Athlete of the Week — Cameron Atkinson

This Saturday, Princeton football will play in its biggest game in quite some time. If the Tigers are to come out on top, they will have to have another banner day from senior running back Cameron Atkinson.

Before this season, there was an opinion widely held on campus that Atkinson was an east-west runner — more inclined to run sideways than straight up field.

Ask the Brown defense if that's still accurate.

Atkinson lit up the Bears' defensive front to the tune of 174 yards on the ground, including an 82-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. His rushing total that day was a career best and the touchdown was the longest run of his career.

Just to give an idea of the impact that Atkinson has had this year, no one had run as far as he did for the touchdown since Brock Harvey ran 92 yards for a score in 1995.

Surprisingly enough, Atkinson was not even the clear choice for athlete of the week honors. Not even the only football player who could have been given the nod.

A great deal of credit for the senior's career day must go to the Tigers' offensive line. Barry Sanders could round out the Princeton backfield and without the resurgent Tigers' blockers, he wouldn't have a chance to put up the numbers that Atkinson did against Brown.

And any mention of the football team at all would be incomplete without sophomore defensive back Jay McCareins. His two interceptions have preserved two Princeton wins and staked the Tigers to a first-place tie with Harvard and Penn going into this weekend's matchup.

Princeton may not come away with the win this Saturday, but if either Atkinson or McCareins has much to say about it, the Tigers should be well on their way to a bonfire — and an Ivy championship.