Dropping the Ball

Princeton 19 Columbia 6

(Quick Analysis)

On a beautiful day that turned overcast and slightly drizzly, Columbia and Princeton played a defensive battle that the Tigers won, 19-6. This was a stellar performance by the Princeton defense, but the Lion offense was inept on its own as well, leading to an anemic attack that never really threatened to take a lead.

WHY PRINCETON WON

Princeton's offense put together two impressive first-half drives that ended in touchdowns and that was enough to win. Meanwhile, the Tiger defense was extremely stingy, allowing just five Columbia first downs and 23 net yards rushing. While they produced only one sack and forced one Lion turnover, they routinely harrassed QB Craig Hormann and covered his receivers tightly downfield. With the exception of Columbia's lone touchdown, they made sure the offense didn't have to pay for its own turnovers and futility later in the game.

WHY COLUMBIA LOST

Princeton's defense was dominant, but the Lions helped their cause immensely with an offensive attack that looked mostly tentative and sometimes inept. Hormann was unable to respond even to light Princeton pressure and many of his throws were off-line. Meanwhile, Lion receivers dropped several key passes, including three drops by tight end Jamal Russell that each would have resulted in first downs had he hauled them in. The running was eerily reminiscent of last year's with 23 net yards on just 13 attempts.

COLUMBIA POSITIVES

The Lions defense gave the offense every opportunity to win. They picked off two Terrell passes in key moments and recovered two fumbles as well. And despite Princeton's whopping 40:06 time of possession, the defense never looked tired or lost hope. It's safe to say that if the Lions repeat defensive efforts like this one, it will lead to victories in some other games down the road.

COLUMBIA NEGATIVES

Hormann and the offense need to start over. They didn't look exactly sparkling in the first two games and they were positively awful today. They did do a nice job of avoiding the big turnover, but that's a small positive. We can only hope the poor running numbers were the result of Princeton's defensive play, but run defense had been something of a weak spot for the Tigers before this game.

John Rocholl was great overall as a punter, including one play where he saved a TD by running the Princeton returner out of bounds. But he missed a PAT for the first time in his career.

Norries Wilson kept the team's fires going throughout, but he threw away 3 points when he went for it on 4th and inches from inside Columbia's own 35 and didn't make it. The Tigers ended the ensuing drive with a field goal.

The crowd did not hit the needed 10,000 mark, settling in at 8,800. BUT the fans were vocal and excited. It was mostly surprising to see so few Princeton fans show up to see their excellent team.


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