The Opener

TigerBlog watched the Princeton-San Diego football game Saturday from the press box. 

And from the end zone. And from the upper deck, in the shade. And from the end zone. And from the top of the lower section. 

Each place offered a great view of the game and a great feeling of what the atmosphere in Princeton Stadium was. And each place offered someone different to sit with while he watched. 

For instance, there was Rachel Schermick of the Ivy League and her three-year-old daughter Anja. One of them had her face painted like a princess.   

That's Anja with Coach the Dog. Does it get any cuter than that? 

Coach was a very popular guy at the game. He found himself in dozens of pictures, including one with TB. That one isn't as cute. 

Then there was Bryce Chase, fresh off his hip replacement. Brycie grew up in Princeton before playing and coaching lacrosse for Princeton since forever. He's also one of the biggest Princeton sports fans you'll see anywhere.

In fact, as TB sat with Brycie, he couldn't help but wonder how many football games his friend has seen live. It's many hundreds. And yet there he was, living and dying with the Tigers on every play. 

Upstairs he met Rick and Carol Ober, who were sitting with the ubiquitous Pattie Friend. Carol at one time was Carol Munger, the daughter of the longtime Penn football coach George Munger. 

She also was a great athlete in her own right as a Quaker as an undergrad 60 years ago. Like most women athletes of her era and the earliest days of women' athletics at Princeton, she has the same answer when you ask her what she played: "Everything."

Rick Ober is a member of the Class of 1965. Carol, Pattie and TB are all honorary members of the same class, something that Pattie recognized at one point. TB and Carol agreed that they identify much more with the Princeton Class of 1965 than with when they graduated from Penn. 

Rick, like Brycie, has also seen a ton of Princeton games, especially football. Also like Brycie, he remains a huge fan. 

As such, they were upset with the final score: San Diego 42, Princeton 35. It was a game the Tigers led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter and 35-21 at the half. 

So what to make out of it all? 

First of all, if you have a chance to go to a game at Powers Field at Princeton Stadium, do it. Definitely. It's a great place to watch a game. 

As for the game, well, there are a few things to keep in mind. Before TB points out the obvious, here are some numbers to consider: 

* 91, 70, 37, 45
* 30, 31, 27, 63

What is the point of these numbers? The first group would be the points by quarter by the eight Ivy League schools this weekend. The second group is the points by quarter by their eight opponents. 

In other words, the league came out of the gates strong. Even without Princeton's 21-0 start, that first quarter number was 70-30 for the other seven teams. 

For the first half, it was Ivy 161, Opponents 61. Take away Princeton, and you have Ivy 125, Opponents 40.  

What does this tell you? To TB, it suggests that the adrenaline of playing the first game took over. It may also suggest that the absence of film available for a team playing its first game means the defense has to react on the fly, rather than already be prepared for trends. 

Then there is the second half, especially the fourth quarter. Only one Ivy team — Dartmouth — scored more than seven fourth quarter points. 

What does this tell you? That there's a difference between "training camp shape" and "game shape." When you're playing opponents who are on their third or fourth game, they're in "game shape." 

The Ivy League teams will be there soon enough. Princeton will. 

The Tigers certainly showed a lot of positives against San Diego. Princeton's two quarterbacks — Kai Colon and Blaine Hipa — threw for 283 yards (on only 18 completions). A year ago, the highest single-game passing yardage total was 267. 

Princeton had 10 players catch at least one pass. Ethan Clark averaged 10.3 yards per carry. Marco Scarano made 18 tackles and had three pass breakups. 

There is a lot to build off of here. And there's a long way to go this season. 

Next up for Princeton is a trip to Lafayette Saturday.