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Bulldogs come to Princeton for Homecoming showdown

On Homecoming Saturday, the football team has a chance to earn its second straight bonfire. After defeating Harvard in a triple overtime thriller Oct. 26, the Tigers (7-1 overall, 5-0 Ivy League) face Yale in a game that could earn them a spot in Princeton history.

The Tigers have had a stellar season and are alone atop the Ivy leaderboard, the only undefeated team remaining in the league. After losing their season opener to Lehigh by one point (29-28), the Tigers have gone undefeated for seven games, a feat they have not accomplished since 1995. Last time Princeton went on a seven-game win streak, Yale ended it.

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If that history repeats itself, the Tigers would, with a win by Harvard, be tied for first in the league. If Princeton wins, it stays atop the league with only Dartmouth between it and the Ivy title. If Princeton wins and Harvard loses, the Tigers will clinch the championship this weekend.

Junior wide receiver Matt Costello stressed that his team was viewing this game as it would any other.

"We’re practicing just like we always do, we're preparing like we always do, we're not changing any routines," he said. "We’re keeping everything the same and, comeSaturday, everything’s going to be the same, and it’s been working for us. At the end of the day, we just have to play."

Yale’s defense will prove hard for Princeton to break this weekend, as the Bulldogs are third in the league with 23 points allowed per game. Last weekend, Yale kept Brown to only 25 completions on 46 throws and sacked the QB twice.

To get past the Yale defense, the Tigers will rely on their core of outstanding offensive upperclassmen. Junior quarterback Quinn Epperly has 36 touchdowns this season —20 of them passes and 16 of them rushing touchdowns. The last time he played at Princeton Stadium, he also set a NCAA Division I record with 29 straight completions to start the game against Cornell. His notable performance this year has put him on the Walter Payton Award Watch List, which honors the outstanding player in the FCS.

Epperly has a wide range of receiving options to use against Yale. Senior Roman Wilson leads the league with nine touchdown receptions and is second in the league with 97 receiving yards per game. Junior Seth DeValve had seven catches for 77 yards, and junior Connor Kelley had six for 75 last weekend, as each scored.

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Though Epperly has been the story of the season, a variety of Tigers will challenge the Bulldogs on the ground. Sophomore running backs DiAndre Atwater and Dre Nelson will see plenty of downs Saturday, as will junior running back Will Powers. Given what head coach Bob Surace '90 and offensive coordinator James Perry have been doing this season, Epperly and sophomore quarterback Kedric Bostic could see plenty of rushing attempts.

The Bulldogs' offense has been improving as has quarterback Henry Furman, who has thrown for 1,287 yards and 10 touchdowns this season thanks to a stellar offensive line and running game.

"On video, it’s the best offensive line we’ve seen," Surace said. "They’re really good up front. They’re very similar to us in that we play multiple running backs."

Running back Kahlil Keys and wideout Deon Randall both gave the Bulldogs solid yard on the ground last week asYale scored on two of its first three possessions on its way to a win. The Tigers, meanwhile, have a propensity to fall behind early, as they did last week against Penn. Fixing this problem will mean limiting mistakes and penalties, both of which were factors early on in Philadelphia.

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"We’re not making really bad decisions. One bad play leads to two or three more in a row," Surace said. "Let’s not do something greedy that puts our defense on the field in a bad position."

"The key is just to not lose focus. We just have to keep our attention to detail up," Reid added. "We're just excited. We're in a good position."

The contest starts Saturday at 1 p.m. at Princeton Stadium.