ON THE SIDELINES: Turnovers plagued Ivy's last place team

PRINCETON, N.J. -- You knew this was not going to be a classic encounter. Penn and Princeton entered Saturday's game with well-deserved 1-3 Ivy League records. Both claimed to be better teams than the records indicated, and perhaps they are right. But in Penn's 10-6 triumph, it was clear that both teams deserved to be out of title contention. As the score indicates, the offenses were outplayed by the defenses all afternoon. But unlike last week, when Yale could not find a way through Penn, and Princeton shut down Columbia, the low score can be attributed to more than just a dominant defensive line. Although Marrow, Foley and the gang continued to terrorize offensive lines, this week the Quakers helped themselves with drive-killing turnovers. The major change of possession in the game was clearly Penn safety John Bishop's interception with two minutes, 10 seconds to play in the game. Down four, the Tigers were driving in hopes of a game-winning touchdown. Princeton quarterback Brett Budzinski saw receiver Kevin Duffy, the team's big-play man, streaking across the middle. But Bishop made a great play, stealing the ball out of Duffy's hands to seal the Quakers' third Ivy win. "We were in quarters, so I saw Duffy come and I got a good read on the ball, and luckily I was able to reach my hands over and get the ball out of his hands," said Bishop, who thus atoned for missing the coverage on an earlier 33-yard pass to Duffy that set up the Tigers' only score. Budzinski, who was sacked on six occasions and knocked down several other times, never got into a rhythm. Early on, he made bad decisions. After being flushed out of the pocket, he sent a hanging ball downfield to no one in particular during his team's second drive of the game. Safety Joseph Piela camped under it, and after an 11-yard return, gave the Quakers the ball at Princeton's 44-yard line. If it weren't for quarterback Tom MacLeod's fumble while being sacked at the Tigers' 10-yard line, Penn might have held more than a 3-0 halftime edge. Penn broke up still more drives by the home team. With 8:41 to play in the first half, a Princeton drive lasted one play, as Budzinski fumbled a ball that Bishop pounced on at the Tigers 41. Later, a solid hit by Penn safety James Finn on Duffy after a reception near midfield led to a fumble that Quakers linebacker Tim Foster recovered. It was a familiar story for Princeton coach Steve Tosches, who has watched his 1995 championship team decay into a last-place team in the course of a year. "The games we've lost this year, we've turned the ball over offensively," Tosches said. Of course, two balls came the other way, too. Or perhaps three. Princeton believed that its star cornerback, Damani Leech, had intercepted Tom MacLeod's pass to Alec Dafferner in the end zone on a third-and-10 situation in the middle of the first quarter. The play would turn out to be crucial, as the next play was Jeremiah Greathouse's 31-yard field goal, the lone tally in the first half. "I know that could have made a difference in the outcome of the game, and that's really what's on my mind," Leech said. "I caught it, and they said it hit the ground." MacLeod was picked off twice in the second half, once by Leech with 7:04 left in the third period. The speedy Leech had plenty of daylight ahead of him and returned the pick 20 yards to the Princeton 45, finally being stopped by Penn guard Matt Julien with perhaps the game's hardest tackle. A fourth-quarter interception that kept Princeton's hopes alive was not MacLeod's fault. His pass to John James was tipped by free safety Jimmy Archie, who reached around him to knock the ball to nickelback Tom Silva. Although both defenses impressed as units, ill-timed turnovers caused by bad decisions were influential in Penn's victory. That the Quakers got their breaks early and capitalized once made all the difference in their escape from the Ancient Eight cellar.