For a team that just wants to win a game, Tiger football sure has its work cut out for it. Colgate (5-0 overall, 2-0 Patriot League) visits Princeton Stadium as the 17th-ranked team in Division I-AA football, riding an 11-game winning streak.
Princeton (0-3 overall, 0-1 Ivy League) comes into the game just aching for a win after its heartbreaking 33-27 loss to Columbia in its Ivy League opener last weekend, a loss that came on a last-second Hail Mary play for the Lions.
This week the Raiders will try to hand the Tigers their third-straight loss on home turf, and they have the offensive weapons to do it.
Junior tailback Jamaal Branch leads the charge for the toothpaste team, averaging 157.4 yards per game on the ground. Branch is the leading rusher in Division I-AA and has scored nine of the Raiders' 17 offensive touchdowns.
"We've always wanted to run the ball and [Branch] is the back that's able to do that," Colgate head coach Dick Biddle said. "When we've been good we have designated one tailback and tried to ride him a little bit. That's what we've done with Jamaal, and so far it's worked out."
Through the air, junior quarterback Chris Brown leads the Colgate passing attack. Brown is passing for just 176.8 yards per game but is completing 54.5 percent of his passes.
"Chris Brown is a great quarterback," Princeton head coach Roger Hughes said. "He may be the fastest kid on the field. We've got to be disciplined in our pass rush lanes and make sure he doesn't break contain."
Golden Graham
Senior J.B. Gerald and junior Luke Graham are the Raiders' leading receivers. Gerald is averaging 54.8 yards per game with two touchdowns and Graham is averaging 69.8 yards per game with two touchdowns.
Defensively, it does not look much better for the Tigers. Colgate is eighth in Division I-AA in total defense, allowing just 252.8 yards per game.
"We're facing a very high pressure, very quick defensive front," Hughes said. "Their two tackles — [Josh] Sabo and [Nick] Susko — are outstanding. I don't think anyone's blocked them in the first five games they've played. Our challenge up front is going to be handling all their blitzing, stunting, moving around. They like to play a lot of man coverage with one free safety and that allows them to bring one extra man into 'the box.'"
Disappointing D
Biddle, though, is concerned about his defense, which he feels did not play well last week. Princeton won last year's contest between these teams, 14-10, while putting up 437 yards of offense in the contest. The Raiders will have to prevent that kind of production from happening again to be successful.
Colgate will be playing the final game in a brutal season-opening stretch in which they have five of their first six games on the road. So far the tough schedule has not been too hard on the team, since they have not lost a game this so far season.
"One of the good things about it is that it gets you away from campus, and you have your team all to yourself," Biddle said. "The only thing they can look forward to is the game, and you can get them focused."
Though the records are contrasting and, this looks like a walk in the park for the Raiders, they are cautious of the threat Princeton poses.
"They've played very tough competition. They were in every ball game," Biddle said. "They've played us very tough. They've beaten us. They know how to play us. You look at us, and there's not much difference. We're two plays away from being 3-2."
The numbers may be daunting, but Hughes remains optimistic.
"I thought we made a dramatic improvement from the Lafayette week to last week," he said. "I think it was reflected in the way we started the game, but we need to sustain that for 60 full minutes, especially with a team like Colgate coming in."
Easier said than done.
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