Princeton upset bid falls short against Yale football team|Bulldogs hold off Tigers to maintain share of Ivy lead
By Justin Feil
It was 1995 when first-place Princeton hosted 2-6 Yale. The Bulldogs won, 21-13, to give Princeton’s its only loss of its last Ivy League championship season.
Saturday, those roles were reversed, and the Tigers, tied for last place in the Ivies, came within a two-point conversion of shocking tied-for-first-place Yale, 23-21.
"It’s frustrating," said Princeton coach Steve Tosches whose team dropped to 3-6 overall, and 1-5 in Ivy play. "That was a great effort. That was a great college football game on both sides. Yale is a good football team. We played hard, we did a lot of good things."
Princeton had more total yardage and held the ball longer, but racked up 88 yards on eight penalties. Still, the Tigers kept the 21,602 Homecoming fans energized with a chance to tie the game with two minutes, six seconds to go following Tommy Crenshaw’s second touchdown pass to Phil Wendler in the fourth quarter.
The sophomore quarterback wasn’t able to find a receiver on the two-point conversion attempt after Danny Brian and Chisom Opara collided on their pass routes. On the play, Yale double-covered Wendler, who finished with six catches for 86 yards.
"We had both sides set up," Tosches said. "The quarterback looks. If Wendler’s side looks good, he’ll take it. If not, he has to go back to that other side. Unfortunately we had two receivers run into each other. And that really, the whole timing of the play wasn’t correct."
It was well-designed offensive and defensive schemes that had Princeton playing for the chance to break Yale’s seven-game winning streak. This time, though, it was the special teams that cost the Tigers a possible upset as Princeton sophomore placekicker Taylor Northrop missed two extra points, forcing the failed two-point conversion attempt.
The Bulldogs, who improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Ivy League, remained in a tie with Brown for first place.
"The two extra points, they loom big," Tosches admitted. "There are some other things we can do, too, and we just didn’t unfortunately take advantage of some of the opportunities. We had a fumble. We had a drive going and we fumble and I had hoped we’d get some points out of that one."
The third-quarter fumble by Princeton’s Kyle Brandt ended a drive deep in Yale territory, but it was the only miscue of the day for
"We made a lot of money today between the tackles, which was fun," Brandt said. "I had a lot of fun playing today, I think we all did. We don’t like the outcome though. Being able to run up the middle successfully is a lot of fun. That’s a testament to our guys up front. They really played well."
Saturday’s game was the first this season that Princeton lost when a single back rushed for more than 100 yards.
"We ran the ball, a little surprisingly, surprisingly well to be honest with you because Yale is only giving up 89 yards a game rushing," Tosches added. "Our guys did well. I thought Kyle Brandt did well and it gave us good balance. I thought Crenshaw was a little slow starting early, but then I thought, as he got warmed up, he had a good game."
The sophomore ended up 21-for-35 for 243 yards with the two Wendler touchdowns. As good as his numbers were, Yale’s Joe Walland’s numbers were better. The Bulldog senior threw for two touchdowns in only 162 passing yards, but ran 16 times for 101 yards, mostly on scrambles.
"You had a senior quarterback out there who’s done it before very, very effectively," Tosches said. "And, on the other side, you have a young sophomore who just keeps growing, who goes through growing pains, but I think keeps growing, too."
Most of the Yale quarterback’s scrambles resulted from Princeton’s coverage that improved throughout the final three-quarters of the game.
After Yale jumped out to a 10-0 lead on its first two possessions of the game, Princeton’s defense got them back in the game when Brian Beem intercepted Walland’s only mistake of the day and returned the ball 35 yards for a touchdown.
"It was something that our coaches did a good job of scouting," the sophomore cornerback explained. "That particular formation, that’s something we were expecting. Everyone was yelling it. I didn’t have deep responsibility. I was rolled up. Once the guy sort of hopped in motion, that was another big key. I just decided, I thought that’s what was coming, I just decided when he snapped it I would go."
Northrop, who missed the ensuing extra point, made a 20-yard field goal near the end of the half to get Princeton within one point, 10-9.
"I think it’s a testament to character," Brandt said. "We were never losing by a lot. We were always in the game. If you look at this week compared to last week. Last week we were tied at the half, and this week we were down by one.
"And look at the difference in the second halves. Last week, we get blown out and folded. We just talked about playing two halves, four quarters. That’s been a problem all year. This week, it comes down to the last play. We definitely hung in there."

