Princeton Football Team Picked to Finish First at Ivy League Media Day

The Princeton University football team pulled out another close victory over Harvard on Tuesday.

In the closest vote since 2008, Princeton edged Harvard atop the 2014 Ivy League Football preseason media poll, which was announced on Tuesday, according to goprincetontigers.com.

Princeton picked up nine first place votes, while Harvard netted eight. The teams split the conference championship last year.

It was the 10th time Princeton won the conference title, and only a loss to Dartmouth prevented the Tigers from claiming the crown outright.

Dartmouth was picked to finish third, followed by Penn, Yale, Brown, Cornell and Columbia.

The voting was not dissimilar to the results on the football field each of the last two years.

Last season, Princeton edged Harvard, 51-48, in triple overtime.

In 2012, the Tigers pulled off a 24-point comeback for a 39-34 win over the Crimson.

Princeton was picked to win the league by the media for the first time since 1992, and the fifth time in Ivy League history. It won the titles after being picked first in 1964 and 1992, according to the University.

Princeton was the conference co-champion after record-setting performances in both scoring offense and total offense.

Princeton returns nine all-conference selections from last season, including quarterback Quinn Epperly, who was named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List for the upcoming season.

The other returning all-conference selections are cornerback Anthony Gaffney, offensive lineman Spenser Huston, running back Di Andre Atwater, wideouts Seth DeValve and Connor Kelley, return specialist Max Lescano. defensive back Matt Arends and linebacker Mike Zeuli.

The Tigers had a total of 17 all-conference selections in 2013.

Princeton plays its first regular season game Sept. 20 at the University of San Diego, and opens its Ivy League campaign at Columbia Oct. 4.