At 0-4, football faced with many questions, few answers

Head football coach Roger Hughes sat dejectedly as the press conference following his team's 30-3 loss to Colgate ended Saturday. On his face he wore all the disappointments of the first 0-4 start in school history.

It was obvious — the water is boiling over.

After three weeks of losses with at least some silver lining to point to, Princeton (0-4 overall, 0-1 Ivy League) suffered a 27-point pounding at the hands of Colgate (6-0, 2-0 Patriot League) that had few encouraging signs.

Against both Lehigh and Lafayette in the first two weeks, the Tigers fell behind, 28-0, before managing to post 13 unanswered fourth-quarter points to make each game look respectable.

Princeton did not win, but the team gained more offensive yards than both its opponents, finished strong and never rolled over.

Against Columbia last week, the Tigers cruised to a 20-0 lead before falling behind, 27-20, in the fourth, rallying to tie the game again, then losing on a last-second Hail Mary touchdown pass.

They did not win, but they built a lead, worked their offense and again outgained their opponent.

Against Colgate this week, all that went away. The Tigers were outgained, 421-231. They built no lead. They made no comeback.

The Raiders came in as the favorites, but it was Princeton that had a chance to take the early lead. The Tigers moved the ball 38 yards on the opening drive before junior quarterback Matt Verbit looked deep for junior wide receiver B.J. Szymanski streaking down the right side of the field. The ball turned Szymanski around, and he could not come down with it.

The drive, though, stalled at the Colgate 32-yard line, just out of comfortable field goal range, when junior tailback Jon Veach was tackled shy of a first down on a fourth-down pass play.

As they had in the first three games, the Tigers moved the ball well but were unable to make the final push to the end zone.

Colgate took over and moved the ball 70 yards on 10 plays for a touchdown and completely drained all the momentum from Princeton to the Raiders' side of the field.

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Princeton's next drive lasted one play. Veach fumbled a handoff after his kick return set the Tigers up in decent field position, and the Raiders took over deep in Princeton territory.

Enter Division I-AA's best rusher, Jamaal Branch. Quarterback Chris Brown handed him the ball and he made a highlight-reel run 24 yards for another touchdown.

Two straight plays changed the game immensely. The first quarter ended with the Raiders up, 14-0.

Despite the way the first quarter went, Princeton came out of the game with the advantage in turnovers, 4-2, but it was Colgate that took the real advantage.

The second quarter was the Tigers' best chance to get back in the game. The Raiders turned the ball over on three consecutive drives in the quarter, and four times total, but still managed to extend their lead by the end of the half to 20-3.

Princeton intercepted Brown twice and recovered one fumble in the quarter. The results of the ensuing possessions: three-and-out, three-and-out, interception.

The Tigers came up empty on their three possessions following turnovers, but Colgate did anything but. Branch had already scored one touchdown after a turnover, and after the Verbit interception late in the second quarter, the Raiders marched 67 yards in 10 plays for another touchdown and a 20-0 lead.

Princeton again went three-and-out on its next drive, but J.B. Gerald fumbled the punt from freshman Colin McDonough. The Tigers recovered deep in Colgate territory with a chance to put a score on the board before halftime.

The result? Three-and-out and a field goal to at least get the goose egg off the board.

Branch sealed the game in the second half, running for a total of 191 yards in the game and keeping the Tiger defense on the field.

Princeton was in Raider territory on four drives in the second half but came away with no points.

Turnovers were key in this game. Of the Tigers' four turnover recoveries, three came on the Colgate side of the field and the other was just three yards shy.

The opportunities were there. Four turnovers but no points. Back to the drawing board.