When all the weapons are holstered after Saturday's football game at Princeton Stadium, the result could be one for the record books.
Six of the last eight contests in the 125-game rivalry between Yale (5-3 overall, 3-2 Ivy League) and Princeton (2-6, 2-3) have been decided by one score.
The Bulldogs take to the road after a firefight with Brown last week at the Yale Bowl, which the Bears won, 55-44.
"It's as difficult a loss as I have ever been through," Yale head coach Jack Siedlecki said. "I think we have to prove our resiliency here."
Fortunately for Siedlecki, he has the fastest gun in the Ivy League leading his gang to the challenge.
Quarterback Alvin Cowan is the top passer in the league, throwing for 290.1 yards per game. He has thrown 17 touchdown passes and has a near-perfect 150.57 quarterback rating.
"Alvin gives us the ability to do everything," Siedlecki said. "We can run the option, we can run the straight drop-back pass, we can run every play action that we have, we can run bootlegs and waggles. He makes us a very difficult team to defend."
Besides his ability to fire passes, Cowan also averages 45.2 rushing yards per game and has scored seven times on the ground.
"[Cowan] is a problem," Princeton senior defensive end Joe Weiss said. "Everyone has to stay in their rush lanes or he will take it himself."
Riding horses behind Cowan are tailbacks Robert Carr and David Knox. The two have combined for 13 touchdowns and 135.5 rushing yards per game, quality backup for the star player.
"You have to go into every game trying to stop the run," Princeton defensive coordinator Steve Verbit said. "You have to have a good mix of pressures and zones to keep the quarterback off-balance."
On defense, the Bulldogs' guns are not so big. Yale ranks fifth in total defense in the league, allowing 375.4 yards per game.
Still, it will be no walk in the park for the Tigers. The Bulldogs are plus-six in turnovers for the season, and Princeton head coach Roger Hughes and offensive line coach Stan Clayton both stressed the challenge of handling Yale's large, physical defensive line.
The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents in all four quarters this season, including racking up 112 total points in fourth quarters alone.
Siedlecki stressed the need to defend better on first downs. His team had problems with this in recent games, a weakness Princeton will look to exploit.
"The last three weeks we've allowed way too many second and shorts where the offense can totally dictate what's going on," he said. "It makes for a high percentage of third-down conversions."
Despite the Tigers' record, junior quarterback Matt Verbit has had success at the trigger this season, averaging 246.8 passing yards per game with 11 touchdowns.
Junior wide receiver B.J. Szymanski, with 79.4 receiving yards per game, is Verbit's favorite target and figures, along with senior Blair Morrison, to have a big impact in this game as Princeton may be discouraged to run against the sizable Bulldog defensive line.
Just in case, Hughes also has a two-tailback system to back up his passing game. Juniors Jon Veach and Branden Benson have combined for 10 touchdowns and 109.3 yards per game. Should the Yale line overpressure Verbit, the running game may get its chance to shine.
Defensively, Hughes admits Princeton will be dodging bullets from Yale's Big Three, but he has the league's third-rated defense and top tackler, sophomore linebacker Justin Stull, to send into the fray.
For the Tigers, this is the last home game for Hughes' first fully-recruited class. And after a tough loss to Harvard three weeks ago, Princeton should have no problems preparing for its other big rival.
"It's easy to concentrate when you look out the tunnel and see so many people who care about the game," Szymanski said.
"It's going to be an emotional game for this staff," Hughes added.
With two winnable games left on the schedule, the Tigers are looking at a possible plus-.500 record in the Ivy League, a success after the way the season began. When asked about the possibility of this turnaround, Hughes said only, "Let's worry about Yale right now."
Fair enough. Fire away.
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