Orange and Black offense looks to stay hot against Lions

“I’m still as pissed off as I was after the game, and we’re going to carry that over to next week. There’s not going to be any let-up.”

Such were the sentiments of senior quarterback Quinn Epperly following a convincing 56-17 drubbing of Davidson College by the Tigers on Saturdaynight. Even after scoring four touchdowns and leading a largely unstoppable Princeton offense to nearly 60 points, the co-captain and his team seemed hungry for more.

The Tigers (1-1) will have an opportunity to build on their first win of the 2014 campaign in New York this weekend, as they prepare to defend their share of the Ivy League crown against the Columbia Lions (0-2).

The Lions enter this matchup as heavy underdogs, having fared not much better in their first two bouts this year as they did in last year’s winless season. Following a blowout at the hands of No. 19 Fordham Universityin their opening game, the Lions fell to No. 24Albany at home last week to the tune of 42-7. After Princeton dominated last year’s contest, the Lions will no doubt take the field with revenge on their minds.

As Epperly mentioned, the loss to the University of San Diego still remains in the forefront of the Tigers’ collective mindset as they move forward. While both sides of the ball improved against Davidson, the Tigers still need to fortify certain aspects of their game plan and their execution. Against San Diego, the Tigers failed to effectively move the ball in a balanced fashion, resulting in 59 pass attempts in what became a predictable offensive set. Head coach Bob Surace ’90 took responsibility for the one-sided strategy and vowed to return to a more even attack. This strategy has already paid dividends, as the Tigers piled up the yardage and pointson Saturday.

In the opening loss, the defensive secondary was prone to big plays through the air, allowing San Diego to gain nearly 27 yards per completion. Although this unit improved last weekend, it still committed some mistakes, and Davidson effectively passed the ball for stretches of the game. This matchup will be a good opportunity for the defensive backs to show their mettle and stifle what has been a meager Columbia passing attack so far this season.

Although Surace and the Tigers will need to improve in certain aspects of the game, the fact remains that this year’s Princeton team has high expectations for Ivy League play — and rightfully so. In addition to returning Epperly, the reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, and much of the starting units on both sides of the ball, some younger players have also proved their merit through the first two games. Sophomore linebacker Rohan Hylton, for example, tallied a game-high 11 tackles in last week’s victory, earning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors. Hylton is the first Tiger to earn the award since stalwart lineman Caraun Reid ’14 did so in the 2012 season.

Fresh off a convincing home opener and a nearly perfect Ivy record a year ago, the confident Tigers will square off against the Lionsthis Saturday. The future of this year’s squad seems bright, and if Epperly’s comments hold true, the Tigers seem poised to start strong and take it to the Lions early and often.