Football begins Ivy stretch

After a disappointing 31-30 loss last weekend to Colgate University, the Tigers (2-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy) are looking to open a six-week stretch of Ivy League games strong against Brown. Princeton comes into Saturday undefeated in conference play, but still one win behind Harvard and Dartmouth for first in the Ivy League. Brown is tied for fifth with an 0-1 League record after losing to Harvard.

However, just because the Tigers are currently ahead in the standings does not mean they will have an easy game this weekend. The Bears are coming in with a two-game winning streak, whereas the Tigers are going to have to mentally pull themselves together after being plagued by inconsistencies throughout the season thus far.

“We’re preparing like we normally do, but making it a point to be extra detailed in our assignment and execution,” junior cornerback Anthony Gaffney said. “Simple mistakes can cost us games, so we want to eliminate those.”

Princeton has been 4-0 in games following losses since losing to Penn in Week 8 of the 2012 season, including this year’s home opener against Davidson College, which the Tigers won 56-17.

The Tigers have won their past two meetings with the Bears, beating them last year on the road 39-17 and shutting them out on Powers Field in 2012 with a score of 19-0. However, Princeton has only won three straight against Brown once in the past two decades. If they are able to succeed, however, they will maintain their undefeated Ivy League record and remain in a tie for first place in League standings, as well as remain in control of their own destiny as they look to repeat as Ivy League champions.

“Every game is meaningful, and of course it would be nice to go undefeated, but ultimately, since we don’t have a postseason, winning the Ivy games is what really matters because it holds more weight than any other game,” Gaffney added.

Princeton was picked to finish first by the Ivy League preseason poll for the first time since 1992, while Brown finished sixth in the preseason rankings. The Tigers look to break with the tradition of the past decade whereby no preseason favorite has gone on to win the outright Ivy League title, and they look to start with a win over the Bears this weekend.

The Tigers will host Brown on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Princeton Stadium.