One More To Go

TigerBlog read his former colleague Craig Sachson's story on Princeton senior wide receiver Jacob Birmelin on goprincetontigers.com the other day and immediately sent an email to head coach Bob Surace to say that he would take Birmelin over Odell Beckham Jr. any day of the week for any game on any level.

He's serious too. It's a combination of factors, most of which can be summed up this way: Birmelin cares a lot about his team and teammates, plays with extraordinary heart and catches anything thrown anywhere near him. It's a great combination.

The result of that is that Birmelin leads the Ivy League in receptions with 58 and receiving yards with 730. He has five more receptions than any other player in the league, and only three other player in the league are within 13 of him. Only one is within 100 receiving yards of him. 

If you want to read Craig's piece, click HERE.

More than numbers alone, Birmelin is also one of those players who inspires the highest level of trust when you watch him play. Birmelin's involved? Great. Exhale.

You could see just how much he matters on the touchdown pass against Yale from Cole Smith to John Volker. Birmelin went in motion and doubled back, making it look like it was going to be a shovel pass to him. With the entire Yale defense focused on Birmelin, Volker found a huge hole in the middle of the field and took the pass untouched for 64 yards.

That's when you know you're good. You make plays without being directly involved in the play.

Birmelin plays his final Princeton game tomorrow at Franklin Field, where Princeton takes on Penn in a game where the storyline is simple: Win, and the Ivy League championship belongs to the Tigers for the fourth time in eight seasons. 

Dartmouth is in the same position as Princeton, minus the four titles in eight years. For Dartmouth, a win at Brown would mean at least a share of the championship as well, and for the Big Green, that would make three in seven years.

The current standings have Princeton and Dartmouth at 5-1, followed by Harvard and Yale at 4-2. The winner of that game would get a three-way share of the championship if Princeton and Dartmouth both lose. If one of Princeton and Dartmouth wins and the other loses, then the winner would be outright champion.

Also, regardless of who wins the game at Penn, there will be a bonfire Sunday night to celebrate the Big Three championship earned with the wins over Harvard and Yale. That event begins at 7:30 on Cannon Green. 

Birmelin is one of an army of Princeton seniors who will be playing their last game. Another is Tavaris Noel.

TigerBlog had the great fortune to be able to write about Noel this week as well. You can read that one HERE.

To sum it up, here's what teammate David Harvey said about him: “He’s the most courageous person I know.” Here's what teammate Sultaan Shabazz said about him: “I am beyond fortunate to call him my friend.”

Without going into too many details, let TB just say that there won't be too many players in uniform this weekend – anywhere – who will appreciate it more than Noel. His story is incredible, the way one person can overcome as much as he can and never even consider giving it all up. 

It shows you how important football is to him. It also shows you how important Princeton football is to him, and just how much he values the brotherhood of the team.

It's that sort of brotherhood that has built the winning culture that has put Princeton in position to win championships or challenge for them every year. That's the case again in 2021.

The last remaining question is whether this will be a championship season or a second-place season. As for the opponent, Penn has struggled this year, with a record of 1-5 in the league and 3-6 overall. 

At the same time, this is Penn, a team that would love to derail the Tiger championship hopes.

Kickoff is tomorrow at 1 in Philadelphia.