Tigers’ late drives stall in comeback attempt
By: Justin Feil
Greg Fields never lost confidence, never lost faith that the Princeton University football team would come back.
The Tigers couldn’t come back from their first deficit of the season but they’ll have to come back from their first loss when they resume their Ivy League season 1 p.m. Saturday at Brown. Princeton never led for the first time in a game this year as they lost, 16-10, to Colgate University in rainy Princeton Stadium on Saturday.
The Tigers had not trailed for one minute in starting the year 3-0 but were behind from the beginning, 13-0, less than three minutes into Saturday’s game. Princeton pulled within, 13-10, but after Colgate’s final field goal, the Tigers’ final three drives of the game stalled.
"We had been moving the ball well in the second half," said Fields, the senior receiver who had four catches for 84 yards to lead the Tigers. "We had confidence after we scored and then stopped them. I feel we definitely had confidence, we just couldn’t get it done."
Princeton quarterback Jeff Terrell was 10-for-16 prior to Colgate’s 16th point, but was victimized by several dropped balls as he ended the game 1-for-12 in the last three drives.
One of his final chances for a completion would have been an incredible juggling catch over the middle by Fields, but a defensive hit jarred the ball loose.
"It looked to me like we had the ball delivered where it was supposed to be," said Princeton head coach Roger Hughes, whose team slipped to 3-1 overall. "We had the right patterns called. We didn’t execute and make the catch. The one Greg had towards the end would have been a tough catch; he got hit right away.
"We had a corner ball that we dropped. We had a shallow route that we dropped. We had another route that we dropped as well. When the game was on the line, we talk about who we can count on when the game counts. We didn’t come up with a play to win the game, or at least a play to keep the drive alive."
The Tigers felt confident after a 34-yard touchdown strike from Terrell to Fields after a key Red Raider turnover gave them life with 10:38 to go in the fourth quarter. Princeton, which had just 83 yards rushing, threw on 12 of 13 plays in their last three drives.
"You can’t change the way you play," Fields said. "You have to go out and execute. That’s the bottom line. If you’re ahead or behind, you have to go out and execute. It’s not a different mindset. Later in the game, there’s more of a sense of urgency. You still have to do your job."
The Princeton defense was solid after the first two scores by Colgate, both of which were set up by miscues. The Tigers surrendered a 60-yard kickoff return to open the game and Colgate scored three plays later. Princeton’s Jay McCareins then fumbled the ensuing kickoff back to Colgate, which scored four plays later.
"I don’t know how you start a game worse than the way we started giving up a long kickoff return and a quick touchdown and fumbling the subsequent kick return for us. We just tried to claw our way back," Hughes said. "It seemed like every time we did something good, we shot ourselves in the foot. Execution-wise, we had too many penalties offensively, we had too many mental errors offensively, we turned the ball over too many times and you can’t do that against an elite team.
"All the things that we focus on," he added, "that we’ve been pretty good at, we let our guard down and were not very good at today."
It didn’t help either team that the field quickly resembled DeNunzio Pool as a steady rain drenched the natural grass. Princeton had to abandon its outside running game because its offensive linemen were unable to reach their assignments due to poor footing.
"Footing was pretty hard, but I don’t want to make excuses," said Terrell, who threw for 161 yards. "Yes, it was hard to throw in the rain. But I didn’t put the ball where I needed to be a lot of the time. And we didn’t move the chains like we have (been) when we’re winning."
Added Hughes, "I don’t want to make excuses. They played in the same conditions. They executed and we did not. I thought that was the difference in the game."
Princeton’s defense kept it in the game as they allowed just three points in the final 57 minutes. The Tiger offense got on the board in the second quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Derek Javarone. It was the 38th of his career, tying Taylor Northrop’s PU career mark, and was set up by McCareins’ fifth interception of the season.
The Tigers did not have a sustained drive until midway through the third quarter, but after 69 yards, Terrell fumbled an exchange from center and Colgate recovered. Princeton got the ball right back, however, when Justin Stull forced a fumble that was recovered by Nate Starrett. The Tigers took advantage on the next play when Terrell found Fields in the middle, and he sidestepped a pair of Red Raider defenders to bring the Tigers within three points.
"A lot of it was just getting in our rhythm," Fields said. "We came out a little sloppy. Maybe it was getting used to playing in the conditions. We had to adjust. I think that’s the main thing."
The main thing now for the Tigers is making sure they take something out of the loss that helps them improve for this weekend’s game.
"I think it’s a lesson for us," Fields said. "We went there and made a lot of mistakes on offense, myself included, even when the game is on the line. We’re trying to drive down there and we’re down by six and we’re making mistakes. You can’t have that to beat a good team."
Hughes talked before the game about how Princeton had not faced adversity yet this season. Princeton had not trailed, had dealt with few meaningful turnovers and hadn’t been hurt by any mistakes they did make in their first three games. The Tigers saw their first reaction to adversity Saturday, and it’s something they can improve.
"Obviously, this is a nice little wake-up call for our kids," Hughes said. "The mood in the locker room was, this stinks, it’s unacceptable to lose, but it’s also not the end of the world either. The nice thing, I think, is our seniors will hold the team together and we’ve got a very tough opponent coming up next week at Brown."