While it's still early in football's season, there are some indicators of how Princeton will do during the heart of the Ivy League slate. The Tigers are 2-1 overall, including a win in their only conference game, 35-32 over Columbia.
Before the first game of the season, I offered a five-step plan for the Tigers to post a winning record in the Ivy League for the first time since any of us who are going to graduate on time have been at Princeton. It's time to revisit those steps, and see what's gone right and what hasn't this season.
1. Win the close games.
You've heard it before, but football's biggest problem last year was winning close games. The Tigers were either leading or tied in five of their six losses last year.
So far this season, Princeton choked in the opener against Lehigh, somehow losing a 24-7 fourth quarter lead. But the Tigers rebounded against Lafayette. They dominated most of the first half, jumping out to a 24-0 lead. The Leopards attempted a comeback late in the second quarter and early in third, but the Tigers refused to blow another lead and pulled away, 34-19.
Against Columbia, in the first Ivy contest for both teams, Princeton rallied in the fourth quarter to win a three-point game. So whatever was the problem last season and against Lehigh this year appears to be fixed. I worried there could be lasting psychological effects from the loss to the Mountain Hawks, but the Tigers seem to have put that game behind them.
2. Throw the ball downfield.
I muttered the above mantra all of last year in the press box. This season, junior gunslinger David Splithoff tossed a 50-yard scoring strike to senior receiver Patrick Schottel against the Lions. Senior wide receiver Chisom Opara had 138 yards on eight catches versus Lafayette. Splithoff hit Opara with a 54-yard pass on a broken play in the first game and also connected on a 66-yard bomb with sophomore B.J. Syzmanski.
That's throwing the ball downfield. Princeton must remember to continue to do so, not only for the big play. Defenses keep linebackers and safeties back, opening up holes for running backs Cameron Atkinson and Jon Veach to dart through.
3. Cause turnovers on defense.
The Tigers got one turnover against Lehigh, but picked off four passes against Lafayette. That's the way to beat those Eastern Pennsylvania teams.
An interception or fumble recovery could be what the Tigers need to get past teams such as Harvard or Penn. Look for the ball-hungry secondary, especially senior Kevin Kongslie and juniors Blake Perry and Brandon Mueller, to continue stepping into passing lanes.
4. Tell everyone what Atkinson was told last year.
I mentioned in the last article that senior running back Cameron Atkinson became much harder to tackle between his sophomore and junior season, perhaps by becoming more physical or motivated or...whatever.
It's difficult to measure if the team is more physical or motivated this year. The success or failure of the upcoming three-game homestand will be the best indicator.
5. Stay healthy.
No major injuries since the presesason — hopefully that continues for the next seven weeks.
So far, so good for the five steps and the football team.
But when defending champion Harvard and hyper-offensive Brown come to town, and the Tigers head to Ithaca, N.Y. to take on feisty Cornell, we'll see how much better Hughes and company have made the Bengals of Central New Jersey.
Correction: In my football column last week, I mistakenly predicted Dartmouth would beat Princeton on the opening kickoff in overtime. Thing is, in college football, there are no kickoffs in overtime — teams alternate posession starting from the opponent's 25-yard line until the tie is broken. For some incomprehsible reason, I thought Division I-AA had different rules from Division I-A football. I apologize for the error. Editor's Note: This is the fourth in a weekly series of columns tracking the football team that will appear every Thursday this season.
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