Princeton Football (2–4 overall, 1–2 Ivy League) is in need of a win. Last week on the road in Cambridge, the Tigers suffered a 45–13 blowout to Harvard that erased this season's bonfire hopes. Not much went right, as the Crimson ran right through the Princeton defense, and offensively, the Tigers continued to struggle to string drives together.
This Homecoming weekend, Princeton will return home for a shot at redemption against the Cornell Big Red (2–4, 1–2). Despite the bonfire being out of reach, this matchup will be a crucial determinant of the success each team can achieve this season. A win here for the Tigers keeps them in theoretical contention for the Ivy League if other results all go their way.
“It’s about keeping the guys together, keeping the team — the entire 120 guys — striving towards one goal, one team, one heartbeat,” senior offensive lineman Nick Hilliard told The Daily Princetonian about the rest of the season. “Ultimately it’s about making sure everyone is making the right decisions every day and the right choices that lead us to being the best team possible. I think if we can keep everyone together, we can put a good run together towards the end.”
Staff Sports Writer Joe Uglialoro ’27, Sports Contributor Zachary Meisel ’27, Sports Contributor Lucas Denault ’27, and Sports Contributor Ify Obianwu ’27 made their predictions for the game.
Princeton 20, Cornell 17 — Joe Uglialoro, Staff Sports Writer
After a nightmare game against Harvard, Saturday’s game against Cornell feels like a must-win. The Tigers have historically dominated the Big Red — Princeton has not lost a game to Cornell since 2017. Cornell also recently lost to Brown, who Princeton beat comfortably over fall break. Using the transitive property in sports is always risky at best, but it provides evidence of a common foe that suggests Princeton has a decent chance of winning this weekend.
That being said, this Princeton team has done little to nothing to inspire confidence that Saturday’s game will be anything but a disappointment. The Harvard game was a nightmare on almost every level, and may have left the team deflated enough to slip up against a theoretically inferior opponent. The Tigers will need to be stronger than they have been both running the ball and stopping the run, as Harvard dominated the trenches last week. Cornell’s defense grades out horribly, ranking in the bottom 20 among FCS defenses. Princeton’s offense is no show-stopper, but should be able to do just enough to avoid further defeat in front of what should be the biggest crowd of the year for homecoming weekend.
Princeton 31, Cornell 14 — Zachary Meisel, Sports Contributor
In what has been a disappointing season for Princeton, their loss last Saturday against Harvard was the worst performance yet. The Crimson controlled both sides of the ball, and the Tigers did not look competitive. By scoring Princeton now has both the worst offense (scoring 19.3 points per game) and worst defense (allowing 29.7) in the Ivy League. For a program that prides itself as being among the Ivy’s best, these numbers are unacceptable. At homecoming against Cornell (1–2, 2–4 Ivy), can they change the course of their season?
The Big Red are certainly an easier matchup than Harvard, especially when Princeton is on offense. On that side of the ball, a stoppable force meets a movable object, with Princeton’s offense (worst in the Ivy in points per game, as well as rushing and passing yards) meeting Cornell’s struggling defense. Cornell has especially struggled against the run (last in the Ivy in rushing yards allowed), so a potential breakout game from John Volker and Co. awaits. Princeton has struggled massively on third down, converting less than a third of the time. Therefore, staying ahead of the chains by running the ball efficiently will be crucial.
Despite Princeton’s troubles, they have been perfect at home this season. The Big Red have to travel a long way to New Jersey, and are not the Ivy’s best in the first place. While Princeton has played poorly, they will be motivated after the Harvard beatdown, particularly in front of a big homecoming crowd. I think that a season on life support will get a little breath with a comfortable win.
Princeton 17, Cornell 20 — Lucas Denault, Sports Contributor
After both teams have underperformed in the middle of the season, this Ivy League matchup between Princeton and Cornell could potentially spark a late run for the victor.
The dual threat senior quarterback Jameson Wang has been lighting it up for the Big Red, who has the most rushing attempts on the team while averaging 4.4 yards per carry. But what I think is most commendable about Wang is his touchdown to interception ratio, at 14:2 through six games, especially as most of Cornell’s offense revolves around Jameson being fluid inside and outside the pocket because of his rushing potential. Princeton has been able to keep star wide receivers at bay, but the Tigers will have to figure out how to contain the rising star sophomore Samuel Musungu on the outside who has been averaging 10.5 yards per reception.
Princeton’s offense struggled against Harvard last week, only racking up 223 total yards and one rushing touchdown. I think a main objective early in the game should be to establish a run game. This is something that Princeton hasn’t fully accomplished this season, but if they do, I think it will really help open up the pass game for junior quarterback Blaine Hipa. Coming off a mere 24 yards last week, Volker could get that first 100 yard rushing game as a player who needs a rebound game and to be a key part of this offense.
That being said, I think the Cornell offense may be too much for Princeton’s defense, which is still trying to find its identity. Princeton will fight hard on their home turf, and if there's a few explosions on offense and a win in the turnover battle, some interesting things could happen.
Princeton 34, Cornell 23 — Ify Obianwu, Sports Contributor
After coming off a big loss at Harvard last week, I am hoping that the game against Cornell restores some of my hope in this year's football season. What this game will come down to is the offense. Last week, the Tigers’ offense got off to a slow start, and there seemed to be a repeated problem when trying to push the ball forward. If the team has taken this week to recuperate and establish cohesiveness in their offense, the game should go fairly well, and we won’t see another blowout.
We have been seeing a strong performance from senior running back John Volker this season with four touchdowns in five games. If he continues to progress in his performance, he should be a struggle for Cornell’s defense to handle, with the team having only six of the 22 returning starters from last season. The notable player on Cornell’s offense that could be a problem is senior quarterback Jameson Wang, who had a strong start to his season with 14 touchdowns in six games.
Even with his notable performance, the Tigers have multiple players that have put up good stats this season, particularly senior wide receivers Luke Coella and AJ Barber. If we continue to see progress from all of these players and the Princeton offense doesn’t let Cornell dominate at the beginning, I think this game against Cornell is a shot at redemption. The Tigers haven’t lost a game at home yet this season, so hopefully the comfort of their home turf will help them bring home a win.
Joseph Uglialoro is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Zachary Meisel is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Lucas Denault is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Ify Obianwu is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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