The Ivy race is on. And surprisingly, with just three weeks left in the season, Princeton is in the thick of it. After Princeton's first loss in its new stadium, a 23-22 heartbreaker to Harvard on October 24, the Tigers roared back on Halloween, shutting out Columbia, 24-0, in Manhattan.
Princeton now stands with Harvard and Penn atop the Ivies at 3-1, and everyone else is either 2-2 or 1-3. That makes the Ivies, top to bottom, the tightest league in Division I. So far, every team but Penn has produced at least one upset, and with the Penn-Princeton and the Harvard-Penn games still to be played, the eventual champ could end the season with two league losses -- which has only happened twice in Ivy history.
As for Princeton (4-3 overall), after playing 70 percent of the schedule, several trends have emerged:
1) The run defense is awesome. Columbia managed negative two net yards rushing on 27 carries. For the year, Princeton has allowed a meager 54 rushing yards per game -- the lowest average in Division I-AA -- and opposing backs are gaining just 1.8 yards per carry. Run defense is "where we hang our hat," says coach Steve Tosches. As a result ...
2) The Tigers control the ball. Princeton had the ball for almost 17 more minutes than Harvard, and nearly 16 more minutes than Columbia. On the season, Princeton has over a seven-minute per game edge in time of possession. Despite that advantage ...
3) The offense has trouble scoring points. The possession edge is "nice," according to Tosches, speaking after the Columbia game. "But you've got to be able to score points along with controlling possession to play dominant offense. We're just not there yet." In seven second-half possessions against Harvard, Princeton got within the Crimson's 30-yard line three times, but scored just six points on two Alex Sierk '99 field goals. The following week, the Tigers were inside Columbia's 40-yard line nine times, but scored on only three of those drives. The six miscues included two fumbles, an interception, two missed field goals, and a failed fourth-down conversion. The offense revolves around senior quarterback John Burnham, and that is the fourth theme of the season ...
4) Burnham has played well, but has also made some big mistakes. Tosches has increased his use of the option, so Burnham is now a focus of both the running and passing games. So far this season, Burnham has accounted for more than half the team's offense, averaging 209 yards of total offense per game. Jason Garrett '89 was the last Tiger to top 200, with 248.5 yards per game in 1988. But Burnham has sealed all three of the team's losses by throwing an interception on the Tigers' final drive when they still had a chance to either tie or win.
All those trends were evident against Harvard and Columbia. On October 31 at Columbia's Wein Stadium, the Tigers' opening possession was a pretty 60-yard march down the field until the Lions' Jason Streem intercepted a Burnham pass at the two-yard line. The Tigers stopped Columbia on that possession at Princeton's 21 yard line, when the Lions went for it on fourth-and-two. Between Princeton's dominating defense and senior punter Matt Evans's long punts, Columbia could only get as far as midfield the rest of the day.
Princeton opened the scoring late in the first half with a 10-play, 71-yard touchdown drive. Derek Theisen '00 punctuated the possession on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line when he went off left tackle for the score. The Tigers were back in the endzone 69 seconds later when Rocky Fittizzi '99 blocked a punt on the three-yard line that Danny Brian '00 picked up and carried in. "It was set up as a return, so Danny and I were the only two going for it; everybody else dropped back," recounted Fittizzi, who now has an incredible seven career blocked punts. "The [kicker] overwent to the outside, and I just ducked back in, and the next thing I knew the ball was on the ground and Danny was in the endzone."
Sierk ended the first half with a 36-yard field goal, and the only other scoring was his 26-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, the 36th of his career. Sierk now holds the Princeton record for field goals, and is just two off the Ivy mark held by Dartmouth's Dave Regula '98.
One week earlier, on a cloudless, 61-degree day, over 25,000 fans filled Princeton Stadium for the Harvard game. They were in for a treat as the contest featured three lead changes, five touchdowns, and four field goals. Princeton scored on its first two possessions to take a 10-0 lead. Harvard, however, weathered the early storm and took the lead at 13-10. Princeton responded by going 92 yards on five running plays, including a 54-yard dash by Damien Taylor '00 on a pitch from Burnham. It was the longest run of the day (not counting two student streakers who dashed 100 yards across the field at halftime). Sierk's extra point try bounced off the left upright, and if Princeton finishes one game shy of the title, that might prove to be the difference. "I missed it," said Sierk afterwards of his only failed PAT this year. "I have to make an extra point. It's my job." The half ended 16-13.
The teams traded field goals before Harvard fooled the Tigers with a halfback option pass that went for a touchdown. After Sierk kicked another field goal, the Tiger defense held the Crimson in check the rest of the way. With 5:30 to go, Sierk sailed a 46-yard field goal attempt over the left upright. The officials said it was wide, but some Tigers disagreed. Sierk didn't comment on the call, but explained, "When I kicked the ball I thought it was good. When you looked at the flags they were going left to right, but the wind blew my kick right to left. I just watched the officials make the no-good sign and I walked off the field."
Sierk was warming up for another try on Princeton's final drive, but Burnham overthrew Brian and was intercepted at Harvard's 25-yard line. "We've got to finish things off," said Burnham after the game. "We came up short today, but we still think we're going to win an Ivy League championship. We're pretty confident we can beat anyone in the league."
-- Phillip Thune '92
Men's basketball battles preseason injuries and expectations
Men's
basketball coach Bill Carmody must have figured that he was due
for a little bad luck this year.
