By Bill Alden
Looking to rebound from a 20-17 loss to Cornell as it played at Dartmouth last Saturday, the Princeton University football team piled up 408 yards of total offense and 26 first downs.
But doomed by some turnovers and shaky red zone play, the Tigers suffered the same fate for a second straight week as they lost 20-17 to the Big Green.
Princeton dropped to 3-5 overall and 2-3 Ivy League as it was officially eliminated from the league title race with Harvard ending the weekend at 8-0 overall and 5-0 Ivy.
Tiger head coach Bob Surace lamented the failure of his squad to close the deal despite moving the ball throughout the contest.
“We only punted once all game,” said Surace. “All of the things that you need to do to beat Dartmouth we did other than the two turnovers and we weren’t great in the red zone.”
Princeton dug an early hole as Tiger quarterback Kai Colon threw two interceptions which the Big Green converted into a pair of touchdowns, jumping out to a 14-0 lead.
The Tigers moved the ball in the second quarter, getting to the Dartmouth 15-yard line before missing a field goal and then getting a 36-yard field goal from Esteban Nunez Perez to narrow the gap to 14-3 at halftime.
At intermission, Surace was confident heading into the second half.
“I thought we had done a really good job, we were playing well,” said Surace. “We were settled down on defense. They got us early in the game on a third and long. Offensively, I felt like we were dictating tempo and it was keep doing that.”
After Dartmouth scored on touchdown on its first drive of the third quarter to go up 20-3, Princeton continued to move the ball as it got a two-yard TD run from Christian Lynch to narrow the gap to 20-9 early in the fourth.
Later in the quarter, the Tigers put together an 11-play, 80-yard scoring march that ended with a five-yard touchdown run by quarterback Kai Colon. Princeton converted a two-point conversion on a rush by Colon to make it 20-17. The Tigers failed to recover an onside kick on the next play and the Big Green ran out the clock to seal the win.
“We had one big mental error to start the second half but other than that, I thought we played really well on defense in the half,” said Surace. “We had our opportunities, we had it on the four and didn’t score. We got stuck in the red zone a couple of times. That is what really affected us.”
In reflecting on the setback, Surace acknowledged that Princeton needs to play sharper to get on the winning track against the tough competition it has been facing.
“Our league has a lot of parity, we have played eight teams, and six of them have been ranked or receiving votes and two are in the top 10,” said Surace. “Five of the games were more than winnable. But being close, the margins are really thin. We just have to continue to tighten up on some of the errors we are making, whether it is me, whether it is players. It just needs to come together.”
Tiger freshman receiver Josh Robinson has come on strong in his debut season. He made eight receptions for 70 yards against Dartmouth to give him 34 catches for 388 yards on the season to set Princeton freshman record in both categories.
“We expected him to be a really good player,” said Surace of Robinson, who was later named the Ivy Rookie of the Week for the fifth time this fall. “When I played it was an era where you had to play freshman football, you were not allowed on the varsity. So any time we have had a Chuck DiBilio (the Ivy Rookie of the Year in 2011) or a Josh Robinson or some others, you are just so impressed by their maturity to handle everything. Josh has got incredible body control. He is a smart kid, to do this as a freshman at that position is really challenging.”
In addition to Robinson, junior running back Ethan Clark has emerged as a key weapon for the Tiger offense. Clark piled up 69 yards rushing and 52 yards receiving on Saturday.
“We have done a good job utilizing our backs out of the backfield,” said Surace. “I think as we have hit some deep balls against teams, it opens up some of those shorter routes and check downs. It is not just Ethan’s hands, he has done such a good job creating plays in space.”
On defense, senior star linebacker and team co-captain Marco Scarano has been doing a great job.
“Marco plays so hard, we do a lot with him,” said Surace of Scarano, who made a team-high eight tackles against the Big Green. “He plays a lot of different positions, the communication is terrific. He plays with incredible effort.”
With Princeton hosting Yale (6-2 overall and 4-1 Ivy) this Saturday, the Tigers face another hard test.
“Yale is playing really well, they are a very good team,” said Surace, noting the Yale running back Josh Pitsenberger and quarterback Dante Reno are having big years.
“Pitsenberger is one of the best players in the league. Reno is a smart kid and he is really a talented player. He is throwing the ball really accurately, making good decisions. He is a good athlete and has done a lot of things well. They are executing really well on offense. They have some guys in defense that are really active athletes.”
In order to overcome the Bulldogs, Princeton need to clean up things.
“We have had some commonalities in our different games that we have lost; we have to be better in situational football,” said Surace. “Dartmouth fumbled a couple of times and we weren’t able to get on them. Losing the turnover battle creates more challenges. Statistically you could go to the Harvard-Dartmouth game and our game and when you look at yards and everything, there is not a whole lot of difference. Harvard won by 21 (31-10 on November 1) and we lost by three, the difference was situational football and the turnovers. We have a lot of youth playing and we are just making a few mistakes on all three sides of the ball. In the one-score games, they haunt you.”