It was like Clark Kent played the first and third quarters and Superman played the other two, or so it seemed. After a two-faced game in the season opener against Lehigh, the football team will have one more chance to establish consistency before the Ivy League schedule begins.
Princeton (0-1) takes to the road this Saturday to face Lafayette (1-1) and will need to commit to the Superman costume to get a win.
The Leopards return to the field after their first bye week since the 1989 season. After starting the year with a 49-0 dismantling of Marist at home, Lafayette lost its first road game of the season, 19-13, at Towson in its Patriot League opener.
"Playing as poor a game as we did against Towson, and having to sit on that bitter pill has certainly not been a positive," Leopards head coach Frank Tavani said.
Lafayette boasts the top-ranked defense in Division I-AA football, allowing just 154.5 yards per game of total offense to its opponents, while picking up 390 yards per game itself.
The big three
Perhaps Princeton's main concern will be the Leopards' three-headed offensive attack. Senior quarterback Marko Glavic, one of four team captains, is entering his fourth season under center for Lafayette and is just 947 yards off the school record in career passing yards.
Senior wide receiver John Weyrauch was second-team All-Patriot League selection in 2002 when he caught 63 passes for 910 yards and eight touchdowns, and already has two TD grabs this year.
Junior running back Joe McCourt is sixth all-time and climbing the ladder in Leopards' rushing history. McCourt gained over 1,000 yards last season and picked up 122 on 22 carries in the loss to Towson.
"We're not fearful of doing anything," Tavani said of his offense. "We feel confident that whatever we ask of them can get done."
Tavani also said he was not pleased with his team's pass protection against Towson. Princeton's defensive strength is its experienced line, and getting pressure on Glavic will be a key to winning the game.
Young defense
Tiger head coach Roger Hughes said the defense will be trying some new combinations to exploit that potential weakness.
Princeton's young defensive backs and linebackers, who had trouble dealing with Lehigh's slippery Jermaine Pugh and physical Adam Bergen a week ago, could have their hands full once again with Lafayette's big three.
And the Leopards look even tougher on the other side of the ball. The best defense in the country rolled in the season-opening shutout over Marist, surrendering just 91 yards, and performed well in a turnover-riddled game against Towson.
"Our defense has played very well," Tavani said. "My biggest fear going into the Towson game was that they'd run that ball down our throat, but they were unable to do that except for one drive."
Offensive weapons
On the other side of the field, Princeton is coming off a 28-13 loss in its season-opener to Lehigh last week at Princeton Stadium. Offensive surges in the first and third quarters gave Lehigh a 28-0 lead, but the Tigers dominated the second and fourth quarters and outgained Lehigh, 400 yards to 389, for the game.
Offensively, Princeton has the weapons. Tailbacks Branden Benson and Greg Fields both had solid games against Lehigh and will continue to backup Jon Veach at the position, a rotation that could cause problems for Lafayette.
"Offensively we did a lot of good things," Hughes said regarding the Lehigh game. "Our offensive line is athletic but we're not always doing the right things at all the positions. It's a huge challenge. We hope we can correct some of the mistakes we made on both sides of the ball."
Those mistakes mainly refer to turnovers. Junior quarterback Matt Verbit fumbled four times (losing three) and threw an interception. Protecting the ball will be key Saturday.
"I really like this team," Hughes said. "I like their work ethic. I like their attitude. The intensity level didn't fall off at all [against Lehigh]. Now we need to get all those energies devoted to the right direction."
And so Clark Kent enters the phone booth . . .
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