Football cruises past Yale 31-3, Tigers in three-way tie for first place

The stars aligned for Princeton football this weekend, as the Tigers (7-2, 5-1 Ivy ) thrashed Yale 31-3 while Penn topped Harvard in overtime. These results have catapulted the Tigers to a three-way tie for first place in the Ivy League, and Princeton now controls its destiny in-conference.

Against Yale, (2-7, 2-4 Ivy) the Tigers struck early and often. Senior running back AJ Glass broke free on Princeton’s opening drive, scoring on a 46-yard run to put the Tigers up on the scoreboard.

The Bulldogs struck back, with Yale kicker Alex Galland drilling a field goal in response. However, freshman kicker Tavish Rice responded with a long 40-yarder of his own to push Princeton’s lead back to seven. After Yale’s offense failed to make any further headway, Princeton put together a parting shot before halftime: senior quarterback Chad Kanoff uncorked a 48-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Jesper Horsted, and junior quarterback John Lovett punched it into the end zone on the next play to give the Tigers a 17-3 lead going into halftime.

As the second half commenced, Princeton’s defense put forth a masterful performance, forcing four Yale punts in the Bulldogs’ first four drives of the third. Although Princeton also found itself stymied offensively throughout the quarter, the Tigers finally found the end zone with a 53-yard drive to kick off the fourth quarter and went up 24-3.

From there out, the game was all but over. The Bulldogs never found any rhythm offensively, with their last two drives of the contest ending in a fumble and a punt, while the Tigers burned nearly five minutes in a final touchdown drive that ended with Lovett punching it into the end zone for his third score of the game. The final result was Princeton 31, Yale 3.

Much of the credit for this commanding performance must go to the Princeton defense, which had 10 tackles for losses, five sacks, and one forced fumble, all while holding Yale to only three points in the contest. Offensively, the Tigers continued to demonstrate the poise and balance that have served them well over this season. Kanoff remained solid as a passer, going 14-for-25 for 128 yards and no interceptions, while Lovett continued to serve as the Tigers’ best scoring option by managing three rushing touchdowns.

With the win over Yale and Harvard’s loss to Penn, Princeton now sits as part of a three-way tie for first place in the Ivy League. Should the Tigers prevail next weekend over Dartmouth, they will be guaranteed a share of their first Ivy League title since 2013.