The sprint football gods watching over Frelingheysen Field on Friday night did the same thing they have done for the past five seasons — nothing.
With a 49-8 loss at the hands of the University of Pennsylvania (2-0) in front of a sparse crowd of 325, Princeton fell to 0-2 on the season and continued its streak of 31 consecutive losses dating back to 1999.
The Tigers' lone touchdown came late in the second quarter courtesy of senior quarterback Dennis Bakke's 55-yard touchdown pass down the left side of the field to freshman wide-receiver Lon Johnson. Johnson led Princeton's receiving core with three catches for 100 yards. The Tigers' touchdown, and the ensuing two-point conversion from Bakke to senior running back Matt Worley, cut the deficit to 22-8 at the half.
Penn started the scoring in the first quarter with a Peter Stine 25-yard field goal and continued its offensive attack, scoring three touchdowns before the Tigers scored their first and only touchdown of the game with three minutes and six seconds left in the first half.
In the second half, the wheels fell off for the Tigers. Four second-half Quaker touchdowns put the game out of reach as Princeton's defense could neither slow down Penn's aerial assault nor tackle the opposing players.
On the Quaker's first offensive series of the second half, quarterback Mike Loguidice floated an outside pass towards the endzone, which was picked out of the air by receiver David Derr for a 43-yard touchdown pass.
Only seven seconds later, on Princeton's ensuing possession, Bakke's pass was picked off by Quaker defensive back Kale Roth, who took it 20 yards to the house. Bakke's only interception of the night turned out to be a costly one as it padded Penn's lead and all but sealed the game.
Quaker quarterback Mike Loguidice threw for 231 yards and four touchdowns on the night. Leading rusher Albert Tsai rushed the ball 12 times for 63 yards. Receiver David Derr, Loguidice's prime target, had three receptions for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
Aerial attack
Princeton's inability to stop the Quakers passing attack proved to be the team's Achilles' heel on this night. Generating no defensive pressure on the quarterback, the Tigers allowed Loguidice to stand in the pocket and pick apart its secondary. Penn threw for 257 yards, 12 first downs and five touchdowns in the win.
Princeton also proved to be deficient in its special team's play, specifically in that of the punting unit. Punter Neil Swami was on the short-end of the long-snapping stick Friday night.
A botched snap in the first quarter that bounced in front of Swami cost the Tigers 20 yards and a turnover on downs. An even worse snap at the end of the first half in which Swami, while reaching down to pick up the snap that was rolling to him, accidentally touched his knee to the ground resulted in another loss of yardage and a last-second scoring chance for the Quakers in the half.
Rare bright spot
Despite the loss and the interception, Bakke continued his personal streak of solid play, rushing for 51 yards and completing 9-of-22 passes for another 142.
"I mean, we played okay in the first half," said Bakke. "In the second half, not so well. Field position was tough for the entire game."
Princeton's average starting field position was its own 27-yard line.
Defensively, the Tigers were led by Adam Levyn, Jesse Reidel and Zach McKinney, who each had eight tackles. The team also had two interceptions.
No end in sight
Princeton tries to snap its losing streak Friday at 7:00 PM against Army in West Point, N.Y.
"It's hard for us to compete against Army," said Bakke. "They run the triple option so they should be a good team for our defense. They run the ball 99 percent of the time."
The last time Princeton and Army met, the Black Knights gained all of their 412 yards on the ground.
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