Connect with us

College

Princeton Continues Historic Season, Tramples Brown 48-10

Previous Image
Next Image

info heading

info content


Backup quarterback Kevin Davidson and the Princeton Tigers (5-0, 2-0 Ivy) posted 48 points and racked up 558 yards of total offense on the way to a blowout victory over Ivy League rivals Brown (1-4, 0-2 Ivy) on Saturday at Princeton Stadium.

It was Alumni Weekend at Princeton and class of 1990 head coach Bob Surace had to look deep into the depth chart to find his starting QB.

Junior Kevin Davidson was called upon to make his first ever collegiate start at quarterback in lieu of the injured John Lovett but you would never known it. Princeton’s high-powered offense did not skip a beat in the absence of Lovett, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week three consecutive weeks, as Davidson helped set the tempo from the opening snap.

Offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson dialed up some aggressive play calls for Davidson’s offense on the game’s opening possession and it payed dividends for the team. On the first play of the game, Davidson hit the safe hands of Stephen Carlson for 39 yards and eventually set up a 2 yard passing score to Ryan Quigley. Immediately the nerves of the junior quarterback and the fans alike were eased.

Davidson led another scoring drive exactly 5 minutes later following a quick three-and-out by Brown, working swiftly and efficiently. Just over the halfway point in the first quarter, the 6 foot 4 inch framed QB threw a dart to Jesper Horsted on a 15 yard out-route along the visiting team’s sideline and the team’s leading receiver did the rest, tip-toeing his way to a 62 yard touchdown.

Horsted quickly became Davidson’s favorite target, finding the endzone once again on a 9 yard score in the opening seconds of the 2nd quarter to put the Tigers up 21-0. The two would go on to combine for 169 of Kevin Davidson’s 304 passing yards on the day.

Entering Saturday’s game, Princeton’s season average of 607 scrimmage yards per game on offense ranked #1 among all collegiate and NFL teams and Brown, like the rest of the Tiger’s opponents this season, struggled to keep pace from the early going.

Princeton’s defense stood tall and allowed the offense to put the game to rest in the first half. Thanks to some stingy defensive play from the front seven, Princeton was able to rattle Brown’s sophomore quarterback Michael McGovern. McGovern was forced to scramble for his life on nearly every passing down as the Tiger’s D tallied 5 sacks, and very easily could have had more if not for the quarterback’s improvisation.

While Brown continued to stall on offense, Princeton kept rolling along. A 5 play, 58 yard drive was capped off by running back Charlie Volker when he got lose and scampered 22 yards to find the endzone and put the Tigers up by four scores heading into halftime.

It took Brown’s offense 9 possessions to get on the scoreboard and by that time the game was all but over. Trailing by a first half score of 28-0, Brown started to piece together a handful of meaningful drives in the second half. The Bears began the second half with a 37 yard field goal to open the scoring and cut into the deficit, but the Tigers quickly stopped the bleeding by producing two quick scoring drives of their own to seal the contest.

Up 42-3 in the 4th quarter, the Tigers were able to comfortably cruise through the remainder of the game, putting the ball on the ground and watching the clock tick away.

Princeton abandoned the passing game entirely and put the ball into the hands of running back Charlie Volker to seal the game. Volker rumbled his way to 102 ground yards including scores from 22 and 37 yards out.

The 5-0 Tigers get a matchup against the arch rival Harvard Crimson (3-2, 2-0 Ivy) on the road in Cambridge next Saturday. Kickoff for that one is at 12 p.m. and streaming live on ESPN+.

Extra points

Hot start

Bob Surace’s Princeton Tigers are 5-0 overall for just the 2nd time since 1995 and this is the first time in the past 12 seasons.

No Lovett? No problem

Junior Kevin Davidson stepped up in place of the injured John Lovett and proved just how deep the team is at the quarterback position. Davidson completed 26-39 passes for 304, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.

Defense wins championships

Perhaps the most improved part of this Tigers team from a season ago is the defense. The defense held Brown to just 222 yards of total offense. They’re outscoring their opponents 260-43 and outgaining opposing offenses by nearly 400 yards a game.

Team leaders

Passing

Prin: K. Davidson 26/39 304 yds 4 TD 0 INT

Brwn: M. McGovern 17/29 146 yds 0 TD 1 INT

Rushing

Prin: C. Volker 13 rush 102 yds 7.8 avg 2 TD

Brwn: A. Smith 8 rush 58 yds 6.8 avg

Receiving

Prin: J. Horsted 13 rec 169 yds 2 TD

Brwn: L. Harriott 9 rec 117 yds

 

The following two tabs change content below.
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in College