Rivalry still alive as football faces undefeated Harvard

When Princeton and Harvard meet, throw the records out. The two universities compete for the best students, recruits and professors. The rivalry is no less intense on the gridiron, where the Tigers and Crimson have met 94 times, with Princeton holding a 50-36-7 edge, although Harvard has won the last five contests.

The football team (1-3 overall, 1-1 Ivy League) heads to Cambridge, Mass. tomorrow to take on the undefeated Crimson (4-0, 2-0).

"Obviously, our players always look forward to playing Harvard," head coach Roger Hughes said. "The statement made last night in practice was 'hey, it's Harvard week.'"

The Crimson are looking to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1968. Harvard is coming off a 26-6 victory over Cornell, and its season has been marked by disciplined play.

Harvard quarterback Neil Rose has not been intercepted this season, and his team has only turned the ball over twice so far. Rose hit 15 of 24 pass attempts against the Big Red last week for 292 yards and a touchdown and was named Ivy League Player of Week for his efforts.

Rose gets a lot of help from the skill players who surround him, especially wide receiver Carl Morris and the running back one-two punch of Nick Palazzo and Josh Staph. Morris has 28 catches this season for 422 yards and four of Rose's six touchdowns, and Palazzo and Staph have combined for 548 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

Princeton's defense will have its hands full again this week against Harvard's balanced attack. The Tigers have allowed a staggering 418 yards per game this season. Princeton has been without senior linebacker Chris Roser-Jones, who injured his hamstring, for the last two weeks, however, and he may return against the Crimson, fortifying the Tiger defense.

Junior wide receiver Chisom Opara, who hurt his neck against Colgate, may also return to action this week. His absence has kept Princeton from making big plays in the passing game and keeping the defense honest by stretching the field. Most of the responsibility for explosive plays has fallen on the shoulders of junior tailback Cameron Atkinson, who came through with a career day against Brown. He rushed for 148 yards and added over 100 more yards on kickoff returns to single-handedly keep Princeton in the game.

"Cam Atkinson is a kid that we recruited hard and is as explosive an athlete as we'll see in this league," Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. "Nobody can make the plays he can make in the open field."

Even if Atkinson's athletic ability is unique in the Ivy League, he needs daylight to run, and Princeton's offensive line has been a question mark this season. The Tigers are big up front but inexperienced. The line provided holes for Atkinson and Splithoff to run through last week, but didn't do as well a job protecting Splithoff when he dropped back to throw.

If the Tigers do manage to keep pace with Harvard on the scoreboard this week, it will be nothing new. Although Princeton hasn't beaten the Crimson since 1995, the last four matchups have been decided in the fourth quarter.

Close games might bring out what is perhaps Princeton's only significant advantage over Harvard — the kicking game. The Tiger kicker is senior Taylor Northrop, who is eight for nine on field goal attempts this season and perfect inside 40 yards.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"I think Taylor Northrop is one of the best kickers in the country," Murphy said. "He's a legitimate pro prospect and I don't know if there is a kicker in the country who's having a better year so far."

Murphy's own team, on the other hand, dreads seeing drives stall in the red zone because of its poor kicking game. Harvard missed three field goals and an extra point last week, and placekicker Anders Blewett might be overmatched if the game comes down to a last-second field goal attempt.