PRINCETON, N.J. — The Columbia football team built an early lead, but Princeton rallied with 17 unanswered points to take a 17–10 win on Friday night. The Lions fell to 1-2 on the season, while the Tigers moved to 2-1.

Titus Evans hauled in eight receptions and posted 93 yards to lead the passing attack. Defensively, Jack Smiechowski registered a game-high 15 tackles and intercepted a pass for the second straight game. Liam Donagher added 12 tackles and Justin Townsend posted a pair of sacks.

After forcing the Tigers into three-and-out on their opening drive, the Lions marched down the field, thanks to a couple of big pickups on receptions from Evans and Ethan Hebb to put the ball on the Princeton 9-yard line. However, a holding penalty stalled the drive, and Columbia settled for a 29-yard field goal from Hugo Merry at the 7:51 mark.

The Lions halted the next Princeton drive near midfield, but took over deep in their own territory after a 48-yard punt put the ball on the Columbia 10. Hebb made another key grab, this time of 25 yards, and a 15-yard pickup from Xander Eschelman on the ground put the ball on the Tigers' 3. Running back Lucas Bullock capped the 10-play drive with the first career touchdown from two yards out, stretching the Lions' lead to 10-0 with 14 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Columbia forced turnovers on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter, starting with a fumble recovery from Keller Patterson and then got the ball back after Smiechowski dove in front of a ball for his third pick in two weeks. However, the offense was unable to capitalize after being forced to punt and throwing an interception.

Princeton finally was able to generate some offense when Kai Colón completed a 51-yard pass to Paul Kuhner to advance to the Columbia 10, but the Lions' defense held down the fort to force a turnover on downs.

With the Lions pinned deep after the stop, Princeton's AJ Pigford tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage and corralled it just before the goal line to set up a Tigers touchdown to make it 10-7 just before the half.

"We got off to a good start, but then we kind of plateaued," Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football Jon Poppe said. "We were getting bodies on bodies in the run game, and the pass game became inconsistent. Obviously, that interception at the end of the first half that turned into a touchdown was a back-breaker."

Neither offense gained much traction in the third, and Princeton put together a pair of scoring drives in the fourth to put the game away.

A pass interference penalty extended a drive, and Clark muscled in from two yards out to give Princeton its first lead of the afternoon, 14–10, with 13:27 left. While the Columbia offense started to move the ball on its next possession, penalties stalled the drive, and the Lions were forced to punt. Princeton answered with a 49-yard connection from Kai Colón to Roman Laurio, which set up a 38-yard field goal by Esteban Nunez Perez to extend the lead to 17–10 at the 9:21 mark.

The teams then traded punts, giving Columbia one last try with 1:54 on the clock. Quarterback Xander Menapace entered on Columbia's final drive and completed 6-of-8 passes to put the Lions in position for a Hail Mary. With three seconds left, Menapace's deep shot toward Evans in the end zone was broken up by Princeton's Marco Scarano, sealing the victory for the Tigers.

"I'm proud of how these guys came to battle," Poppe said. "We were trying to minimize possessions and shorten the game, and almost did enough. It just wasn't quite what we needed in the end."
The Lions will wrap up non-conference play at home against No. 8/9 Lehigh on Saturday, October 11. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at Robert K. Kraft Field at Wien Stadium. Fans can catch all the action on ESPN+.

Tickets are available starting at $13. To purchase, click here or call 888-LIONS-11.

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POSTGAME NOTES
- Friday was the 94th meeting between Columbia and Princeton, with the Tigers leading the all-time series 76-17-1
- Justin Townsend is now up to No. 3 on Columbia's all-time sack list with 18.5, passing former NFL player Josh Martin '13CC. Additionally, seven of his career sacks have come against the Tigers.
- Columbia did not allow a passing touchdown for the third consecutive game this season. The Lions have not allowed a score through the air since playing Brown in week nine in 2024.