Sloppy weather contributes to Tigers' sloppy execution

As the rain came down Saturday afternoon at Princeton Stadium, the field wasn't the only thing turning to muck. At the same time that the turf devolved into slop, the football team's offensive production fell into a rut caused by a series of miscues and poor execution.

After two special teams gaffes, Princeton (3-1 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) was already down 13 points by the time the Tigers took their first snap against Colgate (3-2, 0-0 Patriot League). From then on, the defense held the Raiders to only three points, giving the offense ample time to come back for a win.

The offense, however, stalled in the mud and was never able to find its rhythm during the afternoon.

"We tried to claw our way back, and it seems like every time we did something good we shot ourselves in the foot," head coach Roger Hughes said after the game.

Princeton's offense in the opening half was marked by ineffectiveness. In the first quarter, the Tigers managed just 29 yards and one first down. Their only points in the half came after an interception by senior cornerback Jay McCareins gave Princeton the ball at the Colgate 17-yard line. The Tigers, however, were unable to translate the good field position into a touchdown. After three rushes for seven yards, Princeton had to settle for a field goal.

Following that meager drive, the offense finally seemed to string together some successful plays, but the unit still couldn't turn that production into points. Every time the Tigers seemed to gain a little momentum and exploit the Raiders' defense, basic mistakes and penalties doomed potential scoring drives.

"Execution-wise we had too many penalties offensively," Hughes said. "We had too many mental errors offensively, turned the ball over too many times, and you can't do that against a good team."

This was never more apparent than when Princeton got the ball back with two minutes, 47 seconds to go in the first half. The offense looked to have some life, quickly moving 29 yards down the field. A delay of game penalty on third down, however, coupled with a sack of sophomore quarterback Bill Foran on the following play, doomed the drive.

The Tigers were called for eight penalties for 60 yards, while Colgate was only penalized twice for a total of 20 yards. This continues what has been a season-long trend for Princeton: the team is averaging 76.8 penalty yards per game compared to 47.8 for its opponents.

Miscues reared their head again on the next drive, when the Tigers started with the ball to begin the second half. After an 18-yard gain on a pass to junior wide receiver Brian Shields, junior quarterback Jeff Terrell threw an interception that cut short the Princeton drive.

Late-game failure

Despite the anemic offense, the Tigers were given two chances to steal a win late in the fourth quarter. Yet the offense still could not execute well enough to move down the field, as Terrell went one-for-11 passing on the two drives, and Princeton twice turned the ball over on downs.

"It looked to me like we had the balls delivered where they were supposed to be, we had the right patterns called, and we didn't execute or make the catch," Hughes said. "When the game is on the line, we talk about who can you count on when the game counts, and we didn't come up with a play to win the game or at least a play to keep the drive going."

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It was evident on those last drives — and throughout the game — that the torrential rain made moving the ball effectively through the air nearly impossible. In the final minutes, the ball inevitably slipped through the receiver's hands or the mud affected the receiver's route.

"I'd be lying if I said [the weather] didn't affect us some, but I don't want to use that as an excuse because both teams played in it," Hughes said. "Clearly we had balls that were on the money that we dropped. We missed some reads. Offensively, our backs didn't get to the back side of things in time. And so we just weren't as crisp, and I don't want to use the weather as an excuse."

Though the weather may not have caused a Tiger loss, it definitely did not help their hopes of a comeback. Beyond hindering their passing attack, it also affected their ground game as the offensive linemen were unable to get around the end fast enough in the slippery mud. This shut down much of Princeton's running game to the outside and also decreased the effectiveness of the option.

Luckily for the Tigers, this game does not count in the Ivy League standings and can be a valuable lesson as they move deeper into league play.

"The lesson for us is that we can't make mistakes when the game is on the line," senior wide receiver Greg Fields said. "In the last couple of minutes of the game when we're trying to drive down the field and take the lead, [we] just can't make mistakes."

To challenge the talented Brown and Harvard squads that Princeton will face the next two weeks, the offense will have to limit those mistakes and pull itself out of the quagmire it found itself in on Saturday.