Following a 27-point win over a powerful Brown team last weekend, Princeton's confidence was as high as it had been in years. The Tigers fell a long way from that precipice Saturday afternoon with a 35-21 loss to Harvard at Princeton Stadium.
Fortunately for first-place Princeton, the ground was gentle.
Cornell and Penn — both tied with the Tigers for the Ivy League lead at 2-0 entering the weekend — also lost, so Princeton is still in first place. The three are now joined by the Crimson and Yale — which beat Penn, 27-24 — in a five team mess at the top of the standings.
As for the outcome of the Harvard-Princeton matchup, the two-touchdown spread was no mistake. The Crimson dominated the Tigers on both sides of the ball, racking up 492 total yards to Princeton's 294. The score would have been even more lopsided had Harvard not missed two field goals in the first half.
After the Crimson missed its first field goal, Princeton jumped to a 7-0 lead on a four-yard run by freshman quarterback David Splithoff.
Splithoff looked headed for another stellar afternoon, accounting for all but one yard of the Tigers' 80-yard drive. He completed his first four passes, which gave him 14 consecutive completions since the second half of the Brown contest — a Princeton record.
Falling star
Predictions of superstardom were proven premature, however, as the freshman would not continue to be so sharp. Though Splithoff used his mobility to create a number of big plays, including all three Princeton touchdowns, Harvard would create problems for him with its pass rush. The freshman tucked the ball away too early on several plays, missing open receivers downfield.
"I think he got a little nerved up with the pressure that they were bringing," Princeton head coach Roger Hughes said. "He was looking at one receiver, and when that person wasn't open, he wasn't going through his progressions. I think experience will take care of that."
Splithoff's difficulties dealing with Harvard's defense were by no means the Tigers' greatest problem. While the Crimson played virtually error-free football, Princeton committed a number of costly mistakes. The Tigers incurred 12 penalties on the afternoon, a number of them at key moments.
The first of those major penalties swung the early momentum Princeton had gathered over to Harvard's side. With the Crimson threatening to tie at third-and-goal, Princeton forced a fumble and recovered the ball on the three yard line. The team's exuberance would not last long, because a penalty on the play gave Harvard a first-and-goal from the two.
Crimson running back Matt Leiszler then scored the first of his three touchdowns to tie the game at seven. Harvard would not trail again.
"Playing hard does not necessarily mean you're playing well," Hughes said. "Certainly 12 penalties hurt us."
Slipping away
Even with those mistakes, Princeton was on the verge of taking control when it pushed the Crimson to a fourth-and-five with the game tied at 21 in the fourth quarter. Three Tigers reached Harvard quarterback Neil Rose just as he released the ball, but the junior's pass slipped by them on its way to uncovered tight end Chris Stakich, who found his way in for the decisive 35-yard score.
Whatever hopes the Tigers had left slipped away in a similar fashion on Harvard's next drive. Trying to regain possession for a tying drive, Princeton forced a third-and-12 for the Crimson at the Princeton 35. Just as he had throughout the game, however, Rose found an open wide receiver, hitting Carl Morris for 14 yards and saving what would be yet another touchdown drive.
Rose was masterful in the pocket, ignoring the Princeton blitz to throw accurate passes to receivers running precise routes. He completed 25 of 36 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns.
"I thought we did a great job this week of game planning," Rose said.
"Our receivers — Carl Morris, Kyle Cremarosa and Sean Meeker — those guys are playmakers. That makes my job a lot easier."
Up 14 points, Harvard could afford to run out the clock on the ground. With Princeton's defensive front cheating somewhat to defend against the effective Crimson passing attack, Harvard piled up yardage late in the game behind its big offensive line.
Princeton had no answer for Harvard's balance, making a comeback from a 14-point deficit almost impossible. The Tigers' final desperation drive came to a close on a play that seemed modeled after many before it.
Flushed from the pocket by the Crimson pass rush, Splithoff scrambled left. After pumping several times in the direction of his receivers, the freshman finally released the ball just before being leveled by a Harvard linebacker.
When the deflected pass floated to the ground incomplete, Harvard and Princeton were both 2-1. Tied for first.
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