Princeton had been an Ivy League football power from 1985-1995, going 48-28-1 and winning three Ancient Eight titles, including one outright in 1995.
But from 1996-1999, the Tigers were just 10-18 in Ivy play, and replaced 13-year head coach Steve Tosches with then 40-year-old Doane College graduate Roger Hughes.
Hughes, who also has a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska in exercise physiology, led Princeton to back-to-back 3-4 Ivy League seasons and then a 4-3 season in 2002, good for third place in the Ivy League.
However, last season, things fell apart for the Tigers. Quarterback Matt Verbit was injured in the preseason, and although he came back to play every game, things did not start well.
The Orange and Black also had three first-team All-Ivy defensive players from 2002 ruled academically ineligible for the 2003 season -- linebacker Zak Keasey, safety Brandon Mueller and cornerback Jay McCareins, the brother of New York Jets wide receiver Justin McCareins.
Then, once the Ivy League season started, things went from bad to worse.
Princeton blew a 20-0 lead over perennial Ivy doormat Columbia, losing 33-27 on a hail mary as time expired. After the Tigers thrashed Brown, they took then-unbeaten Harvard to overtime before losing, 43-40. Princeton then beat up on Cornell, 28-6.
The Orange and Black then had to go to Franklin Field. The Quakers built a 30-0 halftime lead behind two Dan Castles touchdown catches and a Sam Mathews TD run. The Tigers lost five fumbles in the 37-7 drubbing.
To Princeton's credit, the Tigers responded by taking Yale to double overtime before losing by three, although the Bulldogs forced overtime by covering 92 yards in the last 1:03 to tie the game. The Tigers ended the season by losing another close game, 21-15 to Dartmouth.
Hughes hopes to show that last season was just "an anomaly" on the road to recovery that he has started in his tenure in New Jersey.
"Time's going to tell if it was bad luck or not," Hughes said.
However, he added that good teams make their own breaks, and he knows that there are still many question marks surrounding his team.
On offense, while Verbit and junior running back Branden Benson both return, the Tigers lose arguably one of the best three receivers in the Ivy League in B.J. Szymanski, who was the 48th overall pick by the Cincinnati Reds in the June Major League Baseball Draft.
Senior Clint Wu, who tied an NCAA record with a 99-yard touchdown catch last season, and junior Derek Davis have drawn the praises of Hughes so far, but Hughes acknowledges that the loss of Szymanski will not be an easy one to overcome.
"I don't know if we can replace him," he said.
Thus, the Tigers look to the defensive side of the ball to be the focal point of the 2004 team.
With the three returners who did not play last year joining the six other returning starters, Princeton's defense needs to step up and avoid the collapses at the ends of games that plagued the Tigers last season.
"Defense should be the strength of our team," Hughes said.
The Quakers go into Princeton Stadium this year on a five-game winning streak there, dismantling Princeton 44-13 in 2002. Princeton has not beaten Penn outright since 1995, the year the Tigers last won the Ivy League championship. The Quakers' 1997 victory was later forfeited due to the use of an ineligible player. While this streak will likely continue when Penn visits on Nov. 6, the Tigers may very well slip under the radar this year and climb above their preseason sixth spot in the Ivy League poll.
