Football will not overlook the Elis

After suffering two straight losses, including its first Ivy League defeat in three years, the Penn football team got the message last week. "It definitely woke us up," said running back Aman Abye. "It made us realize that just because we're the University of Pennsylvania and we went undefeated the last two years doesn't mean we can just show up and win. We realized we still have to execute." The Quakers executed Brown last Saturday, 58-21. It was the first step in what the team hopes will be a five-game winning streak to end the season. Should Penn run the table and get a little help from its friends, the Quakers would earn at least a tie for the Ivy League title. But first things first. Coach Al Bagnoli and his team have to take the second step of their five-step plan. Penn (4-2, 2-1 Ivy League) has to make the trip up to the ancient Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn., where it will face the Bulldogs at 1 p.m. tomorrow. Yale's record -- 2-4 and 1-2 in the Ivies -- is the reverse of Penn's, and the two teams seem to be headed in opposite directions. Unlike the Quakers, who appear to have found the secret of success again, the Elis are struggling, losers of their last two games against Dartmouth and Columbia. "We're still trying to figure out why they're 2-4, because they've got a lot of good players," Bagnoli said. "I don't know what's wrong. I can't put my finger on it, but I hope it continues for one more week, and then they sort it out." No doubt one of the biggest reasons for Yale's troubles is the loss of Chris Hetherington. Under the senior quarterback's leadership, the Elis averaged over 400 yards of offense and 25 points a game. "He obviously is a very talented kid," Bagnoli said. "He's one of the better quarterbacks in the league." But Hetherington has missed the team's last two games with a rotator cuff injury, and the Yale attack has suffered. The Elis managed only a single touchdown in each of their last two contests. Hetherington is listed as doubtful for tomorrow's game, forcing Penn to prepare for both him and backup quarterback Kevin Mayer. "If Hetherington plays, he's just a different physical commodity," Bagnoli said. "He's a lot bigger -- 6-foot-3, 235 pounds." Hetherington's size makes him hard to bring down. That, combined with his running ability (83.5 yards per game before the injury) makes him a threat running the option. Mayer's strength, on the other hand, lies in his arm. He threw for 232 yards last week against Columbia. "If Mayer plays, he probably throws the ball a little bit better," Bagnoli said. "But he doesn't have quite the explosiveness running the football." Defensively, Yale has bigger problems. The Bulldogs allow 26.3 points per game and are ranked last in the Ivy League in terms of yardage (413.8 yards a game). The rushing defense has been especially brutal, allowing an average of 200.8 yards per game on the ground. Bagnoli, however, cautions such statistics are artificially inflated. Yale suffered a rash of injuries on defense earlier in the season, and most of those players are now back. And more than half of the rushing yardage allowed came in one game, when Connecticut rushed for 620 yards. "That kind of throws the stats a little bit out of kilter," Bagnoli said. "It's a little bit easier to see their recent stats, where they got some kids back. Nobody's running the ball to that extreme against them." Despite Bagnoli's attempts to build up the Elis, all signs point to a Penn victory. And both Abye and Bagnoli admitted they will be paying close attention to the score of the Princeton-Columbia game. Should the Tigers prevail in that contest, the Quakers' game against them next week would be for a share of first place. Is there any chance of Penn looking ahead? "Nooo," Bagnoli said. "No no-no no, no, noo. No sir. "We're in a one-game sudden death every week. I hope we're not looking ahead to anyone else. We're treating it as a one-game playoff."