Patriot sweep in sights

Last year, when the football team had every reason to smile, Colgate took the polish off the Tigers' pearly whites, leaving anything but a minty taste in their mouths.

Princeton posted its worst performance of 2005 against the Raiders, a 16-10 loss that ruined what had been a cavity-free record through three games. The Tigers rebounded to finish the season 7-3 and become the pleasant surprise of the Ivy League. But this year, as Princeton travels to Hamilton, N.Y., for tomorrow's rematch against Colgate, expectations have suddenly been raised.

The Tigers (3-0 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) are once again undefeated, and Princeton is ranked as the No. 22 team in the country by this week's College Sporting News (CSN) Division I-AA national poll. The Tigers have not been among the Top 25 in Division I-AA since 1993, when all-time leading rusher Keith Elias '94 was breaking tackles.

Such national recognition is a far cry from the lowly sixth-place finish predicted for Princeton in the Ivy League preseason media poll. Before the season, the young Tigers were predicted to be overmatched at Colgate, but Princeton will play the Raiders (2-2) tomorrow as the favorite.

That outlook appears as simple as 1-2-3. The Tigers have spent their non-conference season picking off Colgate's fellow Patriot League powers in succession, opening the season with a 14-10 win over Lehigh — ranked third in the Patriot League preseason poll — and taking down second-ranked Lafayette, 26-14, in Week 2.

But recent history suggests that the Raiders — picked as the favorites in the Patriot League before the season — present a unique obstacle for Princeton. The Tigers have lost three straight games to Colgate, and it's been nine years since Princeton has topped the Raiders at Andy Kerr Stadium.

In last year's loss, special teams miscues doomed the Tigers to an early 13-0 deficit, and the sloppy conditions at pre-FieldTurf Princeton Stadium kept Princeton from getting back its footing.

"We had monsoon-like weather the last time we played them," senior wide receiver Brian Brigham said. "Those weren't ideal conditions for getting our running game going."

Indeed, Colgate held the Tigers to just 82 yards on the ground, limiting the effectiveness of junior fullback Rob Toresco and senior tailback Cleo Kirkland. Brigham is confident that his teammates will be able to improve on that performance given better weather, and notes that establishing the run is crucial to Princeton's identity.

At the same time, Brigham is looking forward to testing the Raiders' secondary.

"They're going to play a lot of man coverage," Brigham said. "and most of the teams we've played this year have been playing zone. We've got a number of really talented receivers and we've got some good plays designed for their specific coverage patterns to try to get the ball downfield."

Trusting in the leadership of senior quarterback Jeff Terrell, Princeton has seen most of its big plays — good or bad — come at the hands of the passing game. Terrell's stellar completion percentage of 61.5 percent — best among Ivy quarterbacks — is a testament to his accuracy as a passer. But in relying on Terrell to come up with wonderful throw after wonderful throw, the Tigers have also exposed themselves to his mistakes. He not only leads the league with five touchdown passes but also with six interceptions.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

While Terrell will have a more-than-capable counterpart on the opposite sideline tomorrow in Colgate quarterback Mike Saraceno, it is tailback Jordan Scott who makes the Raiders go. Scott has averaged 116 rushing yards per game this season, running for 4.8 yards per carry and five touchdowns.

Scott was the offensive star of last year's Princeton-Colgate battle, tallying 112 yards on 34 punishing carries. Expect him to be relied upon just as heavily this time around, while the Tigers spread out the rushing load between Toresco and sophomore tailbacks R.C. Lagomarsino and Peter Ploszek.

Princeton should not expect to rely on is its growing reputation alone. Although the Tigers are somewhere they have not been in 13 years, they are still four spots behind No. 18 Harvard, the only other Ivy team without a loss.

"It's real cool and all," Brigham said of Princeton's appearance in the CSN poll, "but we're really not satisfied with that — we want to be 10-0 at the end of the season. It's a nice recognition of what we've done but it's not ultimately where we want to go."

This is no longer a team that, when all is said and done, will be content to focus on the positives and dismiss a letdown here and there.