After roaring to a 4-0 start, the Tigers have dropped back-to-back games against Ivy League opponents, including a 42-7 loss to rival Harvard last week. Now 1-2 in League play, the squad looks to even up their conference record as they face off against winless Cornell.
After dropping a heartbreaker to Brown (4-2 overall, 2-1 Ivy League) two weeks ago, 38-31, the Tigers (4-2, 1-2) faced a tough reception at Cambridge for the second year in the row. The League-leading Crimson (6-0, 3-0) punished their visitors with strong play on both sides of the ball, scoring on five consecutive drives in the second quarter and picking off senior quarterback Chad Kanoff later on to seal the defeat. The Tiger offense has been somewhat hobbled by injuries of late, with senior running back DiAndre Atwater still out and senior wide receiver Seth DeValve injuring himself again this past week.
Princeton will look to bounce back against a less formidable opponent as it takes on Cornell. The Big Red (0-6, 0-3 Ivy League) have yet to taste victory this season and has averaged just over 15 points a game. Nevertheless, Princeton coach Bob Surace ’90 pointed out several strengths in the opponent’s attack scheme, highlighting the Cornell passing game in particular.
“[Cornell’s] had some really tough breaks — early in the season in particular, they had games they were in control of and just didn’t get to win,” Surace noted. “But they have a quarterback who is throwing the deep ball exceptionally well, so they’re going to take their shots deep.”
Against this gunslinging offense, which averages 13.6 yards per catch, Surace emphasized that disruption and focus on assignments would be key for the Tiger defense.
“Turnovers are key — last week we really did a good job getting the ball out [of Harvard’s hands],” Surace said. “We knocked the ball out a bunch, and we got to keep doing that. We’ve got to get back to playing well on third downs. We’ve got to do a great job physically, because I don’t know another team that’s got 220-, 225-pound backs like Cornell does.”
Although the Tigers will still feel the absence of Atwater and DeValve in their offensive game plan, Surace stated that he did not believe such injuries would put a damper on the teamwork and mentality of his offense.
“If guys are out, you get the next guy prepared,” Surace said. “We’ve got to do a great job at that, and it’s not ideal — these guys work so hard and sacrifice so much, so at a personal level it really stings to see them out — but at a professional level, we have a lot of really high-end guys and hopefully we can get to see them play. So we’ve just got to get the next guy prepared — and in some cases it’s a young guy — and we’ve just got to get them the ball and put them into positions where they can be successful.”
Surace also praised his team’s mental strength and energy, despite back-to-back losses, and noted that maintaining such energy and focus on the field would be a key factor for victory on Saturday.
“Obviously it’s a long bus ride home [from Harvard], and there’s a lot of disappointment anytime you lose, but on Sunday, win or lose, you’ve got to keep moving forward,” Surace said. “We’ve got a group of seniors, veteran players with a lot of pride, and we’re one full-pad practice into the week, but our guys came out flying around the field and it looked like the first day, when we started camp. Our guys came out, they had a lot of energy, we’ve had terrific practices, and that’s fun to watch. And if we keep doing that at a very high level, it gives us a chance to be successful.”
Princeton has won its past two matchups against Cornell. A win would take some of the sting out of recent setbacks in-conference and move the Tigers to 2-2 in the Ivy League and 5-2 overall.
However, senior defensive back Max Lescano downplayed the significance of the team’s overall record as a factor for the game ahead.
“We’re just going to prepare the way we always prepare, against any team,” he stated. “Be ready for whatever they throw at us and just stick to our responsibilities, our fundamentals, and hopefully if we do that, then we’ll play the game and we’ll come out with the victory on Saturday.”
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