Tigers’ late touchdown enough to top Colgate, 14-10
By: Justin Feil
It was overcast at Princeton Stadium, but the Princeton University football team certainly brightened its Saturday. The Tigers defeated Colgate, 14-10, for their first three-game winning streak in a season since 1997.
"Obviously, this is a huge win for our program," said Princeton head coach Roger Hughes. "That’s the best team we’ve beat to this point."
The Red Raiders had won three straight after losing their first two games of the season, and they’d owned the Tigers in the last two years. It was Hughes’ first win over Colgate after losing, 35-10, last year and 27-24 two season ago.
The win helps the Tigers improve to 3-1 overall, and they’ll finish out their season with six straight Ivy League games. Princeton is 1-0 in the Ivies after topping Columbia, 35-32, last week.
Like its win over the Lions, Princeton needed a fourth-quarter rally – a rally that appeared to stall twice in the final quarter – to beat Colgate in a game that was highlighted by several huge plays. All three touchdowns scored in the game were 62 yards or longer.
The Red Raiders took their only lead of the game, 10-7, when they scored on a 74-yard pass from Tom McCune to J.B. Gerald with 1:47 left in the third quarter.
Princeton looked ready to answer right back to start the fourth quarter but a 23-yard field goal attempt by Derek Javarone on the ninth play of the Tigers’ drive stayed wide left. The next possession of the fourth quarter ended with a three-and-out.
Undaunted, the Tigers found the big play to take the lead when it got the ball with just 3:25 left in the game, staring at 87 yards to the end zone. After a 14-yard pass to Andy Bryant moved the Tigers out of the shadow of the goal line, B.J. Szymanski got behind the Colgate defense, caught Splithoff’s pass in stride, eluded a tackle at the 25 and stumbled into the end zone for a 73-yard score with 2:46 left.
"We had game planned all week for this specific play for this defense," said Szymanski, who had seven receptions for 170 yards and the score. "It couldn’t have worked out better. They rolled into the wrong coverage. Not that I really beat anybody; just nobody covered me. Dave couldn’t have put the ball in a better spot."
Colgate had one last attempt to regain the lead. The Red Raiders got a fourth down and 20 completion to Jamal Lamb to move to the Princeton 29. But on fourth-and-15 from the Princeton 34, McCune’s pass to Lamb was one-handed by Princeton cornerback Jay McCareins, who was beat by Lamb on the fourth-down completion earlier, to seal the victory.
"I think our kids gained a lot of confidence that they can win, no matter what happens," Hughes said. "No matter what part of the game it is. I’m really pleased with their effort."
It was there from the very start. Princeton opened the game with a 62-yard touchdown from Splithoff to a wide-open Bryant, and just 18 seconds into the game it had a 7-0 lead.
"We’d seen their coverage they used last year and in previous games this year," Hughes began. "They lined up exactly like we expected and we threw the ball as planned."
Colgate answered with a 33-yard field goal from Lane Schwarzberg with 11:18 left in the first quarter, but both offenses had difficulty moving effectively for the remainder of the half. The Princeton defense surrendered just 92 net yards rushing after allowing 150 yards alone to Jamaal Branch in last year’s meeting.
"My concern was were we going to line up physically with them," Hughes said. "Last year, I thought we backed down a little from them. This year, I wanted to make sure we weren’t going to blink. The whole thing I talked about with the team was attitude, attitude, attitude. I tried to make sure that they understood that we couldn’t have any letdown or back down no matter what the score was."
The Tiger defense set that tone early when Zac Keasey batted down a pass on fourth-and-3 from the Princeton 8.
That attitude showed up on offense as well. After Splithoff absorbed a hit to the helmet, the junior quarterback started off the field toward the Colgate bench. He was removed from the game for Matt Verbit, but returned after passing doctor’s examinations for a concussion.
"My mindset was, ‘I’m going back in the game,’" said Splithoff, who was 11-for-21 for 229 yards and two touchdowns. "I didn’t think I was that bad. People told me I was going to the wrong sideline. They asked me some questions and I got back in there."
Princeton was also able to rush for 147 yards against a Colgate defense designed to limit the run. Cameron Atkinson led the way for the Tigers with 104 yards on 15 carries.
Hughes is looking for Princeton to ride the momentum to a strong game against Brown, and he’s already seeing signs of new confidence from a Tiger team that has its first three-game winning streak since he arrived.
"There were a couple plays in the third and fourth quarter, where in the past, after they scored to go ahead on a long play, after they had a couple third-down-and-long and they picked up the first down, that we have had emotional letdowns before," Hughes said, "And I’m very pleased we didn’t have them."