By Bob Nuse
Sports Editor
The Princeton University football team still has business to take care of the next two weeks.
But thanks to a tremendous defensive effort last Saturday, the Tigers know if they take care of that business, then an Ivy League title is theirs for the taking.
Princeton won what turned out to be a defensive battle to defeat Dartmouth, 14-9, at Princeton Stadium.
With the victory, the Tigers improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Ivy League. Dartmouth fell to 7-1 and 4-1.
Princeton will close out the season at Yale this Saturday and at home against Penn on Nov. 17.
“It felt like Rocky 1 with two teams just slugging it out,” Princeton coach Bob Surace said after the win. “The respect the two teams have for each other, I think it shows on the field. We have a tremendous amount of respect for them and it is the same on both sides in terms of that. That was a slugfest. It lived up to everything everybody said it was going to be. Every play counted.
“Our team talks about heart and passion and I know they talk about the same things. We’ve played some great games against them and for this to be an outcome where we were one play better, I can’t thank our seniors or our leaders enough.”
The game started off looking like it would be the offensive battle everyone expected. Princeton came into the game averaging 50 points a game, while Dartmouth was averaging 35. When the teams met in the final game of the season last year, Dartmouth prevailed, 55-45.
On Saturday, each team scored a touchdown with an impressive drive on its first possession. From that point on the defenses took over and other than a safety for the Big Red, no one scored until the Tigers scored on a John Lovett touchdown run from five yards with just over six minutes to play.
“It was back and forth,” Surace said. “I felt like last year was the exact opposite where it was back and forth and both teams were up and down the field and they were a play better than us. They out-executed and out-coached us in that game by a play. And I felt we put everything into it. And I’ll say the same thing, this time we were probably a play better.
“It wasn’t like these two teams are miles apart. That group we were going up against, they were outstanding and there is not a big weakness. Where do you attack to get four yards? And you hope a Jesper Horsted or a John Lovett can do something to make eight-yard gains.”
The Princeton defense limited the Big Green to just 213 yards in total offense and came up with the big play whenever it was needed.
“It was a credit to Coach (Steve Verbit, the Tigers’ defensive coordinator) and our defensive staff,” senior linebacker Tom Johnson said. “We were just gapped out. Our plan was to be gap solid and not do anything too crazy and just play the right way. We had a great week at practice. Credit those guys, they’re huge up front and they block well and Trevino is a great runner that is hard to bring down. Our stress was being where we needed to be and doing our job and we did that on most plays.
“When you step on the field in a game like this it is always tough. Everyone is coming out with a lot of emotion and it is hard to have everyone right, right off the bat. That’s something we were stressing and making sure we settled into the game. We made our adjustments and never looked back.”
The Princeton offense was held in check most of the day, but was at its best in the fourth quarter.
Princeton had a 22-play, 90-yard drive stall at the 1-yard line when it could not convert on fourth down. But the defense held, the Tigers got the ball back and scored on Lovett’s touchdown run, which was his second TD of the game.
“Coach (Sean) Gleeson (the Tigers’ offensive coordinator) does an incredible job instilling confidence in our offense and in our guys,” said Lovett, who also scored on a run from three yards in the first quarter. “He believes in us 100 percent. We believe in each other. For a team that comes in like us averaging 50 points a game and for it to be a dogfight and put together drives at the end of the game when it counts really shows the senior leadership that we have on our offense. And it is a credit to our defense for keeping us in the game the whole entire game.
“Those guys (on Dartmouth) are all great football players. You could see it lining up against them in their eyes. They didn’t have a quit mentality by any means. It was a hard-fought game and I tip my hat to those guys for playing hard the entire time. But it is also a credit to our offensive line as well and getting us first downs when we needed them.”
Princeton still has two games ahead of itself and can win the Ivy League and finish unbeaten if it gets past Yale and Penn. But the Tigers know that it won’t be easy.
“Every single Ivy League game has the same amount of importance,” Lovett said. “By nature of us not being able to compete in the playoffs and not having a playoff game in our league, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing the best team in the league or the worst team in the league. Every game has the same amount of importance. So we’re attacking practice the same way throughout the whole entire year. That’s what has led to our success so far and we’re not going to change that mentality.”
Surace was proud of his team as it won a battle between two Ivy League heavyweights.
“I said it earlier in the week, that’s the best team I’ve seen on film in my nine years,” Surace said. “(Princeton players) have a lot of belief in each other and we as coaches have belief. I can’t say enough about these guys. Our season isn’t over, obviously, by any means. But they should be proud of their effort and enjoy this for a few more hours until we get back to it (Sunday).”
