A Pretty Perfect Saturday

Horrorfest, despite its ominous sounding name, is actually a fun annual event, despite the even-more-ominous sounding attractions, including the Hayride of Horror, the Barn of Horror, the 3D Alien Encounter and of course Carnage.

Miss TigerBlog was going to go Saturday night with some of her friends, except their plans fell through early in the day. TigerBlog, being the kind, considerate, loving dad he is, offered to take her anyway, just the two of them.

And what did his teenage daughter say?

"Hashtag never." She speaks in hashtags these days.

If there was any consolation, it was that TB ended up one spot higher than TigerBlog Jr. on the "wouldn't be caught dead at Horrorfest with you" scale.

TB was okay with it. He gets it. Besides that was actually how one of the great days he's ever had with his daughter started.

There are some days that stand out because of what you did. There are others that stand out because you didn't do anything out of the ordinary and yet you still had a day you'll never forget.

That was Saturday with MTB.

It started out with some degree of reluctance on her part. MTB had to be at Princeton for field hockey at 4, and so she had to go with her dad to the Princeton-Columbia football game.

While not quite the sports fan that her brother is, MTB has been to a bunch of Princeton games in her life. This time was different, though, in that it was just her and her dad, up in the PA booth, watching Princeton and Columbia.

On the drive to the game, MTB asked who Princeton's best players were. TB said No. 4 (Quinn Epperly) and No. 11 (Caraun Reid). Of course, a case could be made for No. 3 (Roman Wilson) also.

What's making this Princeton team look like it has a chance to have a pretty special season is the fact that there are so many other numbers who all contribute each week. In fact, Princeton is figuring out something that is really hard to do in football, and that is to keep so many different players involved.

Princeton has looked unstoppable at times through three weeks. The Tigers average 43.7 points per game while allowing just 19.3, and they are just a rough second half against Lehigh - on opening night, when Lehigh was in Week 3 - from being unbeaten. And they do this with an army of players who rotate on and off the field.

Princeton averages 277.3 rushing yards per game despite having no player average 11 carries per game. The top four rushers - DiAndre Atwater, Brian Mills, Epperly and Dre Nelson - all average more than six yards per carry.

And yet the Tigers are not just a rushing team. The Tigers are completing two-thirds of their passes through three games, averaging 280 yards through the air per game.

In fact, Princeton has 840 passing yards and 832 rushing yards through three games. Now that's balance.

Those numbers were even closer in Saturday's 53-7 win over Columbia, when Princeton had 629 yards of offense - 315 through the air and 314 on the ground.

And then there's Epperly, who in three games has rushed for seven touchdowns and thrown for five. In fact, he went from having four rushing TDs against Georgetown in Week 2 to having four passing TDs against Columbia, with two more rushing TDs mixed in. Here are his numbers through three games:
passing - 28 for 39 for 391 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions, 198.3 passing efficiency rating (in college, 100 would equal the average of every quarterback)
rushing - 21 carries, 142 yards, 6.8 yards per carry, seven touchdowns

In case you didn't notice, those numbers are insane. And beyond the numbers is the "wow" factor, which Epperly is starting to have. You know. As in on any given play, he can do something to make the whole crowd say "wow."

In fact, Princeton has become a wildly exciting team to watch, with its big-play capability, it's unconventional formations and its depth.

So what does this mean for the long run of the 2013 season? Well, Princeton hosts Lafayette Saturday in its final non-league game and then heads into the two weeks that will go the furthest to say what kind of year this will be.

It starts Oct. 19 at Brown. It continues the next week at Harvard. Then there is a game Nov. 9 at Penn.

In other words, if Princeton is going to make a run, it's going to have to do it on the road.

Of course, that's still down the road, as it were.

Saturday? That couldn't have gone much better. On the field, and in the PA booth.

MTB wore the headset that connects TB to the video board booth and coordinated the promotions and announcements. She was TB's spotter, telling him who carried the ball and who made the tackle, often substituting the word "repelled" for "tackled."

There was a rather lengthy discussion of who would win a game between an all-star team of Ivy League players and Texas A&M.

Eventually, MTB walked over to Bedford Field in the fourth quarter and TB had to finish the game by himself. It wasn't the same.

A few hours later, MTB substituted a trip to her friend Sonali's house for the fallen-through trip to Horrorfest. Sonali lives close enough to MTB to walk, though far enough away that it's debatable about whether or not to drive. MTB wanted to get in the car, but TB insisted on walking.

As they turned the corner to Sonali's street, TB told his daughter that this was one of the best days that they had ever had together, a day of laughing and hanging out and watching a football game - together.

And then he waited for her response.

"It was fine," she said.

It was way more than he expected.