Szymanski's 73-yard score leads football past Colgate

In one of the biggest wins in three years for Tiger football, the biggest play of the game decided everything.

With three minutes, 25 seconds left in the game, trailing 10-7 and a sprinkle coming down, Princeton started with the ball on its own 13. After the first play, a 14-yard completion from junior quarterback David Splithoff to senior wide receiver Andy Bryant, it looked as though it was going to be a methodical march down the field.

The game-breaker was next. On first and 10 from his own 27, sophomore wide receiver B.J. Szymanski lined up in a formation Princeton had been practicing all week. The running back was split outside to the near side of the field and Szymanski in the slot. The Tigers wanted for the cornerback who was lined up to cover Szymanski to switch to the running back and for a linebacker to be on the receiver.

"We just lined up, shift to the left. They rolled to the wrong coverage and didn't really cover me," Szymanski said. "After I caught it, I cut inside of the back who almost took my legs out, and I thought somebody was behind me ready to jump on top."

Nobody was actually behind him, and Szymanski dove into the endzone for the game-winning score, 14-10.

This game was decided by four huge passing plays. The last play of the game for the Princeton (3-1 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) offense was the pass to Szymanski. The first play was the very first play of the game — a 62 yard touchdown completion to Bryant.

"We have been preparing for that all week," head coach Roger Hughes said of the play. "They bring their safety down to try to stop the weakside runs, and we expected that, so we played it to the hole."

Colgate (3-3 overall, 1-1 Patriot League) had its own big passing plays, one that turned into a touchdown, and one that was stopped with a solid one-armed tackle by junior defensive back Brandon Mueller.

Colgate followed it up with a field goal, but Mueller's stick kept it from being a touchdown and, had things worked out the same way, a tied game and the end of regulation.

The rest of the game is nondescript from an offensive perspective, but full of great defensive plays and penalties.

Junior linebacker Zak Keasey starred from the defensive side of the ball, leading the team with 11 tackles, three sacks, and a pass deflection.

The first of his sacks was on Colgate's first drive of the second quarter. The Raiders were down 7-3, and drove the ball to the Tiger 25, just in range for a field goal. On third down, the Colgate quarterback dropped back, scrambled out of the middle of the field, and was taken down from behind by Keasey. The sack put Colgate out of field goal range and forced them to punt.

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Keasey's second sack on the day killed the momentum of Colgate 's first drive of the second half. With a mix of rushes and passes, the Raiders had surged into Princeton territory. Keasey 's sack on second and 10 ended that, and an athletic pass breakup by sophomore defensive back Jay McCareins stalled Colgate's drive once again.

The final Keasey sack may have been the most crucial. It was on the Raiders' final drive. They had just made a 16-yard completion, making it first and 10 from their own 47. Keasey blitzed, and was pushed by the blocker right into the quarterback for a 10-yard sack.

"Our [defensive] coaches had a real good game plan," Keasey said. "Our whole defense just wanted to prove we could match up with them."

That was a question going into the game — Colgate had run over the Tiger defense the last two years, mostly with a hugely explosive running game. Last year, Colgate's Jamaal Branch compiled 150 rushing yards on 20 carries. This year, Colgate netted 92 total yards on 35 carries, a meager 2.6 yards per shot. Their leading rusher, Ray LaMonica, netted just 46 yards, and the team 's longest of the game was a mere 10.

"We lost our run threat in the back, and that hurts," Colgate quarterback Tom McCune - who finished 13-33 for 273 yards - said.

In contrast, senior running back Cameron Atkinson had his third straight 100-yard rushing game, netting 104 yards on 15 carries.

In the air, junior quarterback Dave Splithoff completed 11 of 21 for 229 yards and the team's two touchdowns.

For the second year in a row against Colgate, Splithoff left the game due to injury. In both years, it was a combination of hits that took him out. This year, it was two straight hits in the first quarter that put him out. Sophomore Matt Verbit took his place and made a few good passes in his two and a half series. One of those passes was tipped by the receiver, though, right into the arms of the Colgate player, making the only Princeton interception of the game.

With senior wide receiver Chisom Opara out with an ankle injury – he should be able to return next week – Szymanski was able to be the star of the show in the secondary. He caught seven passes for 170 yards, and, of course, the game winner.

This was Colgate 's first loss to an Ivy League team since losing to Princeton in 1997 — a 13-game winning streak. Making the win even sweeter for the Tigers, the Red Raiders won the last two games between the two squads by 25 and 28 points.

"Obviously, this is a huge win," Hughes said. "That 's the best team we 've beaten. We were more physical, tougher. We gained confidence - we 'll win whatever happens."