Princeton Tigers football fans wanting to see their favorite team early this fall will have to get their road maps out.

Five of the Tigers’ first seven games will be on the road, including the Aug. 21 opener at Port Byron Riverdale. The Tigers will only have four home games for the 2026 season – Aug. 28, Sept. 18, Oct. 9 and Oct. 16.

Princeton and Riverdale last met in 2018 with the Tigers winning 41-0 in Port Byron. The Tigers won three of four meetings from 2015-18, the loss (34-18) coming in 2017 at Princeton. The Rams finished 6-4 last year, making their first playoff appearance in 14 years. They have gone 10-18 since sitting out the 2022 season due to lack of numbers.

A week later, the Tigers will make their home debut on Friday, Aug. 28 against Mercer County, which finished 2-7 last year. The Tigers beat the Golden Eagles 41-22 in their first meeting in Aledo last year.

For Week 3, the Tigers travel to Newman on Sept. 4 looking to avenge a 28-14 loss to the Comets (8-3 in 2025). The Tigers had won five straight times over the Comets prior to last year’s defeat and own a 10-8 series edge.

The Tigers will make a familiar road trip to Monmouth in Week 4 to face Monmouth-Roseville (10-2 last year) on Sept. 11. It will mark Princeton’s fourth game at Monmouth in four years, including a 2024 playoff meeting. The Tigers hold a 7-5 all-time series edge, but the Titans won at Princeton last year 36-8.

In Week 5, Princeton will return home to face Sherrard (2-7) on Sept. 18 in a battle of the Tigers. Princeton gained a 1-0 forfeit win due to an illness in the Sherrard camp. PHS has won eight straight over Sherrard since dropping the first three meetings, two in West Central Conference play.

It will be back on the road for Weeks 6 and 7 for games at Kewanee (0-9) on Sept. 25 and at Mendota (2-7) on Oct. 2. The Tigers and Boilermakers will be meeting for the 128th time, with Princeton holding a 66-57-4 all-time edge. This will mark the 88th meeting between Princeton and Mendota. The Trojans hold a 42-41-4 series edge despite Princeton sweeping all five games since Mendota joined the Three Rivers in 2021.

The Tigers beat both Three Rivers rivals soundly last season, defeating the Boilers 63-12 and the Trojans 48-10.

The game circled on Princeton fans’ calendars each year brings the rival Red Devils of Hall to Bryant Field for a Week 8 matchup on Oct. 9. The Tigers won 28-12 over the Red Devils (3-6) in Spring Valley last fall and have won eight straight and nine of last 11 meetings. Hall leads the all-time series 54-41-3 dating back to 1915.

The season finale will bring Rockridge (10-1) to Tiger Town on Oct. 16 in a Three Rivers crossover for the second straight on Oct. 16. The Rockets rallied with 21 unanswered points to beat the Tigers 36-29 last fall. The all-time series is tied 13-13 dating back to 1965, but the Tigers stand just 5-9 at home.