McLeod leads Yale rush

For the first time in nearly two years, the Princeton football team will take the field on Saturday against a league opponent without any chance of capturing the Ivy League title. But that doesn't mean the Tigers (3-5 overall, 2-3 Ivy League) won't have a chance to play a large role in the race for the Ivy title when they take on Yale (8-0, 5-0) tomorrow at 1 p.m. on Powers Field. Harvard (6-2, 5-0) also remains undefeated in the league, so Yale cannot afford to slip against the Tigers if it hopes to secure another championship.

Princeton is coming off its first shutout loss since the 1999 season, having lost 7-0 to Penn (3-5, 2-3) last weekend. If the Tigers are looking for a reprieve, however, they're out of luck. Princeton will have its hands full when the undefeated Bulldogs arrive in Princeton Stadium.

"We always expect to win," senior linebacker Tim Boardman said. "It doesn't get any better than playing our biggest rival at home — we expect to play to our full potential."

Yale will be led by junior tailback Mike McLeod, who leads the Ivy League in rushing touchdowns, carries and yards. Last weekend he broke Yale's career rushing record by picking up 185 yards on 32 carries to bring his career total to 3,515.

If this weren't enough cause for concern for the Tigers, it was McLeod who nearly cost Princeton its bonfire last year by racking up 186 yards and four touchdowns when the Ivy powers met a year ago. This year, McLeod has just one fewer touchdown, 22, than the entire Princeton offense.

"He's a great running back," Boardman said. "He's definitely put the ball in the endzone a bunch this year, but we're just going to use the same approach we had in the scrimmage this summer — knock him out of the game and make them pass the ball."

The Bulldogs will likely again rely on McLeod to provide the bulk of their offense — their quarterback Matt Polhemus has thrown just two touchdowns this season against five interceptions.

As for the Tigers, they will also need to rely on the rushing attack that has carried them for much of the season. Princeton will need a strong performance from its three-pronged attack of running backs senior Rob Toresco, junior RC Lagomarsino and sophomore Jordan Culbreath to overcome a Yale defense that has allowed just two rushing touchdowns this season. Last week, the trio only managed a combined 58 yards on the ground.

If the Bulldogs are able to stifle the Princeton ground game, the Tigers will look to senior quarterback Bill Foran, who returned last week after sustaining a concussion against Harvard two weeks prior. Foran has not thrown for a touchdown since recording two against Brown on Oct. 13.

Against a run defense as strong as Yale's, Foran, who leads the Tigers in rushing yards, will need to rely more on his arm than he has in recent weeks. The Bulldogs have allowed nine touchdowns through the air this season.

More encouraging for the Tigers, however, was the play of their defense against Penn after struggling in earlier weeks. Princeton allowed just seven points and 264 total yards of offense against the Quakers, its best defensive performance of the season.

"It was the best performance of the defense all year," Boardman said. "[Penn] has a great running back, a great offense, but this was an effort we can repeat or do even better."

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Indeed, Princeton will need to better the effort that allowed Penn tailback Joe Sandberg to gain 160 yards on 30 carries. Though Sandberg only managed to get into the endzone once, the Tigers cannot count on having the same fortune with the more talented McLeod.

Boardman, who leads the team with 70 tackles, junior linebacker Collin McCarthy, who recorded 14 tackles last week, and sophomore linebacker John Callahan will be counted upon to contain McLeod.

Another positive sign for the Tigers is that the team has managed to limit its giveaways in the last two weeks. Senior quarterback Greg Mroz has tossed two interceptions, but the Tigers seem to have solved the fumbling woes that plagued them earlier in the season. Princeton has fumbled the ball just three times in the last three weeks after coughing up the ball four times in its game against Brown.

Still, the primary concern for the Tigers remains stopping Yale's potent rushing attack. If the Tigers are able to limit McLeod's production, they will have the opportunity to rekindle some of the magic that netted Princeton its come-from-behind victory at the Yale Bowl last year.

"Our goal is just to go out with two wins to finish the season," Boardman said. "There's a lot of emotion when you realize it's all coming to the end — we just have to make the best of it."