Princeton looks for first win over Dartmouth during Surace's tenure

Just one win stood between Princeton and sole possession of the 2013 Ivy League championship. Nothing was guaranteed — nothing ever is on game day — but one could have hardly expected Dartmouth to limit a 50-point-per-game offense to a total of just 24 points. What had been a remarkable season ended on a regrettable note, as the Big Green won 28-24. Although co-champions, the Tigers just missed a perfect conference mark.

Princeton (5-4 overall, 4-2 Ivy League) will not play for a title this weekend. However, the preseason favorites will look to avenge last year’s season finale defeat by capping their 2014 campaign with a victory over Dartmouth (7-2, 5-1), which they have not defeated during the four-year tenure of head coach Bob Surace ’90.

Reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year Quinn Epperly, the Tigers’ senior quarterback, has faced adversity in his final season. While his 12 rushing scores place him second in the league, they mark a regression from last season’s 18. Injuries sidelined the senior against Brown and then against Cornell. Since the season’s halfway point, he has topped neither 100 yards passing nor 35 yards rushing in a single contest.

Nonetheless, his time as a Tiger has been remarkable. He will graduate second all-time in his program’s rushing and passing touchdown tallies.

Taking the reins in Epperly’s absence, senior Connor Michelsen has proven a steady signal caller. His 66.2 completion percentage makes him the league’s second most accurate passer. Yet, with his classmate absent from the backfield, Princeton’s offense lacks the dynamism it displayed last year.

Junior running back DiAndre Atwater, when not similarly limited due to injury, has been perhaps the conference’s most explosive rushing threat. In spite of featuring in only seven of Princeton’s contests, he leads the team with 486 yards and a remarkable per-carry average of 7.4.

As was the case last year, Atwater and his fellow Tigers will face one of the Ivy League’s stoutest defensive units in Dartmouth. 22.2 points allowed per game makes the Big Green the league’s second-best scoring defense, while its pass coverage has recorded a league-high 12 interceptions.

While Yale’s tailback Tyler Varga has likely secured the award, Dartmouth’s quarterback Dalyn Williams remains in contention for the Bushnell Cup, which honors the league’s outstanding offensive player.

Williams’ premier target has been senior Ryan McManus. For his 154-yard and three-touchdown performance against Brown last weekend, the wideout received the most recent Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors. Also earning weekly honors, freshman running back Ryder Stone was named the week’s top rookie for his 114 yards rushing and trio of scores, including a 63-yard scamper.

Last year, the Tiger defense held Dartmouth’s passing attack to a meager 92 yards. While the Big Green rushers ran rampant, totaling 239 yards, they will be hard-pressed to repeat such a performance with injuries plaguing their backfield.

This senior day will mark the last time Princeton fans get to witness the likes of Epperly and Michelsen, as well as senior co-captain and linebacker Mike Zeuli, who leads the Ivy League with 14.5 tackles for a loss. The Tigers will do everything in their power to ensure that the class of 2014 concludes its tenure successfully.

Saturday’s forecast suggests conditions hovering around freezing. ESPN3 will broadcast the contest, with the kickoff set for 1 p.m.