Tigers host Brown in Ivy unbeatens matchup
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Last week, Pete Buchignani and the Princeton University football team faced a smash-mouth Colgate team with the leading rusher in the country.
Buchignani and the Tigers will switch gears when they take on pass-happy Brown 1 p.m. Saturday on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium.
”Honestly from my perspective, I’d prefer a physical type game,” said Buchignani, a two-time All-Ivy selection on the defensive line. “Especially since Brown does a lot of three-step drops, there aren’t many opportunities to get in on the pass rush. At the same time, our focus this week has to be providing that pressure. If we can’t get in, we have to get our hands up and be batting down balls and helping our guys in the secondary.”
Buchignani will put aside personal preferences because the Tigers are getting back into Ivy League play, when every game is critical in the championship chase.
”The Ivy League has always been our No. 1 focus,” Buchignani said. “Not being able to go to the (Football Championship Subdivision) playoffs, the Ivy League championship is the ultimate goal for us.
”Right now, we know destiny is in our hands. We just have to go out there and take care of business. We’re fired up for this Brown game. We’ve had some battles in the past. We’re definitely ready to bring it on Saturday.”
Both Princeton and Brown are 2-2 overall, 1-0 in Ivy play. While the Tigers beat Columbia in their opener, Brown pulled an opening stunner with an upset of pre-season co-favorite Harvard. The Crimson visit Princeton Stadium next.
”Any time you can remain undefeated, it’s a big deal,” said PU head coach Roger Hughes. “We’re clearly focused on Brown. If you win against Brown, then you get to look at the next one. You can’t look ahead and afford to waste any emotion on an opponent that’s not on the field.”
The Bears figure to present enough of a challenge to keep Princeton’s focus, though the home team has won nine of the last 10 meetings in this series. Brown quarterback Michael Dougherty leads the Ivy League in passing at more than 300 yards per game. He comes off a four-touchdown performance in a late loss to Holy Cross last week.
”Brown has changed a lot in its offensive looks since I’ve been here,” Buchignani said. “When I first showed up, they were kind of a power run team and now they’ve shifted into this crazy passing offense. They bring unique challenges.”
In his senior year, Buchignani is up for anything that can be thrown his way. His experience is invaluable to a Princeton defense that has an inexperienced secondary and has had its share of injuries among the linebackers. Even without injured senior lineman Tom Methvin, the Tigers’ defensive line has been featured as a strength on that side of the ball. Great expectations have brought with them higher pressure.
”I think there should be,” Buchignani said. “We’ve been around. We know what it takes to win a championship. So it is on us to help out some of those guys in the back. Not that we don’t have confidence in those guys — they’re excellent players and we have really solid leadership back there as well as in the linebacking corps. I think we should put pressure on ourselves as seniors to try to take control of the year and make the best of it.”
The Princeton offense has helped the defense this season. Last week, their ball control helped keep the NCAA’s leading rusher off the field. The Tigers also got a monster game from running back Jordan Culbreath, now the leading rusher in the Ivy League. Culbreath had a career best 153 yards on the ground against Colgate.
”He’s really improved his quickness,” Hughes said. “He’s really improved his patience. You watch Jordan at practice and you think he didn’t gain anything, and you put the film on and he’s got nine yards. He’s so smooth and he’s so efficient in his running.”
The Tigers have turned the ball over just twice this season. Last season, they turned the ball over six times in a 33-24 loss at Brown.
”You always want to create as many turnovers as possible to help your offense out,” Buchignani said. “The offense hasn’t been putting us in bad situations this year like quick changes and short fields. It’s a relief. You obviously want to put the opposing offense in the worst possible situation. Our offense has understood that and taken care of the ball and really helped us out.”
Princeton’s offense has needed to be stingy with the ball. The Tigers defense has caused a league-low four turnovers.
Buchignani and the defense are hoping to shore up their side of the ball this week. They also currently rank last in the Ivies in third-down conversions allowed. Opponents are converting better than 50 percent of their chances. If Princeton can improve in that department, it will keep their defense off the field against Brown’s explosive attack.
”We need to step up on third down,” Buchignani said. “That’s been a focus of ours for this past weekend. I know we haven’t been excellent at that. I don’t know if it’s focus or scheme, but we need to get that fixed because those are crucial downs. We really need to focus on it going forward.”
The Tigers are fortunate to have Buchignani for the final stretch, when they will play four of their final six Ivy games at home. He is looking forward to his final games with the Orange and Black, and putting his experience to good use.
”All that experience, the game kind of slows down,” he said. “You don’t get as nervous, and you try to bring along your teammates. You know what it takes to win and you’ve seen what it takes to lose. It’s important maintaining that focus and really striving toward that goal. I think that gets easier the more games you play.”
It’s particularly helpful when the week to week challenges can be so different.

