Even a skeptic foresees continued success for streaking Tiger football

There's something new happening at Princeton Stadium this season. The football team is 3-1 overall, including a 14-10 win last Saturday over Colgate, which had not lost to an Ivy League squad since 1997.

Head coach Roger Hughes has the Tigers starting games strong — witness junior quarterback David Splihtoff's 62-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Andy Bryant on the first play from scrimmage against the Raiders.

Perhaps the biggest improvement, however, has come at the end of games. Second-half comebacks by opposing teams sent the Tigers to most of their defeats last season.

This year began with Princeton somehow losing a 24-7 fourth-quarter lead to Lehigh, but since then, things have been different.

The Tigers muffled a comeback attempt by Lafayette in their second game, scored in the final period to top Ivy-rival Columbia, and beat Colgate on a 73-yard bomb from Splithoff to sophomore wide receiver B.J. Szymanski.

Anything new?

So what's the difference between this year's team and every other group dressed in Orange and Black we've seen this century? And will it last?

I'm a skeptic about most things in the world of sports — probably because I'm from the Tampa Bay area.

There, we are blessed with the Lightning, arguably the worst team in NHL history. Our baseball team — the Devil Rays — has never finished out of the cellar of the AL East during their existence.

And my favorite team, the NFL's Bucs, lost their first 26 games.

Later, they lost at least 10 games in 10 consecutive seasons. They have had one winning coach in history — Tony Dungy — and he was fired after making the playoffs.

Doubter

So when a team shows signs of being able to put together a solid season, all the reasons why that won't happen come to mind. But I think the Tigers are different.

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

In three wins this season, Princeton has demonstrated it can beat a feisty conference opponent on the road and take care of business against an overmatched Lafayette team at home.

Most impressively, the Tigers outslugged Colgate on a rainy, sloppy afternoon while banged up.

Princeton had over 400 yards of total offense but never scored from the red zone. Instead of getting frustrated, the Tigers took their chances on deep passes — and that paid off.

But between the two bombs, the Princeton defense was tested.

The Tigers gave up yards to the Raiders, but only 10 points all afternoon.

Elastic

The bend-but-don't-break philosophy is working.

The defense has shown it can do the job in different ways.

Princeton got turnovers against Columbia and gave the offense a chance to outscore the Lions (who had 32 points).

The Tigers shut down Colgate near their end zone all game and allowed just the two scores, even though the Raiders had great field position all day.

Part of the Tigers' success on offense and defense comes from improved play-calling. Both of Princeton's touchdowns against the Raiders came when the offensive coaches spotted weaknesses in the Colgate secondary.

Tosses to running back Cameron Atkinson were also effective and seemed to be called at just the right moment.

On the other side of the ball, junior linebacker Zak Keasey's delayed blitzes worked to perfection. He was in Raider quarterback Tom McCune's face all afternoon.

Besides play-calling, Hughes' staff has been trying since it arrived to instill a sense of confidence in the team.

"It's all about confidence on offense, and we're getting to that point where we have that confidence," offensive coordinator Dave Rackovan said.

While the coaches and players talked about how the message was getting across since Hughes arrived from Dartmouth, now the results show that something's working.

"Our guys gained some confidence they can win whatever happens," Hughes said after the Colgate win.

The Tigers play their second league game of the season Saturday against winless Brown at Princeton Stadium.

The reeling Bears had played well on offense this season — up until last week, when they scored 17 points and lost by a touchdown.

Princeton needs to be wary of a letdown, but from what I've seen, this team will make sure it leaves the field with another victory.

Correction: In my column two weeks ago, I predicted the Tigers would lose to Dartmouth on a kickoff return in overtime.

While Princeton may still lose to the Big Green in overtime, it cannot on a kickoff return, because possessions alternate between the teams and start at the opponent's 25-yard line in college football. I apologize for the error. This correction did not run last week because of space considerations. Editor's Note: This is the fifth in a weekly series of columns tracking the football team this season.