Princeton and Harvard split Ivy championship after Big Green tops Tigers

The No. 19 football team's Ivy League championship season came to a disappointing end on Saturday, when the Tigers suffered their only Ivy League defeat of the season. After trailing 21-0 to Dartmouth (6-4 overall, 5-2 Ivy League) in the second quarter — its largest deficit of the season — Princeton mounted a furious comeback in the snow to tie things up before eventually falling 28-24.

Though the Tigers locked up a share of the 2013 Ivy League Championship last weekend, the loss brought their final record to 8-2 overall (6-1 Ivy League) and forced them to share the title with Harvard, which kept its one-loss conference tally alive with a 34-7 thrashing of Yale.

“Obviously it was our intention to win every game in the Ivy League, but it’s a tough league. Despite finishing our year with a loss, we won an Ivy League title and that’s something my teammates and I will share forever,” senior center Joe Goss said.

In front of a visiting Princeton crowd that looked like it outnumbered the home fans, the Tigers took the field in 36-degree weather with 8 m.p.h. winds. The Big Green struck early, when a 35-yard run by running back Dominick Pierre set up his own one-yard touchdown run two plays later.

During Dartmouth’s next possession, an interception by sophomore defensive back Matt Arends sparked a Princeton drive that brought it inside Dartmouth territory for the first time. The Tigers’ run game took them to the 35-yard line before an incomplete pass caused a turnover on downs.

The teams traded punts until a 56-yard strike from Dartmouth quarterback Dalyn Williams to receiver Bo Patterson gave the Big Green a 14-0 advantage just before the end of the first quarter.

Princeton responded by orchestrating a 58-yard drive of its own, this time reaching the 17-yard line. The Tigers opted not to kick a field goal and once again came away scoreless after another fourth-down incompletion.

Dartmouth capitalized on the turnover immediately, when running back Kyle Bramble ripped off a 41-yard scamper on the next play and the Big Green scored shortly after.

With a 21-0 deficit and 7:34 remaining in the first half, the Tigers began their largest comeback of the season. A 10-play, 75-yard drive ended with a five-yard end-around sweep to senior wide receiver Roman Wilson, who made the score 21-7.

Princeton's defense then quickly forced a Dartmouth three-and-out fueled by junior linebacker Mike Zeuli’s second-down sack.

With 3:22 on the clock, the Tigers went back to work at their own 35-yard line. Junior quarterback Quinn Epperly, with help from two penalties called on Dartmouth, moved the ball to the Big Green's 19-yard line.There, on third and goal, Epperly found junior wide receiver Seth DeValve on the one-yard line, setting up fourth and goal with the clock running. The Tigers rolled the dice for the third time of the half, but this time it paid off — Epperly ran the ball into the end zone, slashing the deficit to seven points with just 10 seconds to go before halftime.

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Princeton continued to control the game early in the third quarter, when the offense engineered a 73-yard drive that produced the game-tying score. Draped with two Dartmouth defenders, junior wide receiver Matt Costello leapt up and came down with the Epperly’s 30-yard pass in the end zone despite defensive pass interference.

An elated Tigers defensive unit forced a three-and-out on the ensuing drive, but the offense was unable to break the tie. Princeton’s third failed fourth-and-short attempt, this time in its own territory, set up Williams’ second rushing touchdown of the day.

By the start of the fourth quarter, the temperature had dropped to 31 degrees, and a light snow flurry was quickly becoming a full-fledged storm. Princeton trailed 28-21 for the majority of the quarter before back-to-back screen passes to DeValve combined for 33 yards and put the Tigers deep in Dartmouth territory. Stingy defense on the goal line from the Big Green left Princeton facing a pivotal decision on fourth and goal at the six-yard line. Having suffered three turnovers on downs already, Princeton settled for the only field goal of the afternoon to make the score 28-24 with 6:36 remaining in the game.

The Tigers forced another three-and-out, but were quickly forced to punt on a fourth and seven near midfield with just under four-and-a-half minutes to play. Dartmouth effectively sealed Princeton’s fate by pushing the ball to their 20-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.

The Tigers took over with 45 seconds and no timeouts during the peak of the snowstorm. Epperly, who later said he could no longer see the offensive signals his coaches were giving from the sideline, threw a desperation heave that was intercepted past midfield and allowed Dartmouth to kneel out the clock.

Senior defensive lineman Caraun Reid racked up three of Princeton’s five sacks, and Epperly ran for 40 yards to complement his 242 through the air. Epperly finished the season with 43 touchdowns — 18 on the ground and 25 through the air.

"The bus ride home was a little bit like a funeral,” senior defensive lineman Chris Pondo said. “Everyone was real sad about the way things ended, but it gave us time to look back at all the great times we had this year, to remember what an unbelievable season we had even though it ended in a disappointing fashion."

The Tigers did not win the Ivy League championship outright, but they set an all-time Ivy League record by scoring 437 points this season, won eight games and completed the turnaround of a team which was winless in the Ivy League just three years before.