Anthony Gaffney had two INT's and should have had a third
Princeton 38 Columbia 6
Why Princeton Won
The Tigers defense played 60 minutes of good football to augment 30 minutes of good play by the offense. Despite a myriad of Princeton turnovers and stalls in the 1st half, the Tiger D allowed just two CU field goals. That gave Princeton's offense enough time to get it going in the 2nd half behind a superior running attack on a relatively off day for QB Quinn Epperly.
Why Columbia Lost
In addition to an offense that couldn't score a TD, the defense was stymied first by a series of terrible officiating calls and then by a Tiger running attack that finally woke up in the 2nd half.
Key Turning Points
-A maddening drive by PU at the end of the 1st half turned the game around as clearly as possible. Starting from their own two yard line with less than three minutes to go, the Tigers avoided disaster when a fumble by Epperly was somehow not recovered by three Lions, and then a terrible call by the refs ruled Epperly had scored a TD as time expired. That turned a 6-3 Columbia lead into a 10-6 Princeton advantage at the break.
-On the opening possession of the 2nd half, DiAndre Atwater burst through the line untouched for a 51-yard TD and Columbia never really challenged again.
Columbia Positives
-RB Cameron Molina put up some big numbers, this time when the game was not already over. He was a demon as a receiver out of the backfield with nine catches for 100 yards. Some of his runs after the catch were pretty.
-The CU D came out strong and gave the offense every chance to grab a commanding 1st half lead. Junior Toba Akinleye had another strong game with 10 tackles and two fumble recoveries.
-Safety Travis Reim made probably the hardest hit by a CU player in a decade. He forced a fumble that led to a CU FG.
Columbia Negatives
-Columbia failed to score a TD for the first time this season, and QB Brett Nottingham forced too many passes. Other than the good screen passing attack, the CU offense still didn't have much to show for itself.
-Football games are 60 minutes not 30. The defensive line did well for 28 minutes, but not so well for the remaining 32. Princeton finished with 268 net yards rushing to CU's 27.
Columbia MVP
-Molina gets the nod for the second week in a row. He fought hard, took some rough hits, and just kept coming.
8 comments:
Just when you thought we hit rock bottom last year, we are sinking to new lows. We are simply not fielding a competitive team. At what point is enough, enough? Can we please make a change before HC? That way the kids will have something to look forward to. I cannot name one of Pete's recruits over the past three years that has amounted to anything? The O-Line is a disaster. They get moved around more than Van Lines. Our D-Line is more pourus than a Colander. And the DBs simply do not know how to hit (and wrap up).
NHDC/Diane - we've all seen this movie before. We know how it will end. Please stop the suffering of the Players, Fans, and Alums NOW by doing the right thing (as foreign as that concept is to you both)... get rid of this clown now!!!
Mango is cheering because "we have a good half of football on tape." I do not think we watched the same game. We were never "competitive" with Princeton. We have some good individual performers, but do not execute as a team.
The standard of excellence is so low that we now think that we are making progress if it is not a blow out by the 3rd quarter. The continued excuses from the administration are beyond disappointing. Our athletes deserve better.
Bob Kent CU '92
Going for the big hit instead of tackling in the open field is a problem coaches have at all levels teaching these kids. It's not a Columbia problem though I agree there are shortcomings in personnel on D.
Overall, the effort was there, just outmanned a bit. This is a Princeton team that is still on the upward trajectory after hitting rock bottom a few years ago. They have better athletes across the board than Columbia so that is a Columbia issue.
Better in all departments despite the score. I usually never complain about the refs but this one cost 2 early TDs and momentum. Though those scores may have been inevitable anyway.
After Cornell's waxing yesterday along with Brown's anemic effort against URI, quite possible this team can muster 2 wins to finish the season if they have anything left.
i imagine Pete's former players at Cornell are sitting there thinking...we have seen this before.
we lack so many things it is hard to list as my fingers get tired of typing.
and so we sit wondering what tomorrow will bring...well, let me jump to the conclusion, another loss next week and i am not sure i want to see what Yale does to us given the points they are putting up.
and yes, Princeton is not a scholarship school, so much for that whole thought process.
While Princeton had the better team, Imdo think that the refs took the game away from us with a couple of just atrocious mistakes. But that is what happens to bad teams, insofar as they never get the benefit of the doubt. One word about Nottingham. If he had one good go to receiver like a Knowlin or a Kennedy who had speed, could rUN routes, could actually catch the ball, and who knew how to protect himself and the ball from big hits he would have put up some good numbers and a few scores against Princeton.
I thought the hit on Hill could have been called "defenseless"
and clearly changed our attack after he left with the concussion because he seemed to be the only receiver capable of getting open consistently and catching the ball.
It was a helmet to helmet and should have been called. He is concussed as a result. He was our only mismatch because he got open at will.
Yes. Could the referees have screwed Columbia any more than they did ? The lack of a whistle after forward progress was clearly stopped at the end of the half was a major factor in this game. We're not good enough to beat the Tigers AND the zebras !
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