All those Under Armour commercials have clearly made an impression. In 2006, the football team had a perfect 5-0 record when protecting its house at Princeton Stadium — including a crucial 31-28 victory against perennial rival Harvard and a 27-17 win over Dartmouth that guaranteed the team a share of the Ivy League title.
In the first game of its new season, however, the 2007 incarnation of the Tigers will face a serious threat to its domestic dominance. Princeton hosts Lehigh (0-1 overall) at the newly named Powers Field at Princeton Stadium this Saturday at 6 p.m.
Coming off a 30-20 loss to Villanova last weekend, the highly touted Mountain Hawks will be determined to prevent a 0-2 stumble. Lehigh is the defending Patriot League champion and features six members of its All-League team. The most dangerous of these players is veteran quarterback Sedale Threatt, whose name perfectly encapsulates what he represents to Princeton's defense.
Threatt is an athletic signal caller who can attack teams from inside the pocket and on the run. Last season, Threatt passed for 14 touchdowns and rushed for eight more, numbers nearly identical to Vince Young's much-acclaimed rookie season for the NFL's Tennessee Titans. Threatt also finished first in the Patriot League in passing efficiency with a 144.6 rating. In comparison, Princeton's Bushnell Cup-winning Jeff Terrell '07 led the Ancient Eight with a 131.3 mark.
Asked about Threatt, head coach Roger Hughes did not hesitate to give his team's upcoming nemesis his due.
"A great athlete," Hughes said. "The offense really incorporates his running ability."
Threatt's record against the Tigers is not nearly as outstanding. In a narrow, 14-10 road victory in last year's season-opener, Princeton's defense successfully harassed the Mountain Hawks' leader into throwing two costly interceptions.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, Tim Strickland '07— a first-team All-Ivy selection last year and the man responsible for both takeaways — is no longer on the roster. Princeton's revamped defense, which said farewell to four All-Ivy players, will immediately face a trial by fire.
"The Lehigh game will give us a better idea if the returnees — plus the cast of newcomers — will be able to step up and replace [our] All-Ivy performers," defensive coordinator Steve Verbit said.
Verbit emphasized the importance of the Tigers' front seven putting pressure on the quarterback. The responsibility for containing Threatt's ground attack while simultaneously disrupting his timing in the passing game will fall primarily upon the defensive line and the linebacking corps.
"We have always had a good mix of four-five-and six-man pressures, and this year will be no different," Verbit said.
On the other side of the ball, Princeton's offense will be playing its first game in two seasons without Terrell's steely leadership, with senior quarterback Bill Foran picking up the reins.
Foran has drawn rave reviews in camp for his athleticism, and it will be interesting to see which side's quarterback has totaled more rushing yards at the end of the day.
Foran's biggest challenge this season, though, is proving himself as a passer, and unfortunately for him, the Mountain Hawks boast one of the Patriot League's premier defensive players as part of their excellent secondary. Safety Ernest Moore recorded 64 tackles and four interceptions for Lehigh last season. Look for the Mountain Hawks to use Moore and his fellow safeties to double-cover senior Brendan Circle, the Tigers' remaining first-team All-Ivy wide receiver.
If Lehigh's gameplan revolves around taking Circle out of the game, the key to the contest could be how well Princeton runs the ball. In 2006, the Mountain Hawks displayed a vulnerability to teams determined to pound them between the tackles, ceding over 150 rushing yards a game. A steady performance by the duo of junior tailback R.C. Lagomarsino and senior fullback Rob Toresco would also help the offense win the battle for time of possession, keeping the ball out of Threatt's hands.
In order to protect their house this season, the Tigers just have to take it one Threatt at a time.
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