Coming into Saturday’s matchup, Columbia (2–1 overall, 1–0 Ivy League) had not scored more than ten points against Princeton (1–2, 0–1) since 2017, losing every game along the way. Yet, the Princeton winning streak over Columbia came to a halting stop with a 34–17 loss in New York City.
After a competitive first half, the Tigers were outclassed 28–7 in the second half, as a pileup of defensive injuries started impacting the team’s performance on the field.
“We ran out of gas a little bit,” head coach Bob Surace ’90 told The Daily Princetonian after the game. “When you lose your depth, it hurts you on that … we’ve got to be better.”
As the game started, an end to the Tigers recent dominance in this matchup seemed unlikely. For the second straight week, Princeton received the opening kickoff and marched down the field for a touchdown. Junior quarterback Blaine Hipa returned from a one-week absence due to an injury and looked sharp, going 5–6 for 46 yards on the drive and nearly finding senior wide receiver Luke Colella on multiple deep routes. Senior running back John Volker capped off the drive with a tough 12-yard touchdown run to the right edge.
The Tigers defense would keep the momentum going with a huge fourth-down stop near midfield. On both 3rd-and-2 and 4th-and-1, senior linebacker Carson Irons came in to prevent runs up the middle.
Unfortunately, the Tigers would give the ball right back to the Lions. On a 4th-and-short, after what looked to be a miscommunication with his wideout, Hipa threw his first interception of the game, and fourth of the season.
“I don’t take anything away from the interceptions,” Coach Surace told the ‘Prince.’ “He’s trying to make a play, he’s got to throw it, or he could take a sack.”
However, turnovers were again a problem for the Tigers in this game, and the Lions would capitalize on the interception and score their first three points of the game.
After the teams traded punts to end the first quarter, the Tigers went on another great drive early in the second quarter. They moved the ball effectively, but ultimately faced 4th-and-2 at the nine-yard line. Surace chose to be aggressive, and the Tigers went for it. Hipa rolled out to his left, looked to the endzone, and threw his second fourth-down interception of the game at the goal-line. Columbia started at their own one-yard line, but converted on a 3rd-and-14 on the way towards scoring a field goal and cutting the Tiger lead to 7–6.
Princeton capped off the first half with some impressive throws to Colella, and scored a field goal to take a 10–6 lead into the break. A key moment of the first half was an injury to sophomore defensive lineman London Robinson, whose absence proved noticeable as the Tigers’ line was pushed around in the second half.
Columbia got the ball to start the second half, but a huge sack by sophomore defensive lineman Rocco Marcelino forced a punt. However, the Tigers quickly lost possession on a fumble by first-year quarterback Asher Weiner, giving them a 3–0 deficit in the turnover battle.
“There are certain metrics that [make it] really tough to win,” Surace said to the ‘Prince,’ mentioning the turnovers. Preventing turnovers will be crucial for the Tigers as they look to improve over the rest of the season.
Columbia quickly heated up after the turnover, converting three third downs and marching down the field. On another third down, Princeton had a chance to get to the Columbia quarterback, but he rolled out of the pocket to his left and found a wide open man for a touchdown.
Down 13–10 and losing for the first time in the game, Princeton had to respond. However, three incomplete passes later, they punted it back to the Lions. Then, on a short second down, Princeton failed to set the edge on the right side, leading to a 40-yard gain for Columbia running back Joey Giorgi, who would end up with over 150 yards in the game. One play later, Columbia punched it in for six, and the Tigers were down 20–10.
Still, the Tigers were not giving up yet. Hipa hit senior wideout AJ Barber for a 33-yard gain across the middle, and the Tigers were in business in the red zone. Two plays later, Hipa found Barber open again, and the Tigers pulled within three after the extra point.
After a poor return, Columbia started their next drive at the 15-yard line. On the first play, they hit another big run up the left sideline, as the Tigers again failed to seal the edge. The Tigers thought they had a stop three plays later, but a crushing roughing the passer penalty kept the drive moving. After a few more nice gains, solid defense by the Tigers left the Lions with a 4th-and-5 from the Princeton 14-yard line. Up three points, Columbia decided to go for it. A scramble up the middle by the Columbia quarterback dashed the Tigers’ hopes and put them down 10 points, 27–17.
After another three-and-out by a sputtering Tigers offense, Columbia scored another touchdown, effectively ending the game. Princeton went three-and-out for the second time in a row, and Columbia stalled the remaining six minutes of the clock away.
As the season continues, the Tigers will look to remedy their offense’s struggle to find Colella, and their defensive tackling issues. Defensive breakdowns on third and fourth downs were another factor behind the frustrating loss. Columbia went 10–17 on third downs and had a big touchdown on a 4th-and-5, which allowed them to create a massive edge in time of possession.
The Tigers had 15 minutes fewer of possession than the Lions, and barely touched the ball in the fourth quarter. These will no doubt be the focus in practice this week as they face a tough trip to Georgia to face Mercer University (5–0, 3–0 Southern) next weekend.
Coach Surace was upset about the loss, but remained positive after the game.
“We had a couple of opportunities. [We] didn’t capitalize on those,” Surace finished.
Zachary Meisel is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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