It's about that time for a Tiger victory — oh, and Harvard sucks

The last time the football team beat Harvard was 1995. The Crimson's six straight victories since then encompass their longest winning streak in the history of the rivalry, which dates back to 1877.

Princeton has lost close games to Harvard, such as last year's heartbreaker in Cambridge, Mass., when Taylor Northrop's '02 49-yard field-goal try sailed wide left. And, on the other hand, the Tigers have been beaten soundly, like when Harvard pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 35-21 at Princeton Stadium in 2000. That game also resulted in the broken jaw of then-freshman quarterback Dave Splithoff that ended his record-setting freshman year after starting only two games. But this is the year all of that history will be swept away.

Both Princeton and Harvard are 2-0 in the conference, but after Saturday's game at Princeton Stadium, only the Tigers will remain unbeaten in Ivies (that is, after Penn loses this weekend when they visit that other rival of ours, Yale). And we'll be halfway to a bonfire.

Here's why:

This is the best Princeton team in a college generation (i.e., four years). Head coach Roger Hughes' recruiting program is coming into its own, with three recruiting classes now here that Hughes directly affected. After two mediocre seasons, the Tigers have done an about face with the best start that they've had under Hughes yet. And with this Princeton team, it only gets better.

The Tigers have been stingy on defense, giving up just two scores each to the high-powered offenses of Colgate and Brown in the last two weeks.

Princeton's defense has tightened in the red zone and forced turnovers at opportune times. And the Tigers have been clutch down the stretch.

Harvard's strength is on offense, where receiver Carl Morris already has 46 catches for 705 yards and five touchdowns.

But those statistics might be inflated by mediocre competition. Sort of like how grade inflation works in Cambridge.

Neil Rose, the Crimson's ace quarterback, suffered an early injury and has been replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has been solid, but Harvard has already lost two games this season.

The Crimson won the Ivy League title last year, going 7-0, but things are different now.

The trends aren't so good for Harvard in its rivalry with Old Nassau.

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Remember that Cornel West GS '81 has returned to Princeton's Religion Department from the wasteland of eastern Massachusetts. And he brought along noted philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah.

Our president, Shirley Tilghman, has received national attention for creating an even stronger intellectual environment at Princeton than we had before she arrived.

Harvard's president, Larry Summers, has been the target of national ridicule for his inept handling of the West situation. Before leaving Massachusetts, West compared Summers to a bulldog in a china shop.

While many outside Princeton mock — with some justification — our eating clubs, their elitism pales in comparison with Harvard's finals clubs.

The Tiger men's swimming team knocked off the Crimson at Easterns for the first time in forever in March earlier this year.

Princeton has been ranked the No. 1 university in the country for the last three years and five of the last six by U.S. News and World Report. It's time for the best school in the country to have the best football team in the Ivy League.

And that's what we have right now.

Junior quarterback David Splithoff's arm may not be the league's best, but his mobility and skills of improvisation make him the best gunslinger in the Ivies. And let's not forget his two big targets, either.

The one-two punch at wide receiver can't be beaten. With senior Chisom Opara — a six-foot-two, 210-pound possession guy — and sophomore B.J. Szymanski, who averages what seems like 80 yards a catch, the Tigers do better than Brown and Harvard, who depend on one great receiver. And what sets them apart from the rest of the Ivy League is that they work so well in tandem. Cover one and the other breaks open. Cover both, and there will be so many other targets on the field, it won't matter.

All senior running back Cameron Atkinson has done is post four straight 100-yard games and break Princeton Stadium records as Princeton has won four in a row. And the defense has been stellar during that stretch, especially junior linebacker Zak Keasey and the entire secondary. The DBs have iced quarterbacks time and again this season — in every single game this season except one (Columbia) where the Tigers' secondary has ended drives with an interception. And even in that one game, the defensive backfield still managed to cause fumbles.

And not to mention the duo of dominating defensive ends of junior Tim Kirby and junior Joe Weiss. Has there been a defensive series yet where they have not pummeled the opposition's quarterback?

With such a combination, Fitzpatrick and Morris simply do not stand a chance.

Yes, it's time for Princeton to beat Harvard. Our mascot is the Tiger, theirs isn't even the Crimson Tide. Everyone on the football team is hungry for a win over Hated Harvard. So am I.