Football begins Ivy season versus Columbia

All of a sudden those symmetrical 28-13 losses seem far, far away. The football team has a chance to put its early woes behind and start the Ivy League season off right as the team takes on Columbia in its league opener Saturday at Princeton Stadium.

The Lions (1-1), picked to finish last in the league before the season, will be riding high after a touchdown in the final minute against Bucknell last week lifted them to a surprising first win. The next five games for Columbia, however, may not be so sweet.

After starting Saturday with the Tigers, a team they have not defeated in New Jersey since 1945, the Lions have games against Lafayette (who crushed Princeton last week), Penn, Dartmouth, Yale, and Harvard (the four toughest teams in the Ivy League). Their .500 record could turn south in a hurry.

Columbia has lost its last five games against the Tigers.

"Princeton is a huge game for us," Lions head coach Bob Shoop said. "It's the Ivy opener for both teams and I know they'll be ready for us, and we will be ready for them."

Safety Steve Cargile was the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week last week for his work in the Bucknell game. Cargile, a disciplined defender who plays the option well, led the team with 11 tackles, including a crucial fourth-down stop late in the game.

But having a safety lead the team in tackles is not necessarily a good thing as it usually means the tackles are coming after a significant gain. Columbia is the worst defensive team in the league, giving up an average of 455 yards per game. This bodes well for Princeton and its nearly 400 yards in offense per game.

"The thing that scares me the most is when I watch [junior quarterback Matt Verbit] run around and make plays when everything breaks down," Shoop said. "[Their] tailbacks, [junior Jon] Veach, [sophomore Greg] Fields, and [junior Branden] Benson, all bring different qualities and can run the ball well. I think both the tight ends are good. I think they've got a good group of wide receivers."

The offense is not the only thing that scares Shoop.

"We think the two defensive ends we're going to play are probably the two best in the Ivy League, [senior Joe] Weiss and [junior Tim] Kirby," he said.

Possibly the most important match-up of the game will be between the Columbia offensive line, which helped its backs rack up 4.6 yards per carry in last week's win, and the Tigers' defensive line, the strongest part of the squad.

Princeton is coming off a 28-13 loss to Lafayette that followed the same basic pattern as its first game — fall behind 28-0 before starting a rally too late.

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"Obviously we're disappointed with our efforts in the first [halves]," Hughes said, "so our focus has been on coming out with a quick start."

Hughes said he called a team meeting upon returning to campus after the loss to help shake things up.

"We changed up practice this week and did some different things, and the result has been remarkable," Hughes said. "Our kids have come back with an unbelievable positive attitude and tremendous focus."

Verbit will again be the starter at quarterback as senior Dave Splithoff continues to nurse a shoulder injury that has kept him on the shelf longer than expected. Hughes said he is considering putting Splithoff, one of the best pure athletes on the team, at wide receiver or safety to get his talent back on the field.

There are still several question marks on the defensive side of the ball. Senior safety Blake Perry is not likely to play after aggravating an ankle injury last week, making an already thin secondary even thinner.

Hughes will continue to work on his secondary and linebacker corps as the young defenders learn to handle the adjustments that every defense must make according to a team's formation.

Princeton will once again face a tough "big three" on the opposing offense. Tailback Ayo Oluwole ran for 110 yards for the Lions in last week's win and could wreak havoc in that defensive backfield if he gets through the line. Wide receiver Wade Fletcher is averaging 88.5 receiving yards per game, and quarterback Jeff Otis is passing for 268 yards per game.

Still, this is a winnable game for the Tigers, and a win tomorrow in front of their home fans would make them undefeated in the Ivy season — the season that counts.