1995 IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL STANDINGS: Penn hopes to halt losing skid

After winning 24 games in a row, the Penn football team has now lost two straight contests. The Quakers haven't experienced a losing streak that long since 1991. That was before the time of any current players, and even before coach Al Bagnoli came to Penn. This Quakers squad is clearly used to prosperity. It would come as no surprise, then, if the Quakers were in a state of shock after tasting defeat twice in the last two weeks. But they're not, according to quarterback Mark DeRosa. "I think after the game, on Saturday night, there's the initial shock of the loss," DeRosa said. "But practice kind of takes your mind off it. You just have to prepare for the upcoming opponent." This weekend that opponent is Brown. The Quakers (3-2, 1-1 Ivy League) will host their league rival at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow on Franklin Field. It will be a crucial game for two teams that began the season among the favorites for the Ivy championship. But Brown (3-2, 0-2) has already suffered two league losses, placing it at the bottom of the Ivy standings. Penn, on the other hand, finds itself in an unusual situation -- looking up at Princeton, Columbia and Cornell and tied with Yale for fourth in the league. The loser will almost certainly be eliminated from the Ancient Eight title chase. While the Quakers realize the importance of tomorrow's game, they haven't entered the panic stage just yet. "I don't think there's a sense of urgency because we kind of still control our own fate," DeRosa said. "If we can win all five games, we still at least take a share of the Ivy title." Brown is the first step in that five-game plan. But despite their two league losses, Bagnoli cautions that the Bears are a dangerous foe. Their two setbacks against Yale and Princeton were by four and two points respectively. "They're 3-2 overall," Bagnoli said, "but realistically they're six points away from being an unbeaten team." The Brown offense is the more problematic side of the Bears attack as far as Penn is concerned, because it averages 29.2 points per game. The trademark of the unit is its balance, with several players capable of making big plays. "They have a nice combination of an elusive quarterback with a real strong arm, two good tailbacks that can run the ball and a tight end that can catch it, and some wide receivers that have made some good plays," Bagnoli said. Quarterback Jason McCullough leads the squad, with 1,156 yards and 13 touchdowns. But the most potent part of the Brown attack is the running back duo of Paul Fichiera and Marquis Jessie, which has combined for 624 yards on 128 carries this season. They could be a problem for a Quakers defense that gave up 259 yards on the ground to William and Mary last week. "It's really hard for us to gauge where our run defense is," Bagnoli said. "I know we didn't play as well as we had hoped defending the run, but I don't know how much of that was caused by William and Mary. We'll have a little bit better barometer hopefully after this game." The Bears defense is led by defensive tackle Brendan Finneran (26 tackles), linebacker Joe Karcutskie (45 tackles) and defensive back Eric Allen (22 tackles, 2 interceptions), who, incidentally, is the younger brother of Penn cornerback Kevin Allen. The Brown defense is built around those three players, presenting a variety of formations and coverages to befuddle opposing offenses. Anybody can rush the passer or drop into coverage from any formation. "They really do a nice job in terms of disguising a lot of things and creating confusion for your offensive line," Bagnoli said. "They're very aggressive. It's very unorthodox." As a result, the Quakers offense will simplify things and do what it does best. "We kind of have narrowed the game plan down a little bit," DeRosa said. "We're going to stick with our base plays that we feel are effective. "I think we'll put more of an emphasis on running. Probably the passing game is going to be brought in a little bit. I think we're going to stay with our quick-hitting stuff, and occasionally maybe catch them off guard." A more controlled passing attack should help DeRosa, who has been struggling with interceptions all season. He has thrown 13 so far, with five coming last week. "I guess you get in one of these streaks, and hopefully I will snap out of it Saturday," DeRosa said. "A lot of it's been unlucky. It seems like every ball that gets tipped up in the air gets intercepted. So definitely I have to play better."