Football Looks For First Victory Over Princeton Since 2016
As twilight turned to dusk on a chilly fall evening in Cambridge, first year head coach Andrew Aurich led intense goal-line drills in preparation for the staunch Princeton (2-3, 1-1 Ivy) defense. Despite the looming matchup against his alma mater — a team Harvard (4-1, 1-1 Ivy) hasn’t beaten since 2018 — only one thing was on his mind: going 1-0 on Saturday.
“I'm sure after the game, there'll probably be some different emotions than normal but leading up to it again, I’m getting lost in the process,” Aurich explained. "It's very hard to let my mind wander.”
The coach couldn't be blamed for stopping to take in the gravity of the impending moment. Aurich, a 2006 Princeton graduate, later went back to coach the Tigers in several different roles spanning seven years from 2011 to 2019, including a historic 10-0 campaign in 2018.
For Crimson fans, Princeton has created far fewer fond memories. The six consecutive Harvard defeats against Princeton have featured close games and blowouts, as well as a fair bit of controversy, headlined by the Tigers’ quintuple-overtime victory over the Crimson in 2021. In that game, the officials erroneously erased a go-ahead two-point conversion from the scoreboard, allowing the Tigers to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
In this year's match-up, the turnover battle will continue to be the major point of emphasis for the Crimson. Princeton’s defense enters the matchup hot after forcing five turnovers in a 29-17 victory over Brown, a team that upset Harvard earlier this season.
“We're being obsessed over the ball, and we don't have to change anything we're doing game plan wise," Aurich said.
Harvard will continue to be aggressive throwing the ball downfield and with its offensive game plan as a whole. Junior quarterback Jaden Craig, who threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns last weekend, has only thrown one interception compared to 13 touchdowns on the season.
Craig’s arm will be key for Harvard, particularly with captain and running back Shane McLaughlin’s health still in question. On the injury, Aurich said, “He’s trying to fight through it. It’s a day to day thing, week to week thing. So I’m not ruling him out, but we have to take more steps before we get to that point.”
On the defensive side of the ball, stopping the run will be the Crimson’s top priority. “Number one focus of our defense is stop the run,” said senior linebacker Eric Little Jr. “That's our main goal. That's our initial goal whenever we go out there. So that's stayed the main priority.”
In last week’s matchup against Holy Cross, Harvard’s defense allowed a season-high 246 yards on the ground. Still, Aurich remains confident in his defense, adding, “Defense definitely got challenged after the Holy Cross game to raise their level of play. And I think they've had a really good first two days of practice. It sounded different and looked different, just with their urgency.”
With this weekend marking both the first-year and junior parents weekend, the team expects the crowd to be a big boost against the conference rival.
Aurich sent an important message to the fans: “Cheer really, really loud. Don't cheer when we're on offense. And third down cheer very loud when they're on offense.”
The Crimson’s quest for sole possession of the Ivy Leauge title continues with the face-off against the Tigers at 3:00 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 26, with streaming on ESPN+.
—Staff writer Jo Lemann can be reached at jo.lemann@thecrimson.com.
—Staff writer Praveen Kumar can be reached at praveen.kumar@thecrimson.com.
How To: Prepare for your Midterm the Night Before
Just as the air gets cooler, the leaves change to a golden brown color, and you finally unveil your sweater collection, you get the notification you least expect. And no, it’s not your ex breaking no contact. It’s your favorite app, Canvas: “Assignment Created - Midterm 1.” You look at your phone, stunned. It's midterm season? Already? You just finished decorating your dorm, and now this?
You hope it’s a mistake – maybe even a glitch. But nope. There it is, in all its terrifying glory. But hey, no need to freak out. You tell yourself, I’ve totally got this. Right? (Spoiler: you don’t). Luckily, you have your favorite blog to help you prepare.
Ask Past Students for “Advice”
Start with the obvious: text everyone you know. It can’t hurt, can it? Obviously, others have taken the class before, sat through lectures, completed assignments, and still remember(?) the midterm. So it's fine to text your peers, studying for other classes, if they have any last-minute “advice” for you. After all, one little text to a Lamonster will do them a favor and give them a break from their hours-long study sesh. Hit them with the “Heyyy! You took Stat 110, right? ;)” and cross your fingers for a response.
Avoid all Distractions
In class, you were probably on your phone, scrolling through TikTok or “sneakily” checking group chats, praying no one notices how zoned out you are. That stops now. Throw your phone into the void that is the bottom of your backpack. Say no to grabbing boba with your friends (your bank account couldn’t handle it anyway). Ignore that Sidechat notification – Obama isn’t on campus. You need to focus, and distractions are your enemy. You're not just here to study; you're here to cram like your GPA depends on it (because it kind of does?).
Calculate the Percentage
It’s not worth that much of your final grade… probably. As you contemplate studying, remember that one midterm exam is just a chunk fraction of your grade, and you can make up your lost points by acing that final, showing up to lecture (starting now), and participating in sections from here on out. With that, you’ll be on the road to success in getting that A with a midterm grade that didn’t break you because you nailed everything else, hopefully. Realize that final grades are what count, no one sees what you got on that fall midterm of 2024, so don’t fret. It’s just 20 percent, chill.
Face Reality
Realistically, you are not retaining any information. You’ve got a mountain of readings to catch up on and you skimmed a Google document that hasn’t been opened since the second (maybe first?) week of class. Let’s face it — at this point, studying probably won’t make a difference. It’s too late to pull off some miracle, and stressing isn’t going to magically implant the information into your head. Don’t worry, you have so many more tests ahead of you to fail to pass. Maybe next time you’ll start studying before the night of?
So, midterm season is here, and the harsh truth? It never really ends. Once one midterm is over, another is lurking right behind it, ready to ruin your weekend plans. Honestly, we wrote this article to procrastinate studying for our own midterms, so we totally get you. Sure, this one might feel like a setback to your winter arc, but hey, it’s all part of the journey (or so we tell ourselves).
Let’s be real, though — maybe this blog post wasn’t as helpful as you hoped. No amount of last-minute advice will save you (or us) if you keep putting everything off until the night before. So, stop procrastinating, close this tab, and go actually study. Your GPA (and future self) will thank you.