The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

0v538avh
Penn's football team lost to Yale 17-14 in overtime on Saturday October 21, 2006 Matt Polhemus breaks a tackle by Joe Anastasio Credit: Fred David

Meet Mike McLeod. In the words of former SportsCenter anchor Dan Patrick, "You can't stop him; you can only hope to contain him."

Yale's running back has rushed for 199 yards per game this season, and he's coming off of a career-high 276-yard performance against Lehigh last week.

A junior, McLeod is obliterating and setting new Yale rushing records on a weekly basis. And in the process, he has not only cemented himself as the biggest offensive threat in the Ivy League in years but has also propelled the Bulldogs to a commanding 5-0 start.

So when No. 15 Yale visits Franklin Field tomorrow on Penn's homecoming, the recently surging Quakers will have their hands full.

"He's the type of back that's going to get his yards regardless of what you do," senior nose guard Naheem Harris said. "You just can't have him running like he did last week."

The 6-foot, 285-pound Harris, the anchor of Penn's 5-2 defensive formation, will play a pivotal role in trying to keep McLeod in check. Last week at Columbia, the Quakers held the Lions to eight yards on the ground, as Harris and linebackers Jay Colabella and Joe Anastasio combined for a total of 12 tackles and plugged up the running lanes with ease.

However, as Yale coach Jack Siedlecki pointed out, McLeod is very familiar with the 5-2 front - Yale's defense uses it as well.

"Going against Penn is like going against ourselves in practice," he said. "We both face the same defense in practice every day."

Of course, Penn's senior tailback has plenty of experience against the 5-2 front as well. And while Joe Sandberg is not on the same statistical pace as McLeod, his numbers have been nothing to sneeze at either.

Healthy for the first time all year, Sandberg had a career day at Columbia, rushing for 197 yards and four touchdowns before getting pulled late in the fourth quarter. The week before at Georgetown, he picked up 117 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

"This game features the two best backs in the league, and it will be a great matchup," Siedlecki said.

While the offenses of both teams focus on the run, the two teams also have relatively similar quarterbacks.

For Yale, senior Matt Polhemus has been very efficient, completing over 50 percent of his passes for 113 yards per game and throwing only one interception. Meanwhile, Penn senior Bryan Walker boasts a 6:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and has averaged 140 yards per game through the air.

Taking over for the injured Robert Irvin, Walker has now settled in as the starting quarterback for good, and coach Al Bagnoli has made adjustments to the offense to suit Walker's style of play.

"We've done a much better job of trying to identify Walker's strengths," he said. "Since we came to the conclusion that Robert was going to be out, we looked at what Bryan does well and tried to tailor our offense around it."

Either way, the undefeated Bulldogs should prove to be Penn's toughest test of the season to date; the Yale defense, led by junior linebacker Bobby Abare, has given up an average of only 12 points per game.

And as Bagnoli stressed, the Quakers will have to play very well, especially on defense, in order to win.

"I'm not sure anyone can stop [McLeod]," he said. "I think you have to limit the damage - not give him any plays, and make him earn everything. If you do that, you can have a shot to control the offense."

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.