Last season, the Princeton football team shared the rights to its first Ivy League title since 1995. They beat the co-champs, Yale, in New Haven. Now they have 14 returning starters and snuck into the preseason Coaches Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) at No. 25.
All that and no respect.
They aren't expected to win the Ivy League this season. Princeton was picked fourth behind Yale, Penn and Harvard in the annual preseason media poll.
One of the main reasons for this ranking is key player losses. They lost Ivy League Player of the Year quarterback Jeff Terrell to graduation, the catalyst of their offense and team leader.
In order to have a successful season, Tigers coach Roger Hughes is counting on senior quarterback Bill Foran to step in and replace Terrell.
"I think Bill Foran had a strong camp, is making good decisions and showing good leadership," Hughes said. "I'm just as happy with his development off the field as on the field. His leadership on the sidelines and in the locker room has really improved."
Defensively, three other All-Ivy selections departed, including defensive lineman Jake Marshall, and two defensive backs, J.J. Artis and Tim Strickland.
Senior defensive back Kevin Kelleher will be the one who keeps the defensive secondary in order this season, and the success of the secondary will be on his shoulders.
"Defensively, I think Kevin Kelleher will need to have a good year leading our defensive backfield and keeping us organized," Hughes said, "since we'll have young players back there."
They will come into this season with at least three consecutive seasons with a record of .500 or better, something that has not been done since 1996.
To that end, Hughes liked the way his team's training camp went and is excited about this coming season.
"I think we have had a hard, physical camp, and I feel lucky that we have come out of it fairly healthy," he said.
Princeton will be in the mix once again this year, and it remains to be seen if they can replace their crucial losses and stay lucky.
