It's a cliche, but for the football team over Fall Break, it was true: Good teams make the plays they need to win games.
Princeton had heart, Princeton had effort, Princeton had guts, but Princeton didn't make the plays when it had to. The Tigers lost to previously-winless Cornell, 10-7, Oct. 27, and then fell to undefeated Penn, 21-10, Saturday in Philadelphia.
Princeton's game against the Quakers (7-0 overall, 5-0 Ivy League) was closer than expected and closer than the score indicates. The Tigers (1-6, 1-4) led Penn most of the game. The Quakers had 77 offensive plays, netting 359 yards — Princeton ran 76 plays for 358 yards.
The Tigers led, 10-7, with six minutes, 53 seconds to go in the third quarter and started a drive from their own 18. Sophomore quarterback David Splithoff went 4-4 on the drive for 58 yards as Princeton reached the Penn 11-yard line.
Freshman tailback Branden Benson got the ball three times in a row. He picked up six yards on first down, three on second down, but was stuffed for no gain on third-and-one from the 2.
Leading 10-7 and playing the most talented team in the Ivies, head coach Roger Hughes decided to go for it on fourth down.
Splithoff dropped back to pass and floated the ball toward junior tight end Mike Chiusano, who was heading to the left corner of the end zone.
Penn cornerback Rudy Brown stayed with the play the whole way and batted away Splithoff's pass, giving the Quakers the ball. Splithoff had freshman fullback Joel Mancl wide open in the back of the end zone, but the sophomore quarterback never looked his way, as Chiusano was the first option.
Penn then took over with 2:53 left in the third quarter and mounted an 18-play, 99-yard drive that running back Kris Ryan consummated with a one-yard touchdown plunge. The Quakers faced two fourth downs on the drive — a fourth-and-one from their own 22 and a fourth-and-four from Princeton's 38.
Going for it on a fourth down deep in its own territory was a gamble for Penn.
"If it works, you look semi-intelligent," Penn head coach Al Bagnoli said, "and if it doesn't, you like an idiot."
Bagnoli looked quite intelligent as Quaker quarterback Gavin Hoffman converted both fourth downs, sneaking for three yards on the first play and throwing for seven on the next one.
Even after Penn went up, 14-10, the Tigers had a chance to come back and take the lead. But Princeton turned the ball over its only time all day, as Splithoff fumbled on a quarterback draw. The Quakers took over at the Tiger 42 with 9:36 left in the game. Penn ran the ball down Princeton's throat on the ensuing possession, with Ryan running for 23 of his 166 yards on the drive, which ended with another Penn touchdown and an insurmountable 21-10 lead.
Even though the Tigers were unable to score more than 10 points, they did finish with respectable offensive statistics. Penn came into the game as the top rushing defense and scoring defense nationally, yielding on 27 yards a game rushing. Princeton, missing junior tailback Cameron Atkinson because of an injury sustained against Cornell, still managed to amass 141 yards on the ground. Freshman running back Jon Veach had 66 yards on the ground and Splithoff chipped in 55.
Though the loss to Penn was tough to swallow, Princeton's loss to Cornell (2-5, 2-3) the week before might have been even more heartbreaking.
The Tigers went into the fourth quarter tied with the Big Red, but gave up a 41-yard field goal with 13:25 left to put the visitors up by three.
Princeton had one try to tie the game after that.
Although he did not know it was the team's final chance at the time, preseason All-America kicker senior Taylor Northrop lined up for a 57-yard field goal with 7:21 left.
Had he made it, he would have tied the game and, at the same time, broken the Ivy record for longest field goal. All this would have been witnessed by the numerous NFL scouts in attendance.
"My focus was to just hit it clean and keep it straight," Northrop said. "I knew that the distance was there. From warm-ups, I was kicking them from 65 yards.
"I wasn't looking to kill the ball. I felt comfortable and just wanted to kick it straight."
In retrospect, though, maybe he should not have been so confident as his attempt ended up just short — off the middle of the crossbar.
"I really don't know what to say about it," Northrop said. "When I kicked it, I thought it was good. You sit there and watch the ball go towards the uprights. I never could have imagined the ball go off the crossbar."
The Cornell coaching staff was equally surprised that the Tigers even attempted the field goal.
The Big Red began the play in punting formation with their punt returner on the 15. When the Tigers went to field goal formation, though, the Cornell coaching staff exploded into confused bedlam, yelling instructions into their microphones, hurriedly trying to line up for a kicking defense. None of it mattered, though, and Cornell got the ball back.
After the missed field goal, the remaining two Princeton drives ended in interceptions, giving Cornell its first win of the season.
The first three quarters were close, just like the last.
The Tigers led off the limited scoring with a 10 play, 97-yard march for six in the second quarter, marked by big rushes from both Splithoff and Atkinson.
Cornell then imitated Princeton and took the ball all the way themselves, starting at their own 22 and ending with a 14-yard completion to the corner of the end-zone.
Few other drives in the game were successful, with the teams combining for a measly 7-of-27 on third down.
The total yardage gained for the two teams was, again, very close — 308 for the Tigers and 302 for Cornell.
"When you have a 97-yard drive for a touchdown, I'm satisfied," Hughes said. "When you create mistakes to take us out of field goal range, though, I'm not satisfied."
One of the mistakes he was referring to was the 10-yard holding penalty that pushed Princeton back from the 27 to the 37-yard line before Northrop attempted his field goal. In between the two plays was a three-yard sack to put the Tigers on the 40.
"As we continue to work on the mistakes that we made and become more experienced, those things will work themselves out," Hughes said.
Read More
What’s an offseason? Jackson Green and Jay Mentink on being multi-sport athletes at Princeton
Doug SchwartzPrinceton sophomores Jackson Green and Jay Mentink embrace the challenge of playing two Division I sports while tackling Ivy League academics head-on.
Princeton sophomores Jackson Green and Jay Mentink embrace the challenge of playing two Division I sports while tackling Ivy League academics head-on.
No. 3 men’s lacrosse routs No. 14 Towson 22–12, Mackesy breaks career goals record
Hayk YengibaryanWith the win, the Tigers advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in 2022. Princeton will take on No. 5 Syracuse in Hempstead, N.Y., next weekend for a spot in the final four.
With the win, the Tigers advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in 2022. Princeton will take on No. 5 Syracuse in Hempstead, N.Y., next weekend for a spot in the final four.
Senior Coulter Mackesy, Pace Billings ’24, and Sam English ’23 drafted to Premier Lacrosse League
Hayk YengibaryanThe PLL, founded in 2018 by brothers Mike and Paul Rabil, is North America’s professional lacrosse league. The league currently features eight teams that compete in a tour-based format, traveling to different cities each weekend throughout the summer season.
The PLL, founded in 2018 by brothers Mike and Paul Rabil, is North America’s professional lacrosse league. The league currently features eight teams that compete in a tour-based format, traveling to different cities each weekend throughout the summer season.