I was wrong.
Three weeks ago, I predicted a 4-6 season for the football team, writing that "another 5-5 season is the best the Tigers can possibly hope for."
Oops.
A brief digression before I begin eating my words: Sports writers are often criticized — and fairly so — for being quick to second-guess coaches and players. Luckily, second-guessing ourselves is perfectly acceptable. So I'd like to take this opportunity to, as my conservative friends would say, flipflop.
Like I said, I was wrong. I set the limit far too low on Princeton's potential. The Tigers have the potential to be good. Very good.
After three games, junior quarterback Jeff Terrell is already making better decisions than Matt Verbit '05 did after three seasons. The senior-laden offensive line has ensured that junior Cleo Kirkland and sophomore Rob Toresco could pick up where Branden Benson '05 and Jon Veach '05 left off. Even without Zak Keasey '05, the defense is still making big plays.
So what's my new prediction? 8-2, perhaps? 9-1? Or maybe, just maybe, a perfect season and a bonfire?
Not so fast. For now, at least, I'm going to withhold another prediction on Princeton's final record. Why? Because even with all of the Tigers' talent, their success depends on continuing to execute for seven more weeks. And, more importantly, because I still have absolutely no idea how good this team is — no one does.
Yes, Princeton is 3-0, and yes, the Tigers looked nearly flawless in obliterating Columbia, 43-3, on Saturday. For the many of you who were evidently too busy tailgating (or, far worse, studying) to make it inside Princeton Stadium and watch the carnage firsthand, let me just say that if it had been a robo game the teams were playing, the Lions would have been doing naked laps around the stadium by the third quarter.
Here's the catch, though: Columbia isn't an especially good football team. Neither is San Diego; neither is Lafayette. Princeton has not yet proven anything.
A quick story to illustrate my point: Since Saturday evening, at least half a dozen friends have asked me how long it has been since the Tigers started a season 3-0.
The answer? One year. Princeton started its 2004 campaign with three straight wins — against the same three opponents — peaking at 4-1 before an ugly four-game losing streak plummeted the Tigers down the Ivy League standings.
Like it or not, it is entirely plausible that Princeton could collapse again this year.
Think I am being overly pessimistic? Well, less than half an hour after the most lopsided win of his Orange and Black career, head coach Roger Hughes said essentially the same thing. When asked during the post-game press conference if he felt more confident about this year's 3-0 start than last year's, he issued a brusque "No" before the reporter even finished his question.
"We have not handled success well. We have not handled prosperity well," Hughes said. "My message to the kids is, it's a 10-round fight. What happened in the third round today has no bearing on what happens next week. We've got seven more games."
It is Hughes' job, of course, to make sure the Tigers do handle success and prosperity well. In truth, I think he is much more likely to succeed at that task this year than he was last year.
Over the past several seasons, Hughes has been roundly criticized for Princeton's often confounding play-calling. As it turns out, Hughes wasn't even the one making the decisions. Perhaps he decided that, if he was going to be blamed anyway, he might as well have a little fun — this year, Hughes has taken over lead play-calling duties.
Give the man credit: though the Tigers are still running the same basic offense, things seem a bit sharper — and more inventive — this year. If nothing else, the coaching staff finally seems to understand that though throwing a "bubble screen" pass to Greg Fields two or three times works well, doing so eight times a game might not be such a good idea.
Just as importantly, I'm starting to believe the coaches' and players' constant refrain, clichéd as it sounds, that the team's attitude is more conducive to winning this year than it has been in the past. After the game Saturday, as he does virtually every time he talks to the media, Hughes praised his team's "culture of holding each other accountable."
It's a culture that starts at the top, so Hughes spent plenty of time talking about what Princeton could have done better, saying the Tigers brought their "A-minus" game.
Though I was less than thrilled to learn that grade deflation has now spread to the athletic department, if that's the only way we'll get a bonfire before I graduate, then deflate away.
Which brings me back to the questions we started with. Just how good will the Tigers ultimately be? Could we maybe, just maybe, find ourselves lighting things up come November?
I'm not going to try to answer either of those questions, because if I do, I am sure I will just end up third-guessing myself a few weeks from now.
But I will say this much: It's early October, and there is hope in the air, which is good enough for me.
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