Sprint football has best chance at win

The last time the sprint football team played Cornell (0-3), a year ago this Saturday, it was crushed, 47-8. This time, things may be different. This game is the best chance this season for a long-awaited Princeton (0-3) victory.

Historically, Princeton's closest games have been with Cornell each year, and the Tigers have a chance of beating the Big Red as long as the same team shows up that put on an incredible offensive performance last weekend at Army. Any regression on the Tigers' part, however, and the streak will likely continue.

"The team is not terrible, but beatable," senior quarterback Dennis Bakke said. "Cornell couldn't do anything on offense against Army. On the other hand, we had no problem moving the ball against Army."

Cornell managed a measly 128 yards of total offense versus Army. Holding the ball for only 21:13, the Big Red offense could only secure 10 first downs, and it turned the ball over three times.

Cornell's defense is not much better. The Big Red allowed two Army runners to go over the 100-yard mark for the game when they squared off at the end of September. Cornell's defense allowed 358 yards of total offense, all but 25 yards of it coming on the ground.

"It seems like Cornell runs a different defense than what we have seen this year, a 4-4 type of defense," senior tight end Matt Wolf said. "We have put in a lot of offensive looks this week, trying to give [Cornell's defense] the widest look possible."

Bakke did see two areas on offense in which Princeton could look to improve.

"We have to convert on third and fourth downs," he said, "and we have to work on our goal-line offense."

Cutting down on turnovers (the team had six last weekend at Army) and taking advantage of its offensive opportunities deep in Cornell's half of the field will prove to be of the utmost importance as well.

The focal point may in fact be Princeton's spotty defense. Unable to contain Army's passing game in man-to-man coverage downfield, the Tigers will need to eliminate coverage lapses Friday and put more pressure on the quarterback.

The team has had a busier than usual week of practice preparing for Cornell.

"We definitely looked good this week. We've been watching a lot of film, and we feel confident that we can contain [Cornell]," Wolf said.

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"There have been a lot of seniors, seven of us, waiting four years to get this chance. Everyone realizes that this is our opportunity to turn things around. We are excited for the opportunity."