Penn invades Princeton It is not goodbye. It is not adios. It is not au revoir. The last words Penn wideout Miles Macik hears from every alumnus he talks to in the offseason are: "Just make sure you beat Princeton." Macik and the rest of the Penn football team (6-0, 4-0 Ivy League) will be trying to extend their 18-game winning streak when they invade Princeton tomorrow at 1 p.m. (PRISM, WXPN-FM 88.5). The Palmer Stadium clash, which will highlight this weekend's Princeton homecoming festivities, will be the first between these age-old rivals in that venue since the Tigers (5-2, 2-2) handed Penn a 20-14 loss two years ago. The Quakers have not lost since. On paper, this season's matchup does not compare with last year's battle of 7-0 undefeated titans on homecoming weekend in a packed Franklin Field. That was the latest two undefeated teams met in the Ivies since 1968. The luster of national media attention, questions of academic integrity and a mohawked Keith Elias are gone. Despite the altered circumstances and some new personnel, the styles of these two teams have not changed during the past year -- nor has their dislike for each other. "It's definitely not just another game," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "Geographically and historically, it is a big rivalry." Defense will still be the story. "It's very much like last year," Bagnoli said. "They have a big physical line and they'll try to control the time of possession and run the ball. I think they've had the ball for almost an hour longer than their opponents. "Defensively, they're very good. They have physical guys who run well and are always in the right spots." Bagnoli was particularly impressed by a Tiger defense, which ranks second in Ivy League total defense after losing eight defensive starters from last season. This poses further problems for a Penn attack that has been inconsistent at best this season. The Quaker attack put up only 13 points at Dartmouth, 14 points against Yale and 12 versus Columbia -- failing to punch the ball into the end zone at all against the Lions. Despite these disappointments, good news does exist for the Penn faithful. The offensive sluggishness has come in alternate weeks. In Weeks 1, 3 and 5, the Quakers have lit up the scoreboard for 27, 59 and 24 points, respectively. If things continue to follow this pattern, this week will be a productive one for the offense. To add to this offensive potential, senior tailback Terrance Stokes had the game of his life last year against Princeton when he racked up a Penn-record 272 yards rushing. The majority of Stokes' yards came on draw plays, where Princeton often had only one linebacker in the middle to contain the elusive back. In the open field, that's a task very few Ivy Leaguers can handle. Last year, the Tigers could not. As good as Princeton's defense has been, it still does not hold a candle to its Penn counterpart. The Quakers lead the league in every defensive category, and have given up 5.8 points per game, fewer than any team in Division I-AA. Even though Princeton's rushing attack leads the Ancient Eight with 214.3 yards per game, Penn is confident. The Quakers will try to force predictable third-and-long passing situations where the down linemen can tee off on the quarterback. "All the credit goes to the defensive line," Penn linebacker Kevin DeLuca said. "They're doing a great job and Pat [Goodwillie] and I are free to make a lot of plays. We're playing with a lot of confidence right now." Further complicating things for the Tiger attack has been a musical quarterback situation. Sophomore Harry Nakielny will get the start this weekend, although Brock Harvey and Brent Huckelbridge have also seen time as the Princeton signal caller. In all likelihood, this year's gridiron chapter of Penn-Princeton will not represent the milestones and emotions of the past two seasons. For the Quakers, who trail in the all-time series 59-25-1, the frustration of the last visit up Interstate 95 was symbolized by quarterback Jimmy McGeehan throwing the ball out of Palmer Stadium after being sacked by Michael Lerch at the Princeton 30-yard line as time expired. Last season's joy is etched into history by the images of Stokes being carried off the field on the shoulders of his linemen and of the goalposts sinking into the murky Schuylkill after Penn's 30-14 triumph. The Hollywood script might not exist this time, but the ramifications remain significant for both programs.
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