Scouting Princeton

Kurt Holuba wants to make his mommy proud

OVERVIEW

After two games, I’m still having trouble deciding whether Princeton has fallen a bit from last year’s championship season.

The big question coming into this season was whether the Tiger defense would weaken without the super DT Caraun Reid, who graduated in May. So far, that’s still a big question as Princeton gave up 39 big points to San Diego and 17 to a Davidson team that not many people thought would get more than one score against PU. But a closer look yields some better news that I’ll get to in a moment.

The offense is not as crisp as many thought it would be. Yes, the Tigers are scoring lots of points but QB Quinn Epperly’s passing numbers are down from last year’s stratospheric levels. But again, a closer look quiets those fears just a bit.

And another reason to quiet the fears is the fact that under Head Coach Bob Surace, the Tigers have typically not played so well in weeks one and two. Since 2001, the Columbia game has been the launching pad for this team and it sure looks like that’s where we’re headed again this year.

OFFENSE

The biggest reason not to panic about Epperly’s passing numbers so far is because they were just too good last year to expect him to maintain that level. The second biggest reason for Tigertown not to freak out is because Epperly is still running the ball extremely well and it was his running that really shredded Davidson last Saturday.

RB DiAndre Atwater has been sort of kept under wraps so far this year, but when he has run he’s been very good. Atwater has 121 yards rushing on just 16 carries.

Epperly is spreading his passes around more so far this season than he did in 2013, but senior WR Connor Kelley is the #1 target in the absence of the graduated Roman Wilson. Look for sophomore TE Scott Carpenter to get more and more involved in the passing game as he matures.

The offensive line didn’t have its leader, senior LT Spenser Huston, in the game last week but he’s expected to start Saturday. Center Joe Tull has also been out so far this year, but could start Saturday. Considering how much Epperly runs, this line has to be judged differently than others but it seems to be doing its job well enough this season.

DEFENSE

The D is working in some new names right now, but the stats and points allowed don’t tell the whole story.

First off, LB Mike Zeuli is taking the leadership role he was handed and doing the job. Zeuli already has three sacks, and leads the team in tackles.

Junior DB Anthony Gaffney, possibly the best athlete in Ivy football and the other expected team leader, is also doing his job with nine total tackles, a tackle for a loss, and two pass breakups.

The new names emerging to fill the void include sophomore LB Rohan Hylton, who was named Ivy Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after an 11-tackle performance vs. Davidson.

And then there’s freshman DE Kurt Holuba. Holuba was named one of the top incoming freshmen in FCS football over the summer and he’s been a starter since week one.

So far, this defense has allowed more points than expected. But it’s been great against the rush; allowing just 2.0 yards per carry on 87 carries.

The pass defense has been weaker than expected; allowing 7.6 yards per attempt, 5 TD passes and so far no INT’s.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Junior Kicker Nolan Bieck is having a very solid season so far. He’s 3-3 on FG’s, including a 40-yarder last week.

Sophomore Punter Tyler Roth is very solid.

Showing their depth, Princeton took Gaffney off of kick return duty and gave the job to junior RB Dre Nelson. All he’s done is average over 31 yards per return and he had a game-opening 89-yard KO return for a TD last week. Even if you strip out that 89 yard return, Nelson is still averaging a very good 23+ yards per return.

Punt returning junior Max Lescano can be dangerous.

Princeton’s kickoff coverage teams have been excellent, but the Tigers did allow one big punt return in the two returnable punts they’ve had so far.

Conclusions

There’s a reason why Princeton is a 28 ½ point favorite, and it’s not just because Columbia hasn’t looked decent in over a year.

The Tigers are better than they’ve looked so far in 2014, and I suspect they’re dying to prove it this weekend.