Football: Determined Princeton nearly upsets favored Bulldogs

Princeton (1-8 overall, 0-6 Ivy League) fell just short of a win against the Ivy League championship contender Yale, losing 14-13 at the Yale Bowl on Saturday. The Tiger defense displayed its best performance of the season, allowing only one touchdown and holding the Bulldogs (7-2, 5-1) to 62 rushing yards. This wasn’t enough to cut Yale from the title race, which is now down to Yale and league-unbeaten Penn.

Head coach Bob Surace ’90 was ambivalent about the close loss.

“We fell a play short again, which is too much of a common theme,” Surace said. “There are no moral victories, but the effort is there, and that is a positive.”

Yale opened up the scoring early in the first quarter with a defensive touchdown, as free safety Geoff Dunham returned a fumble for 57 yards. Linebacker Jordan Haynes popped the ball out from the arms of senior tailback Meko McCray, and it bounced on the ground for a few seconds before Dunham grabbed it and ran it up the left side. A good extra point put Yale up 7-0.

Things were looking no better for the Tigers at the start of the second quarter, when Haynes once again thwarted Princeton’s offensive effort by rendering a 78-yard drive scoreless. After the Tigers drove from their own 19-yard line to the Yale 3, Haynes snatched senior quarterback Andrew Dixon’s pass in the end zone.

The Tigers soon responded when sophomore linebacker Andrew Starks recovered a fumble at the Yale 23, which allowed junior kicker Patrick Jacob to put Princeton on the scoreboard with a 33-yard field goal.

Following a Bulldog three-and-out, the Tigers took the lead for the first time. Freshman quarterback Connor Kelley connected with senior wide receiver Trey Peacock and senior fullback and co-captain Matt Zimmerman for consecutive first downs. After freshman running back Brian Mills picked up 7 yards on his third run of the drive, Kelley threw to Peacock for a 28-yard touchdown on an admirable diving catch.

Unfortunately for Princeton, this lead didn’t last to the end of the second quarter, as Yale needed just four plays to score a touchdown and take the edge, 14-10.

In the third quarter, the Tigers capitalized on a 4-yard Bulldog punt with a 35-yard field goal by Jacob. Princeton had four fruitless drives to close out the game, as both teams’ defenses sharpened up.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, a 26-yard drive brought the Tigers to the Yale 42, but a short pass to Mills on third-and-10 didn’t yield a first down.

Later, on what would be Princeton’s last drive, a holding call left the Tigers in a difficult position. On third-and-13, Kelley threw to sophomore wide receiver Shane Wilkinson for 5 yards, and with 3 minutes, 25 seconds left, Surace decided to punt. From then on, Bulldog tailback Alex Thomas racked up 32 rushing yards, allowing Yale to run out the clock with two first downs.

According to Surace, certain key players, including senior linebacker Jon Olofsson and senior defensive lineman Matt Boyer, were critical to the competitive nature of the game. Olofsson led the Tigers with 14 tackles, including 13 solo stops, as well as a forced fumble and a recovered fumble.

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“When we got a couple of D-tackles back, we did play better against the run,” Surace said. “It was good to have more depth there, because we haven’t had enough depth at the D-line. Matt Boyer had his best game; Olofsson had his best game.”

Surace was also enthusiastic about the pass rush.

“[Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jared] Backus had a terrific game plan; those guys executed it,” Surace said. “I thought our pass rush was by far the best it’s been. It helped us in the pass game, because they’ve got some dynamic guys, and for the most part we held them off.” Despite Saturday’s laudable effort, Princeton has been unable to secure a win since the second matchup of the season, against Lafayette. Surace voiced his regrets for the seniors on the team.

Surace said, “I feel terrible for the seniors. But they’re going to be a part of it if we can turn this around now and win those close ones.”

Princeton will wrap up its season on Senior Day this Saturday, hosting Dartmouth.