Princeton faces an old foe in New York

Looking to maintain their momentum from last Saturday’s 10-7 win over Lehigh, the Tigers (1-1 overall) travel to New York City in search of their fifth-consecutive victory against the Lions (0-2).

Princeton will once again look for big contributions from senior quarterback and tri-captain Brian Anderson and junior tailback Jordan Culbreath.

Last week, Anderson completed 20 of 29 passes for 244 yards, while Culbreath picked up 126 yards on the ground and scored the Tigers’ lone touchdown.

Equally important will be the Princeton defense’s ability to shut down Columbia quarterback Shane Kelly, who currently leads the Ivy League with four touchdown passes and a 150.2 pass efficiency rating.

“Shane has definitely made some jumps this season, and the team is starting to believe in him,” Columbia head coach Norries Wilson said.

Despite Wilson’s downplaying of Kelly’s progress, Princeton head coach Roger Hughes described just how dangerous the Columbia signal-caller can be given time.

“He’s had an uncanny knack of buying time in the pocket,” Hughes said. “We can’t allow him four and five seconds to find a receiver. … He pulls [the ball] down to run it and all of a sudden releases it, and there’s a guy wide open 17 to 20 yards down the field.”

The Princeton defense will also be on the lookout for Columbia wide receiver Austin Knowlin, who was first-team All-Ivy League one year ago. The junior standout finished the season with 74 catches for 988 yards and 11 touchdowns in only 10 games.

“[Knowlin] had a big game against us last year, so he’s going to present an issue to us,” Princeton defensive backs coach Eric Jackson said. “We’re going to have to be assignment-strong, and this is going to have to be a very physical game for us, especially in the secondary.”

Getting the needed pressure on Kelly to keep him from finding Knowlin may be difficult, however, since junior outside linebacker John Callahan is out for the season with a torn ACL. Callahan has not played in a game this season, but the junior led all returning Princeton defenders with 60 tackles last season.

Callahan is just one in a string of high-profile Tiger players who have been lost to injury. Senior halfback R.C. Lagomarsino, Princeton’s leading rusher a year ago, and freshman linebacker and four-star recruit Jonathan Meyers are both sidelined indefinitely.

In spite of the injuries, Wilson noted that Princeton remains a team to be feared.

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“I think [Princeton is] solid on defense,” Wilson said. “And on [offense] they have a good quarterback and a real good tailback. … They’re a better overall football team than they were a year ago.”

Hughes had similar sentiments about Columbia, noting that the Lions have improved since last season.

“Overall, it’s a very much improved Columbia team everywhere you look,” Hughes said. “It should be a good, close game, and there should be an added emotional factor because it’s a league game.”

If the game proves to be as close as both head coaches expect, special teams will once again play a crucial role for Princeton. Apart from a few miscues in the season’s opening weeks — including a blocked punt and a blocked field goal — the Tigers’ special teams’ play has been solid. The unit’s highlight came against Lehigh, when senior kicker Connor Louden kicked the game-winning 32-yard field goal as time expired.

Hughes also cited Columbia kicker Jon Rocholl as a possible star of Saturday’s contest.

“They’ve got a great kicker in Rocholl. We tried to recruit the hell out of him,” Hughes said. “He could be the big difference-maker in this [game].”

While Princeton is favored in Saturday’s matchup, Hughes stressed that the Tigers are taking nothing for granted as the game draws near.

“This team has a great sense of urgency and a great sense of purpose,” he said. “I wouldn’t term this a ‘trap game’ because that implies that we’re a lot better than them, and we’re not.”

Kickoff for Saturday’s contest is at 1:30 p.m. in Columbia’s Lawrence A. Wien Stadium.