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Note: TigerTown along with the PVC/Cheer Clinics are cancelled.
Over the last decade, only two quarterbacks have started back-to-back home openers on Powers Field: Chad Kanoff and Blake Stenstrom. Kai Colón joins that short list this Saturday, albeit with a major asterisk.
Colón now takes snaps for Albany.
Kanoff and Stenstrom made both starts in Orange and Black, and both did so as upperclassmen. You know who has never started a home opener under center for Princeton? A true freshman. That changes this weekend, too.
Yet for all the intrigue at quarterback, Princeton’s real urgency is far simpler: getting into the win column. Last Saturday’s film told the full, frustrating story of your standard Week 1 Ivy League loss.
The positives were real. Opening the year against a Bryant squad already three games into its season, the Tigers more than held their own. Princeton outgained the Bulldogs 320–304 and held them to just three scoring drives all afternoon. Proven All-Ivy anchors like Ethan Clark and Chase Christopher showed their best football is still ahead, while a handful of fresh faces turned heads immediately.
That only made the self-inflicted wounds sting more. A dropped pass here, a missed tackle there, a special teams miscue … they were all the small margins that allowed Bryant to linger early and ultimately score late for a 21–14 win. When your season is only 10 Saturdays long, letting a winnable one slip through your fingers stings that much deeper.
Princeton approaches its Week 2 showdown with Albany this Saturday (3 pm, ESPN+) on Powers Field knowing they need to build on both the good and the bad. There is no shortage of confidence throughout the locker room, but watching mistakes on film for the first time usually causes big leaps forward.
The Tigers will need it this weekend, because Albany has now played four games, and it will bring dynamic talent — including some very familiar faces — to Princeton this weekend.
“Albany has had an excellent start to their season, with two one-score losses they nearly won, including against an FBS team in Buffalo,” head coach Bob Surace said. “They are one of the most talented teams we will play, and their schematic volume — and discipline within that array of plays — is one of the highest in my 16 years here.”
Princeton fans will get their first look at quarterback Wyatt Becker, the first freshman in program history to start the season opener under center. Becker threw for 202 yards and a touchdown in his collegiate debut, but he wants nothing more than to secure his first career win in front of his home faithful.
At some point Saturday, he may lock eyes with an opponent who is very familiar with Powers Field. Albany linebacker Sekou Roland recorded 45 tackles during a career with the Tigers that — like Colón — ended with graduation this past spring. Now both are using the extra year of eligibility for a season with the Great Danes.
Even familiar faces can feel unfamiliar early in the season. Princeton fans have waited nine months to get familiar with its 2026 squad. Princeton players have waited just as long to return to Powers Field and compete.
Those waits end Saturday.
Week 2 Storylines
Welcome Back • Saturday marks the home opener of the 155th season of Princeton football. The Tigers have split their last four home openers, including a 42-35 home loss to San Diego last year.
Home Cooking • Princeton lost its last three home games in 2025. All three came to teams that reached the 2025 FCS playoffs, including two teams that played in the second round.
Nice To Meet You • Albany is one of two first-time opponents Princeton will play this season (Wagner, Week 4). The Great Danes are 2-2 on the season, including a 28-20 loss to Monmouth last weekend that saw Albany rally from a 28-7 deficit in the second half. Colón has completed nearly 53% of his passes for an average of 154.3 yards per game, and he has thrown six touchdowns.
Fresh Face • Wyatt Becker became the first Princeton freshman ever to start a season opener at quarterback, and he became the first freshman to start any game at quarterback since Quinn Epperly started the finale of the 2011 season. A two-time All-Mission League honoree who threw for 7,223 passing yards and 68 touchdowns at Sierra Canyon, Becker completed 15 of 29 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown last week.
Milestone Mark • Senior All-Ivy running back Ethan Clark hit two career milestones last weekend. After rushing 18 times for 69 yards and a touchdown at Bryant, Clark has now run for more than 1,000 yards (1,009), and he has scored 10 career rushing touchdowns.
Catching On • Sophomore Josh Smith didn’t play a single game last season, but he led Princeton with three catches for 86 yards and a touchdown last weekend. He also had a 53-yard reception, the third-longest catch by an Ivy League player over the weekend.
20-20 Vision • While Princeton did well gaining yards last weekend, the Tigers continue to struggle cashing those yards in. Dating back to last season, Princeton has scored below 20 points in six straight games, its longest streak since an eight-game drought in 2009.
Tackling The Issue • Senior Chase Christopher is the only returning Ivy player who ranked in the Top 10 in tackles in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons. He ranked seventh in 2024 with 7.2 stops per game, and he ranked tenth last season with 7.9 per game. A two-time All-Ivy League honoree, Christopher ended Week 1 tied for the Ivy League lead with 11 tackles.
1-2 Punch • The defensive back combination of Torian Roberts and Evan Haynie have combined to play 58 of a possible 62 games over the last four seasons. Roberts, a 2025 second-team All-Ivy honoree who has played in all 30 games of his career, recorded 42 tackles, four interceptions and six breakups last season. Haynie is a 2026 captain who earned All-Ivy honorable mention last season after recording 38 tackles and three interceptions.
O Captain! Our Captains! • Princeton named four captains for the 2026 season: defensive backs Evan Haynie and Torian Roberts, tight end Joey Wassler, and offensive lineman Oyintare Porbeni.
Staff Report • Princeton head coach Bob Surace announced changes to the coaching staff during the preseason. Mike Weick, who has spent the previous seven years coaching some of the most prominent linebacker in the Ivy League, has been named Defensive Coordinator and Associate Head Coach, while Stephen Thomas has returned to Princeton and will coach the defensive line. Steve Verbit, who enters his fifth decade on the staff, will now serve as Chief of Staff for the program.
We’re Honored • The Princeton Football Team had 10 players named to the preseason Phil Steele All-Ivy team. Josh Robinson earned first-team honors at wide receiver and punt returner, while Barrett Eddlemon, Justin Selbert and Oytinare Porbeni nabbed first-team honors on the offensive line. Chase Christopher (linebacker) and Torian Roberts (defensive back) collected first team honors on the defensive side of the ball while Brady Clark was first team punter. Ethan Clark (running back), AJ Pigford (linebacker) and Evan Haynie (defensive back) were named to the second team.
Coach ‘Em Up • Head coach Bob Surace is in his 16th season as the Princeton head coach this weekend, the longest run of consecutive seasons for any head coach in program history (Hall of Famer Bill Roper coached 17 years over three different stints). He has the second-most wins in program history (84). He is currently five behind Roper for the all-time program lead, and his four Ivy League titles match the Princeton record set by Hall of Famer Dick Colman.
Crystal Ball • Princeton will play its 2026 Ivy League opener on Saturday, Oct. 3 (12 pm) at Columbia. The home team has won five of the last six meetings in this series, including a 17-10 Friday night win for the Tigers last season.
