Second-Half Slate Begins with Princeton

If recent history is any guide, the 100th meeting between Harvard (3-2, 2-0 Ivy) and Princeton (2-3, 1-1 Ivy) at Harvard Stadium tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. should be nothing short of thrilling.

Last season, the Tigers needed a pair of late interceptions to preserve a 31-28 win in New Jersey, while the year before, a dramatic Princeton stop at their own six-yard line on fourth-and-one kept the Crimson from scoring a critical touchdown, and a Jay McCareins kickoff return for a touchdown iced a 27-24 Tigers win in Cambridge.

That game was the fifth straight Harvard-Princeton contest in the Stadium to be decided by a touchdown or less, as the two teams played tight games through a Crimson win streak that lasted from 1996 to 2004.

“We’d had their number, but they’d all been extremely close, very difficult games,” coach Tim Murphy said. “It’s a big rivalry game for us. Outside of Yale, this is by far our biggest rivalry. It’s a week where you don’t really have to do as much motivating, because our kids know that Princeton’s a big game.”

While this year’s matchup doesn’t have the luster of two teams bringing 5-0 records to the field, as last year’s contest did, there are still serious Ivy implications for both teams. The Tigers, the defending Ivy League co-champions, dropped a conference game in a 33-24 loss to Brown last week. Princeton will need to win out to guarantee itself a share of the league title, as no team has won the championship with two losses since a three-way tie in 1982.

“Because of the closeness of the talent level and the fact that anything can happen from week to week, you can’t have a down week,” Princeton coach Roger Hughes said. “We have a playoff mentality every time we play an Ivy League game.”

For the Crimson, a win will retain first place and a spotless Ivy mark for the team, which currently shares the top league spot with Yale.

Hanging on to first place will require stopping a Princeton attack that features a deep group of talented receivers and the running of athletic scrambling quarterback Bill Foran, who averages 54 yards per game, good enough for fifth in the Ivies. Foran’s scrambling ability was on display last season against Harvard, as he entered the game for a slightly injured Jeff Terrell and ran five times for 27 yards in his lone drive on the way to a crucial first-half touchdown.

The Crimson secondary, meanwhile, will face the daunting task of containing Tigers wideouts Adam Berry—twin brother of junior cornerback Andrew on the other side of the field—Will Thanheiser and Brendan Circle, a first team All-Ivy selection last season. Circle is averaging 19.3 yards per catch and 73.4 yards per game this season, near the top of the league in each category.

The combination of running quarterback and big-play receivers requires even more effort from the Harvard secondary.

“From the standpoint of the back end, we know that we have to stay in coverage a lot longer in any given situation in case the quarterback is able to break the pocket,” Andrew Berry said.

Princeton has been unable to fully capitalize on its depth at receiver, however, in part because of the inconsistencies that have plagued both Foran and platoon-mate Greg Mroz in the passing game. The two quarterbacks have combined to throw 11 interceptions, worst among Ivy League teams and a major contribution to the Tigers league-worst minus-eight turnover margin.

Offensively, the Crimson will look to capitalize on Princeton’s inexperienced secondary, which has a pair of new starters at cornerback. Senior wideout Corey Mazza, averaging 104 receiving yards per game, and sophomore Matt Luft have been the top targets this season in a deep receiving corps.

Harvard will face a Princeton defense that was one of the stingiest in the league last year, allowing 17.9 points per game, but has fallen off significantly this season. The Tigers are currently giving up 31.8 points per game, including 32 to Columbia and 33 to Brown in Princeton’s two Ivy contests of the season.

“I think clearly we’re a little younger on defense than we have been, especially in the secondary,” Hughes said. “But I think the turnovers have a direct correlation to [the leap in scoring].”

The Crimson may well be forced to throw the ball to Luft and Mazza frequently, as Harvard has struggled to run the ball all season, averaging a league-low 2.9 yards per carry. Princeton enters the game with the fourth-ranked rushing defense in the Ivies, surrendering 132.4 yards per game.

“Our defensive philosophy has been to make teams one-dimensional,” Hughes said. “We have to stop the run, whether they come in throwing 70 times or 20 times.”

—Staff writer Brad Hinshelwood can be reached at bhinshel@fas.harvard.edu.