Five steps for football to climb the Ivy

You can choose your cliche for the football team.

It's time to put up or shut up. The time is now. It's do or die time.

Since his hiring before the 2000 season, the football team has bought into head coach Roger Hughes' system. He has been responsible for three training camps and 19 games.

The Tigers have learned to win the big games — witness Hughes' 2-0 record against hated Yale. And Princeton is no longer an inexperienced team — junior David Splithoff is one of two returning starting quarterbacks in the Ivy League. The Tigers bring back 18 starters for the 2002 campaign.

So, is Princeton ready to ascend the Ivy?

The media thinks so, picking the Tigers to finish second in the league behind defending champ Harvard.

This member of the media does not want to hazard a guess. But here's how the team can finish second — or maybe first — or go 2-8, beat Harvard and Yale, and get us '03ers a bonfire:

1. Win the close games.

Princeton was in every Ivy League contest in the second half last year. The Tigers held a third-quarter lead against then-undefeated Penn, only to lose, 21-10. The most heartbreaking loss was 28-26 to Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., when a potential game-winning field goal try by Taylor Northrop '02 sailed wide left as time expired.

Having a more experienced team this season will undoubtedly help, but the Tigers also need to work on their two-minute offense. Perhaps they can also:

2. Throw the ball downfield.

While Splithoff does not have the strongest arm, his mobility and toughness give him the ability to make good things happen on the field.

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

And with receivers like senior Chisom Opara and sophomore B.J. Szymanski, who averaged over 26 yards a catch last season, it is imperative for Princeton to stretch the field. The lack of a downfield passing game was painfully obvious early last season against Lehigh and Brown, especially when the Tigers tried to claw their way back from fourth-quarter deficits.

Keeping defenses guessing with the deep ball will open up more holes for senior Cameron Atkinson and also for Splithoff on keepers.

And, if you are heeding my play-calling suggestions, you might as well junk the option. Every time I saw it develop, I mumbled a prayer for Splithoff's health — seemed like he was constantly decked.

3. Cause turnovers on defense.

While the Tiger defense remains nearly intact from last year, the major loss to graduation was All-Ivy linebacker Chris Roser-Jones.

He had a knack — or more correctly, a skill — for planting himself in opposing quarterbacks' passing lanes and seeing the end zone when he intercepted passes. Princeton's experienced secondary, which was decent at getting takeaways last season, needs to give the offense as many chances as possible to score.

4. Teach everyone what Atkin-son learned last year.

'Prince' Sports Editor Emeritus Alex Iliff '02 used to tell me when we watched Cameron Atkinson take handoffs that the running back went down at even the hint of a hit during the 2001 season.

Atkinson had a quick first step, good cutback ability and breakaway speed, of course, but could not be an every-down back.

Or so we thought. The senior was Princeton's best offensive player all of last season. He maintained the speed that made him a threat to go all the way every time he touched the ball and also bounced off would-be tacklers and carried defenders for extra yardage. If every Tiger footballer made similar strides from sophomore to junior year, this junior-heavy team could be winning Princeton's ninth Ivy League championship. But to do that, the team must:

5. Stay healthy.

Losing senior tight end Mike Chiusano with a preseason collarbone injury is a tough blow, both for his pass-catching and blocking skills. Last year, injuries to players such as Opara, Atkinson and juniors defensive linemen Joe Weiss and cornerback Blake Perry were factors in many of the close games the Tigers lost. Editor's Note: This is the first of a weekly series of columns about the football team which will appear every Thursday during the season.