With the football team now bearing down on its season-opener Saturday night against Lehigh, and Hurricane Isabel bearing down on the East Coast, I sit to write my second installment of the armchair quarterback column. As is the tradition, the editors of 'Prince' Sports make their season predictions, and in upholding the custom, here are the 2003 Football Season Picks.
Season wrap-up: Princeton (5-5 overall, 5-2 Ivy League) earns bonfire for H-Y-P Championship.
Lehigh 35, Princeton 17.
Already ranked No. 20 in Division I-AA football, and coming off a big win against No. 9 Fordham, Lehigh is going to be rolling against an untested Tiger team. Princeton's downfall will be the passing game. Lehigh Quarterback Chad Schwenk will pick apart the secondary, posting three touchdown passes.
The surprise of the game will be the Princeton offense. While the Tigers will come out looking tentative in the first half, the offense will begin to move the ball in the second. While not entirely effective against Lehigh, it will bode well for the rest of the season.
Lafayette 28, Princeton 14.
The offense will be tested again in week two as the Tigers travel to play Lafayette. The offense, and in particular the offensive line, will continue to improve, allowing the Tigers to move the ball down the field successfully. However, Lafayette will rule the air, and the Tigers will be dealt their second loss of the season.
Princeton 28, Columbia 24.
In opening up the Ivy League season by hosting Columbia, the Tigers will dig deep for their first win of the season. Head coach Roger Hughes will continue to tweak the secondary, presenting a different lineup for the Lions. With the return of senior co-captain and quarterback Dave Splithoff to active duty, the Tigers will have two weapons under center.
Offensive production will be high, as both quarterbacks will manufacture points. However, Columbia will come storming back, but a sack on a critical third-and-long will end their chances.
Colgate 20, Princeton 0.
Coming in on a four-game winning streak, Colgate will roll into Princeton Stadium to deliver the Tigers' first shutout of the season, stopping nearly every facet of the Princeton attack.
Princeton 21, Brown 10.
After getting shelled by Colgate, and chewed out by Hughes, the Tigers will prove indomitable for Brown. Versus the Bears, Princeton will take advantage of Brown's lack of battle testing, and Hughes will find a combination of defensive backs that works.
Princeton 14, Harvard 7.
The following week presents the biggest challenge thus far in Harvard. While the Crimson have lost two big offensive weapons, they retain the best defensive player in the Ivy League, Dante Balestracci. Along with Princeton possessing possibly the best defensive ends in the league in seniors Tim Kirby and Joe Weiss, the game will prove to be a defensive battle. But Crimson fans will be shocked as a fourth quarter surge breaks the knot, setting Princeton up for an H-Y-P championship.
Cornell 10, Princeton 7.
Suffering from the inability to put successes back-to-back, the team will face the pitfalls of success and turn over the ball too many times. Cornell will take advantage of that, scoring 10 unanswered second half points to win the game.
Penn 34, Princeton 14.
The worst road trip of the year follows for the boys in orange and black. Taking on Penn, the eventual Ivy League champions, the Tigers will continue to struggle. The Quakers will take an early first half lead, but after Hughes' halftime talk, Princeton will come out in the second half and go point-for-point with Penn. But as the final seconds tick down, the early-game troubles will prove too much.
Princeton 21, Yale 20.
With momentum coming in after the strong second half against Penn, the Tigers will throw down with Yale for what could be the H-Y-P championship. Both teams will come out fired up, with Yale scoring a field goal on their first drive. The Tigers will answer with a touchdown in the second quarter. While the Elis will go into the half up by three, everything will begin to click for Princeton in the second stanza, and on the last drive, down by six, with excellent coverage for the offensive line, Splithoff will find junior wide receiver B.J. Szymanski in the corner of the end zone to win the game.
Princeton 23, Dartmouth 20.
In the snow bowl, it will all come down to who can last longest in the cold. In the frozen tundra of Hanover, N.H., it will be a battle of special teams, with each team only posting two touchdowns apiece. Sophomore kicker Derrick Javarone will prove his mettle by kicking three field goals and helping the Tigers break even on the season.
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