Yale offense provides steep challenge in must-win contest

Princeton football (5-3 overall, 4-1 Ivy League) will travel to New Haven, Conn., to face a competitive Yale side, which currently tops the conference in scoring. The Bulldogs (7-1, 4-1), who have won four straight, hold a 74-52-10 all-time lead in the series which stretches back to 1873.

While the perfect Crimson maintains its stranglehold on the conference, a pair of wins and a little luck —in the form of a Harvard collapse —could put the Tigers back at the top of the Ivy League table. Princeton’s road will not be easy, with Yale and Dartmouth having emerged as highly competitive sides this season.

Following a 49-7 homecoming drubbing by Harvard, Princeton’s last two efforts have represented a return to expected form. A 38-27 away win over a league-worst Cornell side did not accurately represent the disparity in the teams’ respective abilities. However, last weekend’s 22-17 topping of Penn represented a more complete performance, with offense, defense and special teams clicking.

Facing the Quakers, junior running back DiAndre Atwater returned from an injury that had sidelined him the previous two weeks. His 5.8 yards per attempt energized a running game that picked up an imposing 217 yards. For the season, the third-year standout has averaged 76.2 yards per game and a league-high 7.4 per attempt.

The Tigers’ quarterback situation seemed firmly situated coming into the season. Senior signal caller Quinn Epperly, 2013’s Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, was favored by many to repeat that honor. Sidelined with an injury, the lefty missed two of Princeton’s first four conference contests. In spite of this, he still ranks second in the league with nine rushing touchdowns.

Epperly’s classmate Connor Michelsen has taken the reins and, except during the course of the loss to Harvard, impressed. In wins over Brown, Cornell and Penn, he averaged 307 passing yards per game with a completion percentage of 73.6.

On the other side of the ball, sophomore safety Dorian Williams has been a standout performer in this his second year. His 65 total tackles (39 solo, 26 assisted) lead all Tigers. Against Penn, he very nearly had his side’s first defensive touchdown on an 85-yard fumble recovery.

Williams and the Princeton defense will face a tough test in containing the Bulldog offense, whose 39 points per game outpace the runner-up Crimson by nearly a touchdown per contest.

Senior tailback Tyler Varga has been the man in form for Yale. His 20 total touchdowns (18 rushing, two receiving) put him on pace for one of the Ivy League’s all-time best seasons.

Yale’s standout wide receivers — sophomoreGrant Wallace and senior Deon Randall —rank first and second in yards per game with 107.9 and 97.1. Junior quarterback Morgan Roberts has thrown for 43 more yards per game than the next Ivy League signal caller.

Should Princeton’s defense execute with the required poise, the Tigers could well win their third-straight against their Connecticut rivals.

“When you look back at this year, these next two games are going to be a lot of how this season will be remembered,” Epperly said when asked if his team had recovered from their homecoming debacle. “So I wouldn’t say we’ve recovered until we finish these next two out.”