Just one month ago, the football team’s season was looking bleak. After losing two of their co-captains to injury and coming up short in four straight games, the Tigers (3-6 overall, 2-4 Ivy League) were mentally preparing themselves for a potential one-win season and the team’s first last-place finish in Ivy League play since 1973.
Since then, Princeton has won two of its past three games and is aiming to finish with a respectable 4-6 record for the third straight year. To do so, the Tigers need to get past Dartmouth (2-7, 2-4), a team they have beaten five years running.
Though Princeton easily ran past the Big Green last year in a 28-10 win at home, Dartmouth has since revamped its lineup, breaking a 17-game losing streak earlier this season.
Just last week, Dartmouth took Brown to overtime before falling, while the Bears beat Princeton by 17. And the Big Green also took down Columbia, which topped the Tigers by 38. Dartmouth’s other win came in double overtime against Cornell, which Princeton beat as well.
Now the Big Green and the Tigers are tied with Columbia and Yale for fourth place in the Ivy League, in front of only Cornell.
To defeat Dartmouth on Saturday in Hanover, N.H., Princeton will likely need to use some of the momentum it gained by cruising past rival Yale last weekend. But the Tigers will be careful to focus on the Big Green and not the Bulldogs, as Princeton had disastrous performances the last two times it played the weekend after a win.
Head coach Roger Hughes explained, “Given the frustrations of the season, the kids are pretty happy with the [Yale result], but clearly we know we need to put that away, because this week’s a new week.”
After going on the road to beat Lehigh in September, the Tigers came home to be blown out, 38-0, by Columbia.
Then, following its Halloween win over Cornell at home, Princeton fell at Penn, 42-7.
Against the Bulldogs, the Tigers’ offense put together a fairly comprehensive effort led by sophomore quarterback Tommy Wornham and junior running back Kenny Gunter, who combined for 323 total yards of offense.
In the previously injured Gunter, the Tigers seem to have finally found the solution to their troubled running game, which has been hobbled thanks to the loss of All-Ivy senior running back Jordan Culbreath to aplastic anemia.
Wornham also distributed the ball effectively against Yale, connecting with junior receivers Trey Peacock, Andrew Kerr and Jeb Heavenrich for 14 completions.
Under center, Wornham will have to look out for Dartmouth cornerback Shawn Abuhoff, who has three interceptions this year on top of 38 tackles.
Hughes also noted that Dartmouth’s two big defensive tackles, Mark Dwyer and Eddie Smith, will likely challenge Princeton’s veteran offensive line.
Under the consistently improving leadership of first-year starter Wornham, Princeton has been the lowest-scoring team in the Ivy League, but Saturday’s matchup pits the unit against a Dartmouth team tied for last in the league in scoring defense.
The team tied with Dartmouth for that dubious honor, though, is Princeton. The Tiger defense has been seriously hampered by injuries so far this season, most notably losing senior inside linebacker and co-captain Scott Britton to a torn ACL in the game against Brown.
Junior inside linebacker Steven Cody has stepped up all season, though, with 11.75 tackles per game, putting him at fifth in the country and first in the Ivy League.
Coming off strong performances against Yale, senior defensive backs Cart Kelly and Dan Kopolovich and senior defensive lineman Joel Karacozoff will each look to finish off their Princeton careers on a positive note on Saturday, aiming to shut down Dartmouth’s complicated offense.
Big Green running back Nick Schwieger started the season off on a tear, averaging 4.5 yards per carry, but a broken hand sidelined him on Halloween. Instead of relying so much on a running back now, the Big Green employs a two-quarterback system, which Kopolovich said Princeton had been preparing for intensely.
“It’s almost like preparing for two different teams,” he explained.
Still, Kopolovich suggested the teams were fairly evenly matched, so the winner is by no means predetermined. “Dartmouth’s a very good team, but I think we’re a good team, as well,” he said. “I think it comes down to whichever team pulls together.”
Hughes also said the Big Green would provide a tough challenge. A former Dartmouth coach himself, Hughes has found himself on the hot seat this year, as his teams appear to have underperformed in recent years.
Still, he said he would be singularly focused on returning to New Hampshire to grab the win.
“Knowing the culture of [Dartmouth] and knowing how tough their kids are and how hard they play … I have a good sense that obviously this is going to be a tough game,” Hughes said, noting that Dartmouth has won more Ivy titles than any other team, with 17. “Going back there, you tend to put a little emphasis on making sure you have all the [bases] covered.”
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