable mention.

Catching On • The Princeton offense returns each of its top four receivers from last season, led by the All-Ivy duo of Colella and Barber. Colella led the Tigers in catches (47), receiving yards (620) and touchdown catches (six), while Barber is Princeton's active career leader in catches (70) and receiving yards (827). Tight end Tyler Picinic had 21 catches for 204 yards and a touchdown last season, while wideout Tamatoa Falatea had 20 catches for 244 yards and two touchdowns.

Grounded • John Volker rushed 93 times for 447 yards and seven touchdowns, all team highs last season. He was especially strong at the start of the season; he averaged 120 yards rushing and a touchdown in the Tigers' first two games of the 2023 schedule.

Experienced at Being Inexperienced • Princeton has a handful of potential options to start at quarterback, but each of them would be making their first collegiate start. This is far from unchartered territory for the Tigers, who started every opener between 2018 and 2022 with a new quarterback. That streak ended last season as Blake Stenstrom served as a two-year Tiger starter.

King of the Hill • Junior defensive back Nasir Hill led all returning defensive players in tackles (62), interceptions (3), and pass breakups (5) last season. The Garden State native had interceptions in Ivy wins against Harvard and Penn, and he has played in every game each of the last two seasons.

Coach 'Em Up • Head coach Bob Surace begins 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). He needs one more win to pass his own head coach, Steve Tosches, and stand 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.

Home Sweet Home • Princeton will make its 2024 home debut Saturday, Sept. 28, against Howard. The game will begin at 3 pm ET and available on ESPN+.