Football: Scott will pose major challenge for front seven

The Tigers (2-1, 1-0 Ivy League) are coming off an exciting win in their Ivy opener at Columbia, in which senior quarterback and tri-captain Brian Anderson capped a sensational afternoon with a 52-yard bomb to up-and-coming sophomore wideout Trey Peacock for the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter. Princeton will be looking to continue its momentum this week, gunning for what could be its sixth win against a Patriot League opponent in its last seven tries.

Despite the victory, head coach Roger Hughes was unsatisfied with the team’s performance against Columbia. Looking to this week, Hughes said he knows Princeton will need to produce a stronger performance.

“It’s a great challenge to go up to Hamilton and play a team the caliber of Colgate,” Hughes said. “Coach [Dick] Biddle is 28-8 against the Ivy League, and this will be a great challenge for our kids. This week’s practice, [the team’s] focus has been a lot better … You have to bring your A-game every week, and you’ll have serious problems if you don’t.”

Princeton’s success will largely be dictated by its ability to slow Scott, who defines the term “workhorse.” Scott is the NCAA FCS active career leader in rushing yards (5,287), rush yards per game (142.9), carries per game (31.2), rushing touchdowns (51), total points (322), total touchdowns (53) and all-purpose yards (5,782). He holds the FCS record for carries with 1153, is only 62 carries away from the all-time NCAA Division I record for carries and is only 118 carries away from holding the record for most carries in NCAA college football history for any divisions.

Colgate is 20-8 in games when Scott picks up more than 100 yards and 1-6 when he doesn’t. One of those six losses came in 2006, when Princeton pulled off a memorable overtime victory in Hamilton while holding Scott to 79 yards on 33 attempts. Slowing Scott will surely be a tougher task this time around, as he has amassed 17 consecutive 100-yard games and has rung up 511 rushing yards in his last two games alone.

Hughes noted the importance of not getting carried away by the Raiders’ running game, which is averaging 271.8 yards per game.

“They use a similar attack to us with a QB read, and if you put all your focus on Scott, [sophomore quarterback Greg] Sullivan will pull the ball and run down the field,” Hughes said. “It’s second-and-18, and he’ll run a QB read and run it and get 16. They don’t throw the ball much, but they execute well.”

The front seven face a tough test in this game, as the Colgate offensive line boasts two 300-pounders, including Football Magazine second-team preseason All-American Nick Hennessey. It will be of utmost importance for the Tigers to be as fundamentally sound as possible Saturday. Even though sophomore inside linebacker Steven Cody ranks second in the Ivy League with 10.3 tackles per game and junior middle linebacker Scott Britton checks in at eighth with 7.3 tackles per game, the Tigers will need to clean up their tackling in the matchup with Scott. The two new starters will be facing their first big test on Saturday, and their performance could go a long way toward stymieing the Colgate rushing attack.

The secondary, which has begun to quiet doubters by surrendering only 180.3 yards per game, will be especially pivotal in this game, as the corners will often be called on to lock down receivers in one-on-one coverage to allow for extra men in the box.

On the opposite side of the ball, the Tigers will look to continue their balanced offensive attack. Anderson leads the Ivy League with five touchdown passes and is third with a 141.8 efficiency rating. Junior running back Jordan Culbreath is tied for the league lead with four touchdowns and is averaging 87 yards per game to go along with a 4.6 yards-per-carry average. Senior wideout Will Thanheiser is second in the league with 104.7 receiving yards per game.

Colgate has surrendered 29.4 points per game and just under 400 yards per game defensively. Opponents have averaged 197 rushing yards a game against the Raiders, and only one opponent has been held under 20 points. Despite the bloated numbers, offensive line coach Adam Hollis noted that Colgate’s defense is still quite talented.

“When you look at how many points they’ve given up, you’re trying to figure where the points are coming from,” Hollis said. “Defensively, they’re as good a defense as we’ve faced. We’re gonna have to start out the game with the same success so we can build some confidence.”

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Princeton has had a penchant for the dramatic in its last three wins, winning one game in overtime, another on the final play and another with a fourth-quarter comeback. The Tigers have shown their grit late in games this season. Realistically, stopping Scott is nearly impossible, but if Princeton can at least match the Raiders point for point while continuing to play the mistake-free brand of football that has begun to characterize this season, the Tigers just might be able to position themselves for another exciting win.