Football loses close Ivy games, ends 3-6

The football team ended the season on a high note, winning its last two games in the Ivy League. However, the season-ending streak did not characterize the Tigers' season, as they went 3-6 on the year.

The season was filled with frustration after frustration as the Tigers lost four of their six games by less than two touchdowns. The team was inexperienced, with only five seniors on the starting 22 for Princeton. The only other member of the Class of 2002 who saw significant playing time was the kicker and punter, Taylor Northrop. With so few players with three years of experience under their belts, the Tigers ran into problems finishing close games. Against the top two teams in the Ivy League, Harvard and Penn, Princeton had leads going into the fourth quarter, only to lose the game when the favored teams rallied.

The season began on a down note, with the team's first game against Lafayette cancelled because of the September 11th tragedy. The following week, the team was back in action, opening the season at Lehigh. Princeton opened up the scoring in the second quarter with a Northrop field goal. That was an action that would be repeated time and again throughout the season, as the kicker led the team in scoring with 55 points. Although the Tigers went into the half with a 3-0 lead, Lehigh racked up 24 points in the third quarter to seal the game, as Princeton fell 24-10.

The following week the team opened up Ivy play by hosting Columbia. With two key interceptions by outside linebacker Chris Roser-Jones '02, the Tigers defeated the Lions in front of a near-capacity crowd under the lights, 44-11.

However, Princeton's momentum from the decisive victory over Columbia was nowhere to be found as the team hosted Colgate the following week. The Raiders decimated an already injury-ridden Tiger team, 35-10. The team then suffered a string of fourth-quarter defeats against Brown (who Princeton led 16-14 at the start of the fourth and lost 35-24), Harvard (21-20 at the half, 28-26 final), Cornell (third quarter: 7-7, final: 10-7), and Penn (third quarter: 10-7, final: 21-10). The defeat at the hands of the Crimson was the most disheartening for the team. Northrop, who had been the offensive rock for the Tigers and also was on his way to breaking the most career field goals record in the Ivy League, got the nod from coach Roger Hughes with seven seconds left in the game and the team trailing, 28-26. The 49-yard attempt sailed wide left. From there out, Northrop struggled, breaking the school record for career field goals, but not achieving the league mark.

As everyone was ready to write off the Tigers, the season took a turn for the better, as Princeton showed more confidence on the field as it played host to Yale. The Bulldogs came in hoping to grab the H-Y-P championship this season, with Harvard still left on their schedule. However, the Tigers showed them otherwise, taking second place in the age old championship by defeating Yale, 34-14. As it turns out, the team was only one field goal away from claiming the title and the bonfire.

Princeton carried that momentum into its final game at Dartmouth in freezing weather in Hanover. The Tigers had an offensive explosion of 516 yards, pounding the Big Green, 35-14. Although the season proved to be a difficult one, Princeton gained the experience it needed at the beginning of the season, and with the majority of the starting lineup returning, the team will pick up where it left off next year.