Going For A Drive

First and 10 at the Princeton 19. Princeton drive starts at 12:14.

Princeton and Columbia played in the mist of Powers Field at Princeton Stadium Friday night. It was the first Ivy League game for both. The Tigers defense was magnificent all evening, but a two-yard interception return had the Lions on top 7-3 into the fourth quarter. Princeton forced a Columbia punt, and with 12:14 left the Tigers took over on their own 19.

First and 10. Blake Stenstrom pass complete short right to Tamatoa Falatea for six yards to the Princeton 25.

Princeton has won 13 Ivy League championships. It has never won an Ivy League championship when it hasn't won its first Ivy game. 

Second and 4. Blake Stenstrom rush middle for 3 yard loss to the Princeton 22. 

It had not been a great offensive night for the Tigers. In fact, when this drive started, Princeton had for the night only 182 yards in total offense and had converted four of 12 third downs.

Third and 7. Blake Stenstrom pass complete short right to Darion Murphy for 9 yards to the Princeton 31. FIRST DOWN.

The play was nothing fancy. Murphy pretended like he was blocking and then flared out to the right. He made one tackler miss and got the first down easily. 

First and 10. Blake Stenstrom pass incomplete short right to Dareion Murphy

Princeton had defeated San Diego 23-12 in its opener two weeks earlier in the California sunshine. When the Tigers played their home opener last weekend, it was in the remnants of a hurricane. Nothing was easy offensively. Princeton would lose that game 16-13 in overtime to Bryant. The weather wasn't quite as bad Friday night, but it was hardly conducive to throwing the ball with the rain and wind.

Second and 10. Jiggie Carr rush middle for 22 yards to the Columbia 47. FIRST DOWN.

This play was huge. Carr tried the middle and was hit immediately by three Columbia defenders. The play by all rights should have ended there, and it would have been third and long. Instead, Carr bounced off those three and then shed two more Columbia tackles as he got to the corner. By the time he was taken out of bounds, the Tigers had crossed midfield, something they had done only once on the previous four drives and only twice on the previous eight. 

First and 10. Jiggie Carr rush middle for 0 yards to the Columbia 47. 

There was now 9:30 left in the fourth. Columbia's defense had now gone 128:33 since allowing a touchdown.

Second and 10. Blake Stenstrom rush middle for three yards to the Columbia 44.

Other than the Carr run for 22 yards, Princeton had picked up 26 yards on the six other plays on the drive. It was a patient offense, to be sure.

Third and 7. Blake Stenstrom pass complete short middle to A.J. Barber for 11 yards to the Columbia 33. FIRST DOWN.

Princeton was now 2 for 2 on third downs on the drive, both of which were third and seven. In other words, they weren't easy conversions. This one was especially tough, as Stenstrom was forced out of the pocket but found Barber, who had smartly found an open spot well beyond the first-down marker.

First and 10. John Volker rush for 2 yards to the Columbia 31.

The last 24 Columbia drives to this point had seen the opponent come up pointless 22 times, with only a pair of field goals mixed in. 

Second and 8. Blake Stenstrom pass complete short right to JoJo Hawkins for 2 yards to the Columbia 29.

This play was snapped just as the clock dipped below seven minutes to go. Princeton had controlled it for more than five minutes, which was good, but now the thinking had to shift to the toughest question to answer in this situation: At what point do you start to think that you might not get the ball back if you don't get a touchdown here?

Third and 6. Blake Stenstrom pass incomplete to A.J. Barber. 

The Tigers were lucky that the pass wasn't intercepted. Now it was fourth down and 6, with 6:18 on the clock. What do you do? There are three options. Try a 46-yard field goal on a rough night for kicking and then hope the defense gets you the ball back. Punt it (possibly another pooch punt from Stenstrom), pin the Lions down and hope the defense gets you the ball back. Go for it. If you've watched Bob Surace coach at Princeton, you knew that he had already eliminated No. 1 and No. 2.

Fourth and 6. Blake Stenstrom pass complete to Luke Colello for 8 yards to the Columbia 21. FIRST DOWN.

Stenstrom had great protection. His throw to Colello was a little behind him, but it was also in the only place where no Columbia defender had a shot at it. Would Colello hang on? Yes. He also cradled the ball with everything he had when he hit the ground. This ball was not getting away from him. 

First and 10. Blake Stenstrom pass incomplete to JoJo Hawkins.

Stenstrom had Hawkins open briefly, but a Columbia defender got a hand in the way and tipped the ball from Hawkins. Now what?

Second and 10. Jiggie Carr rush middle for 2 yards to the Columbia 19. 

When the next play would be snapped, the clock was under five minutes. Princeton had two remaining timeouts. Now you're really thinking about whether you'll get the ball back.

Third and 8. Jiggie Carr rush middle for 6 yards to the Columbia 13. 

This was a tough run by Carr, who spun his way for about four more yards than he otherwise would have had. Field goal or go for it? A field goal makes it 7-6 with now less than four minutes to go, meaning a three-and-out gives you a chance to drive for a winning FG. Again, Surace never entertained that thought. This was go-for-it all along. How do you know? First, Princeton didn't call a timeout between third and fourth down, meaning that there was already a play in mind. Second, you don't run that play on third down unless you're going for it on fourth.

Fourth and 2. Blake Stenstrom pass complete to Luke Colello for 3 yards to the Columbia 10. FIRST DOWN.

The Tigers just beat the play clock to get this off in the first place. Colello ran a slant pattern, and Stenstrom hit him perfectly. They both knew exactly how many yards they needed for the first down, and again Colello was not letting this ball get away. This was a bigger moment than the last fourth down. Had Princeton not converted the earlier fourth, there was still a really good chance the Tigers would get the ball back. This time, with now 3:45 or so to go, had Princeton not gotten the first down and Columbia then gotten one first down of its own, that would almost certainly have been that. Either way, even if Princeton did get a three-and-out, it would have spent its two remaining timeouts, meaning it would have to drive presumably 70 or so yards in about 2:30 without a timeout.

First and 10. John Volker rush 2 yards to the Columbia 8.

These were two tough yards. They were also something of a foreshadow. The clock, by the way, was now under three minutes. 

Second and 8. Blake Stenstrom pass incomplete to John Volker.

Good defense by Columbia stopped Stenstrom's pass, but even had it been complete, the play would have been for minimal gain. It did stop the clock, which now had 2:50 left. 

Third and 8. Blake Stenstrom pass complete to Tyler Picinic for 7 yards to the Columbia 1.

Picinic lined up wide right, caught the pass and then took on three Columbia defenders. Had it been two, he probably would have gotten in. Instead, it was now fourth and 1. Columbia called its first timeout, with 2:14 to go.

Fourth and 1. John Volker rush middle for 1 yard and a touchdown. Jeffrey Sexton extra point is good. Princeton 10, Columbia 7. 2:07 to play.

This was one of those "who spent more time in the weight room in the off-season" plays. There was nothing fancy about it. Volker took the handoff and bulled his way straight ahead. He just got enough of a push and got just enough on his own to push the ball to the goal line. The play was reviewed for what seemed like an eternity. Then came the ruling. Call stands. Touchdown Princeton. 

Princeton's drive totaled 20 plays, traveled those 81 yards and took 10:07 off the clock. It could have stopped at almost any point, as the Tigers converted two third downs and three fourth downs to take the lead. Columbia got the ball back and did get to the Princeton 40, but Princeton's Sekou Roland sacked Columbia quarterback Caden Bell for a 22-yard loss and forced a fumble, which Ryan Savage recovered. 

Final score: Princeton 10, Columbia 7.