The Tigers went 51-6 over his first two
seasons, with a magical run into the Top 10 a year ago. Still,
Carmody was the first to admit that it was going to be difficult
to keep up that pace after losing to graduation Mitch
Henderson '98 (now playing professionally in Ireland), Steve Goodrich
'98 (playing in Spain) and James Mastaglio '98 (Italy). But
while a little bad luck is one thing, the rash of injuries that the
Tigers have suffered so far must have Carmody reaching for
his own bottle of Tylenol.
"It's been rough," Carmody said late in October. "It's
been very rough. We're going to have to rely on some guys who
haven't been in these situations before." Mason Rocca '00, who
played sparingly behind Goodrich for two years, was expected to
nail down a starting position in the frontcourt. Instead, after
severely spraining his ankle two days before practice began, he spent
the first weeks of the season holding down a spot in the
trainers' room. Forward Nate Walton '00 was also expected to
contribute after recovering from foot surgery this summer. But the
ligaments in his foot are still so loose that he will need additional surgery, and he cannot
practice hard for two days in a row. All-Ivy (first-team)
forward Gabe Lewullis '99 (14.2 ppg) was not able to
play over the summer due to tendinitis in his kneecap and
was on reduced duty at practice. "Gabe's not going to get
as many cracks," Carmody said, "but we will give the
freshmen more work."
And the eight freshmen on the preseason roster
undoubtedly need the extra "cracks" to introduce them
to Princeton's demanding system -- even if the Class of
2002 is, on paper, the best in the Ivy League. "All the
exposure that we received last year paid off with this year's
freshman class," Carmody said. "I am very happy with them."
The two tallest freshmen should contribute early,
especially with the injuries in the frontcourt. Chris Young
'02 (6'9"), who has impressed Carmody in early practices,
will likely start at center when the Tigers open at
Lafayette on November 18. Chris Krug '02
(6'10") will play at both center and forward this season. But even freshmen
aren't immune to the injury "bug." Guards Eugene Baah '02
and Ahmed El-Nokali '02 have had to sit out some (Baah)
or all (El-Nokali) of the team's early-season practices.
So what does all of this mean for this year's team?
For one, don't expect to see the Tigers in the Top 25. In
early games last December, Princeton's veteran, balanced
attack embarrassed 18-year-olds who were more worried
about their draft status than in how to defend the
back-door. This year, with a December that includes a visit to
Top-5 Maryland and a four-game tournament in Hawaii,
Carmody could lose more games in a single month than he did
in his first two seasons. Assuming that Lewullis will be able to
play effectively, the Tigers will count on him, All-Ivy
(second-team) Brian Earl '99 (13.1 ppg), and Young to carry the scoring.
The rest of the offense may be "by-committee," especially until
the injuries sort themselves out. Guard/forward Phil Belin
'00 and guard C.J. Chapman '01 should build on the limited
experience they obtained during last season. Other help could
come in the form of freshman forwards Ray Robbins, Chris Martin,
Phil Jackman, and Mike Bechtold, or sophomores Terence
Rozier-Byrd (forward) or Lance Walters (guard).
The good news for the Tigers is that they have until
the New Year, when Ivy League games begin, to get healthy. In the
league, Columbia should show significant improvement under
Armond Hill '85, and Penn should build on a summer trip to Italy
(like the one that the Tigers took a year ago). But the rest
of the League is just that -- the rest of the League. Penn
and Princeton seem headed for a photo finish, and it may
take a playoff to determine which team goes the NCAAs.
-- Matthew T. Henshon '91
Women's schedule will appear in the December 2 PAW.
Dec. 9 Bucknell
Jan. 8 Brown
Feb. 5 Harvard
Mar. 2 Penn
**Check local listings to see which games ESPN will broadcast from Honolulu.
Perhaps the best way to explain the success of the men's cross-country
team this
season is by telling the story of one runner. On October 16, while the varsity team was
successfully defending its IC4A title at Van
Cortland Park, in New York City, by placing five
runners in the top-20, freshman Paul Morrison was
quietly winning the J.V. race.
Two weeks later, the team returned to Van Cortland to defend its Heptagonals title --
perhaps the biggest race of the year. Because teams
at Heptagonals are allowed to race nine runners rather than seven, Morrison lined up with
the varsity. Running on the same course, Morrison managed to shave 37 seconds off the time
he'd run at IC4As, and placed a stunning sixth
overall. The Tigers placed five runners in the top
16 -- junior Mike Spence (right) took second -- to beat runner-up Dartmouth by 16 points and
win Heps for the second consecutive year. The
word for the team is depth.
The women's cross-country team has had a solid year, taking third at the ECAC
championships and fourth at Heptagonals. Heather Onuma
'99 and Courtney Ebersole '00 have run
particularly well, and Onuma placed seventh at
ECACs.
Nov. 18 at Lafayette
Nov. 21 at UNC, Wilmington
Nov. 28 at Monmouth
Dec. 4-5 Iowa State Challenge
Dec. 15 at U.A.B. (Birmingham, Ala.) on ESPN
Dec. 19 vs. Maryland at Baltimore Arena ESPN
Dec. 22 Rutgers
Dec. 28-30 Rainbow Classic, Honolulu ESPN**
Jan. 9 Yale
Jan. 25 Union
Jan. 29 at Columbia
Jan. 30 at Cornell
Feb. 6 Dartmouth
Feb. 9 at Penn
Feb. 12 at Yale
Feb. 13 at Brown
Feb. 19 at Dartmouth
Feb. 20 at Harvard
Feb. 26 Cornell
Feb. 27 Columbia