Can Princeton football still win the Ivy League?

The Princeton football team is currently in the midst of seeking their second Ivy League Championship in three years.  They sit at fourth in the Ivy League behind a dominant Harvard, Dartmouth, and Penn.  Led by senior captains Matt Arends and Seth DeValve, the Tigers have gone 5-2 on the season overall, but are only 2-2 in league play.

They started off the season strong with a 40-7 victory at Lafayette.  They played their first home game of the season the next week and beat Lehigh 52-26.  This was an encouraging sign for the season, as the Tigers had lost the previous several contests against Lehigh.  The team then moved into league play as they faced off against Columbia.  On perhaps the most miserable day since the beginning of the year, Princeton beat the Lions in a near-empty Princeton Stadium 10-5, handing their Ivy League rival their 24^th consecutive loss.

Junior RB Joe Rhattigan is averaging 5.9 yards per carry this season, and ranks fourth in the Ivy League with 416 rushing yards

The next week, the Tigers faced off against Colgate.  Many students were confused that the team seemed to be playing a toothpaste brand, but the Tigers pulled out a 44-20 victory.  After starting the season 4-0, things were looking up for the football team.

In Providence, the Tigers played a tough game against their Ivy League opponent, Brown.  After exchanging scores for 59 minutes, Brown scored a touchdown in the final minute.  With only 57 seconds on the clock, there was little Chad Kanoff could do and the Tigers lost a heartbreaker 38-31.

Then came Harvard.  Harvard had a 19 game winning streak coming into the contest.  After going undefeated in 2014, the Crimson were making a good case to repeat as Ivy League Champions, with their narrowest margin of victory thus far in the season being 26 points.  After surrendering 7 points in the first half, Harvard went on to shut out Princeton in the second half, with the Tigers departing Cambridge having suffered a 42-7 defeat.  The Tigers returned home to face a winless Cornell team and beat them 47-21.

While it is definitely possible for the Tigers to claim another Ivy League Title, they are no longer in control of their own destiny.  While they still play games against the second and third teams in the league, Harvard still reigns at 4-0.  In order for the Tigers to claim the title, Harvard would have to lose two of their last three games.  This seems like a tall order given that Harvard plays two teams that are 1-3 and given the dominance Harvard has displayed this year.  The Tigers still have much to look forward to, however, as they close out the season with three games against Ivy League teams.

The Tigers’ next game is on Saturday, when they will travel to Franklin Field to take on the Penn Quakers, who are 3-1 in Ivy League play, their one loss coming against Dartmouth.

They will return home for a match up against the struggling Yale Bulldogs (1-3 in League play) whose lone win in the Ivy League came against the winless Cornell.

The Tigers will close out the season against Dartmouth, who are 3-1 in the Ivy League, on November 21.