Two years after triple overtime battle, Tigers & Crimson duel in Cambridge once more

After a tough loss to Brown this past weekend, the Princeton Tigers hold a 4-1 record as they travel to Cambridge on Saturday to face Harvard in the traditional meeting of rivals. For Princeton, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

The Tigers (4-1, 1-1 Ivy League) came up just short against Brown in a hard-fought struggle. Although the offense battled hard and even managed to tie the game at 24 going into the fourth quarter, the Bears (3-2, 1-1 Ivy League) picked off senior quarterback Chad Kanoff in Princeton’s final two drives to preserve a 38-31 win.

In the upcoming game, the Tigers will need a win if they are to remain in contention for the Ivy League Championship. However, they face an opponent who has proved all but unstoppable thus far. Harvard has cruised to a 5-0 record, winning each of its games by an average of 36 points and drubbing its previous two Ivy League opponents (Brown and Cornell University) by a combined score of 93-30. When questioned about the nature of Princeton’s challenge, Coach Bob Surace ’90 emphasized not only the momentum that the Crimson holds going into the contest but also the incredible record posted by Harvard’s defensive unit.

“They’re playing exceptionally well,” he said. “They’re undefeated, 5 and 0, and they haven’t given up a touchdown in three games, so that certainly there is a great challenge.”

Harvard’s numbers may seem invincible and the Tigers appear to be still reeling from the loss to Brown, but Surace believes that the adversity his squad has faced has rendered them all the more fit for the challenge.

“I talked to the team yesterday, and I told them to put that emotion, to put that anger, frustration, whatever it is with not playing our best game last week — put that into our preparation this week,” he said. “Our effort and physicality are just tremendous. I can’t ask us to hit any harder or run harder or run faster; they’re doing that. Let’s just be 1 or 2 percent better.”

For junior quarterback John Lovett, the loss last week also serves as a motivating factor as the team looks to face a still stronger opponent.

“Against Harvard, coming off of a loss, we definitely don’t have a good taste in our mouth right now,” Lovett said. “We’re ready to come out and fight as a teamon Saturday.”

Princeton’s own offensive unit has demonstrated power and scoring ability thus far, with much of the scoring effort spearheaded by Lovett. After leading the Tigers in rushing and receiving in last week’s game, the sophomore emphasized the importance of group success as a tool for overcoming the Crimson defense.

“That’ll be the biggest thing — to really stand firm as a team and go out there and compete to the best of our abilities,” Lovett said.

On the defensive end, the Tigers will have to find a way to corral a Harvard attack that has overwhelmed previous opponents and that currently averages over 44 points a game. Teamwork was again emphasized as a key factor by senior safety Mark Arends, who also reflected on the importance of a strong start when discussing Princeton’s approach to the game.

“The biggest thing is making sure that we’re in the right spot as a unit — that we know our responsibilities as a whole, and we can cover and what not,” Arends asserted. “We came out flat [to start last week’s game], and I was kind of surprised because this year at least we haven’t had that flat of a start this year. So I think a huge thing for us is coming out really fired up and prepared and really having a really physical first series whether on offense or defense.”

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The team is no stranger to wild finishes at Cambridge; in their last visit in 2013, the Tigers stunned Harvard, 51-48, in a triple-overtime win. The similarity in the Tigers’ circumstances entering both games is uncanny: Princeton also headed into that contest 4-1. After snapping the current Harvard win streak two years ago, the squad went on to steal a share of the Ivy League Championship; a winthis Saturdaywould also put the Tigers back in the driver’s seat with regards to the Ivy League standings.

However, Surace does not consider the team’s current status a significant factor for the upcoming game.

“When the ball’s kicked off, nobody’s really thinking about that,” he stated. “At the end of the day, let’s control and be great at what we know we can do — our assignments, our techniques, our effort, our physicality, our competitiveness. Let’s be great about those things.”