The 2020 football schedule says that this weekend would have been Princeton's Ivy League opener against Columbia.
A year ago in Princeton, the Tigers rallied from a 10-7 halftime deficit to knock off Columbia 21-10. The defense was dominant, led by James Johnson (11 tackles), Jeremiah Tyler (10 tackles, 3.5 for loss, one sack) and Samuel Wright (2.5 sacks, seven tackles).
Princeton leads the all-time series with Columbia at 72-16-1, which would have made this weekend's game the 90th in the series.
For this week's edition of "Going Back," TigerBlog goes back to another Princeton-Columbia game, one played at Palmer Stadium on Oct. 28, 1995. The Tigers and Lions both came into that game unbeaten in the Ivy League at 4-0, and it was billed as a showdown for first place on the final Saturday of October.
Columbia was led by a dynamic quarterback named Mike Cavanaugh, whose day did not go as he might have hoped. Cavanaugh was a great player at Columbia, a threat running and throwing, and he was as responsible as anyone for the Lion resurgence that year. If you are wondering about Marcellus Wiley, he played for Columbia in 1993, 1994 and 1996 but not 1995.
Anyway, here is what TigerBlog would have been the Monday after the 1995 Princeton-Columbia game:
TigerBlog has never felt worse for a Princeton opponent than he did for Columbia quarterback Mike Cavanaugh after the Tigers and the Lions met in Palmer Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Cavanaugh became a TB favorite after watching him through the years. He's been explosive, the kind of player who can lift a program, which is exactly what he'd been doing for Columbia football.
Until Saturday, that is.
TB was looking forward to this game all week. Really all month.
Princeton and Columbia both came into the game at 3-0 in the Ivy League. The winner wasn't going to be assured of an Ivy League title, not with all of the big games left to be played.
Still, this was a big one by any metric. And it was over quickly. By the time it ended at 44-14 Princeton, things had long, long been decided.
Actually, if you were looking for the defining moment of the game, it came on the second play of the day.
On that play, David Patterson picked off a Cavanaugh pass and set up the Tiger offense on the Columbia 18. One play later, Brock Harvey was in the end zone.
And that's really how the day went.
The next possession saw another Damani Leech interception, followed by an Alex Sierk field goal. 10-0 Tigers less than four minutes in.
Even when Columbia tried to right things, and actually drove into Princeton territory, Ryan Moore intercepted another pass. .
Stunningly, Columbia's first five possessions ended in turnovers, with a Rich Hill pick and a forced fumble and recovery by Patterson - all in the first quarter. In all Princeton would intercept seven passes. It would be 24-0 by the middle of the second quarter.
Everything went right for Princeton.
And none of all that was the worst part for Columbia. No, that came even later in the second quarter, when Cavanaugh broke his ankle while being sacked. The two-time Ivy League Player of the Week would finish 2 for 12 for 29 yards and five interceptions.
Again, TB felt awful for him. He didn't feel any better when he saw the headline in the New York Daily News yesterday: "Quarterback, Title Hopes Left Mangled In New Jersey."
The rest of the day was just a showcase for Princeton's depth, a long run on a screen pass by Marc Washington to set up a Ben Gill TD reception here, a 43-yard reception by Kevin Duffy while lying on his back there, another interception for Moore here, a touchdown from Mike Clifford there.
It was a mismatch.
And now Princeton is still unbeaten, at 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Ivy League. Up next? A trip to Penn to face a Quaker team that has lost already to Columbia (with Cavanaugh obviously) and desperately needs a win to stay in the league race.
Princeton continues to chase all kinds of history here, searching for its third Ivy title in seven seasons and even possibly its first perfect season since 1964.
The game against Columbia was another step along the way. A big step.
It was a decisive step, yes, but not the deciding one.
There's still a long way to go for the 1995 Tigers.
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