Opening Kickoff

TigerBlog isn't usually a big celebrity gossip fan or anything like that.

He's never watched any of those "Real Housewives" shows or the Kardashians, and he never will.

He did notice a headline in the New York Post Wednesday, though, that caught his attention. It was about the new quarterback for the Giants, Daniel Jones, and his girlfriend. The headline was this: "Meet Ella Bonafede, girlfriend of Giants' starting quarterback Daniel Jones."

TB immediately put it all together. Bonafede. As in Sam Bonafede, former Princeton men's lacrosse face-off man. As in, Sam Bonafede, whose sister played lacrosse ... at Duke ... where Jones went to school.

Then he double-checked, and Bonafede's sister is in fact named Ella. He didn't really need to check, of course, since the picture of Ella Bonafede with Jones makes it fairly obvious that she's Sam's sister.

And there you have it.

Sam Bonafede, by the way, is a 2018 grad who is currently at the University of Chicago Law School. TB once wrote this about him:
 "Bono," as they call him, could be the perfect Princeton ambassador, always upbeat, always supportive. He's the kind of kid you look at and know that he's going to make a real difference in the decades to come.

And that was before his sister was apparently dating the new starting quarterback for the New York Giants.

There will be a new starting quarterback for the Princeton football team this year. And two new starting wide receivers. And two new starting inside linebackers. And some other new starters dotted throughout the lineup.

The kickoff for the 2019 Tigers comes up tomorrow, when Princeton hosts Butler on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium. Kickoff is at 5, after the Community Day activities at 3:30, including the youth sports clinic on Weaver Track.

For Princeton, it's the season after the season. A year ago, the Tigers went 10-0, going unbeaten for the first time in 54 years.

As TB went through last year's stats, it came back to him just how dominant those Tigers were. The average score of a Princeton game last year was Tigers 47, Other Guys 13.

That's pretty dominant.

Princeton lost its last game of the 2017 season, which means that the current winning streak sits at 10 games. The last time Princeton won 10 straight was between 1994-95. Before that, you have to go back to 1964-65. Before that it's 1949-52. Before that it was 1934-35.

In other words, it's a pretty special accomplishment.

Princeton has won three of the last six Ivy League championships, and you don't do that by having one or two great classes that come through. No, what Princeton has done is build a winning culture, and that has led to sustained success.

If you want to read a pretty good story about the Tigers' success and the link between head coach Bob Surace and Dallas Cowboys' head coach Jason Garrett (if you're a Princeton fan, you probably already know a lot about this), click HERE.

As for the 2019 Tigers, they're picked to finish third in the league, behind Dartmouth and Yale, two teams that Princeton will play on consecutive November Saturdays. The first of those game is against the Big Green on Nov. 9 at Yankee Stadium as part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of college football, followed by Yale at home Nov. 16.

The game tomorrow is the opener for Princeton and Game 4 for Butler, who is 1-2 on the season. Princeton and Butler have met once before, last year in Indianapolis, where Princeton won 50-7 after leading 44-7 at halftime.

The 2019 Tigers have more sophomores (19) listed on the two-deep than they do from any other class. There are 24 freshmen and sophomores and 29 juniors and seniors. It's a great mix of returning players who had huge roles in past years, returning players who will have bigger roles and new players who are getting their first real shot at meaningful playing time.

After the Butler game is a trip to Bucknell, followed at home by the Ivy League opener against Columbia. That's in two weeks, and it'll be here in no time.

In fact, the entire season, as always, will seem to fly by. It figures to be a fun one.

That's how Princeton football has been lately. Fun, and successful.