Despite numbers, Lions handed game away

Three Columbia turnovers resulted in touchdowns, and Lions penalties shot their offense in the foot to let Penn win. NEW YORK -- Three fumbles. Eight penalties for 71 yards. Two missed field goals. Only 10 points by the offense. These numbers do not sound quite right when describing a 24-7 victory. Although the Penn football team beat Columbia on Saturday, the score was by no means indicative of the game. Basically, a bad Penn team took advantage of a horrible Columbia squad that entered the field having lost three of its four games by more than 27 points. The Lions threw three interceptions, two of which directly resulted in two touchdowns. Nine of Columbia's 14 offensive drives lasted four plays or less, and Columbia kept finding new ways to shoot themselves in the foot. In its last drive of the first half, Columbia took the ball to the Penn 33-yard line and looked to break a 7-7 tie. Instead, a delay of game penalty and an illegal block left them with a first-and-27 from the 50. They were eventually forced to punt, and it was Penn who took the 10-7 halftime lead. Penn's one real offensive touchdown drive started with a Columbia fumble. Then with Penn facing third-and-12 on the Columbia 28, quarterback Matt Rader was taken down for a two-yard loss. But the Lions came to the rescue with a personal foul after the play that gave the Quakers an automatic first down. Without Columbia's timely aid, the Penn offense managed only three points of its own. "We can't give up two scores on offense against people who are in the same class as us," Columbia coach Ray Tellier said. Being compared to a team that has been outscored 151-49 for the season is always insulting. Both teams came in with 1-3 records, 0-1 in the Ivy League. "It's just a play here, a penalty there, a mental error there," said Columbia quarterback Bobby Thomason. Penn took advantage of these consistent mistakes and came away with the victory. Columbia played without starting running back John Toye, who re-injured his lower back on Thursday. Even with four turnovers and 12 penalties against them, Columbia was still in the game until Penn's final touchdown with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Quakers' offense amassed 405 total yards, but this was nothing special against a Lions defense that gave up an average of 400 yards in its first four games. One series of plays late in the first quarter again exhibited the theme of Quakers miscues overshadowed by much larger Columbia mistakes. Penn running back Jim Finn ran the ball off right tackle and went 51 yards downfield with Columbia cornerback Roy Hanks the only man to beat. Hanks stripped the ball and it was recovered by Columbia's Michele Bellanca. Instead of taking advantage of the turnover, Thomason threw an interception three plays later to give Penn its first touchdown. "It was me not setting my feet," Thomason said about the interception. "It was a bad ball? too high." Penn put the game out of reach with another interception return for a touchdown with four minutes, 48 seconds remaining in the game. Against the prevent defense, Columbia easily rolled down the field to the Penn three-yard line. Even with the game decided, Columbia still could not do anything right, throwing an interception in the end zone. Although Penn's performance on Saturday was somewhat improved, it was not enough to expect Ivy League victories against anyone but Columbia and Yale. The defense played well, the offense took advantage of a weak Columbia defense, and the special teams made a few huge mistakes that could have been extremely costly. But the hapless Lions managed to play so badly that the final score looks like a Quakers blowout.