Finn faces Lions defense

Penn tailback Jim Finn will be asked to carry the ball often Saturday. When the Columbia football team lines up at Franklin Field tomorrow, it better have its collective fingers crossed that the Penn players have put down their history books for fall break. Blowing the dust off the old Ivy League notes reveals a number of stats that bode poorly for the Lions' prospects of emerging victorious tomorrow. The 1:30 p.m. matchup between these undefeated Ivies is arguably the most important Ancient Eight game to date this season. Columbia (2-2, 1-0 Ivy League) has won just five times in 39 Philadelphia meetings with Penn (3-1, 1-0) since Franklin Field opened in 1895. In 76 meetings, Penn holds a 55-21-1 edge. In the entire decade of the 1980s, the Quakers lost to Columbia just once. Yet this year, the Lions just might have the statistic they need to tame the Quakers and their Ivy League-leading rusher Jim Finn. In 1998, Columbia has allowed a stingy 52.5 yards rushing per game, third best in the nation. "They have a good linebacker corps and the defense is very good overall," Penn fullback Brian Cosmello said. "They're quick and they move well." Overall, the Lions rank No. 10 nationally in Division I-AA defense, allowing just 255 yards per game. It is Columbia's rushing defense, however, that has struck fear in the hearts of opposing offensive coordinators. In the season opener, Columbia shut down returning Ivy League champion Harvard, 24-0, holding the Crimson to 2.4 yards per carry on the ground. Last week, the Lions' defense outdid itself, establishing a school record by limiting Lehigh to minus-30 rushing yards on 19 carries. Penn, meanwhile, has wowed opponents with the rushing feats of co-captain Jim Finn, who picked up a career-best 195 yards on 29 carries in last week's 34-31 win at Fordham to up his average to 128.75 yards per game. One year ago Sunday, Finn, a converted strong safety, rushed for 138 yards on 24 carries in his first career start at tailback -- a 24-7 Red and Blue victory against none other than Columbia. Since that fateful game, Penn has gone 7-0 when Finn breaks the 100-yard mark. "[Having] Finn at tailback makes my job, and our offensive line's job, so much easier," Cosmello said. "He runs hard and he finds the seams, finds the holes, really well." All this sets the stage for a premier matchup between Finn and the Lions' experienced, eight-man front defense -- lined up as a 4-3 with a floater. The eminent clash between Finn and the Columbia "D," however, is far from the only melodrama that will be unfolding on Franklin Field tomorrow. Penn quarterback Matt Rader, who owns a 131 QB rating and has been instrumental in the Quakers' three victories, is listed as questionable for tomorrow's contest after receiving upwards of 25 stitches to close a deep gash in his throwing arm suffered late in the Fordham game. "You have to assume that [Rader] will play," Columbia coach Ray Tellier said. "If he doesn't, then my guess is that Finn will get the ball even more. Maybe that isn't good news for us." Meanwhile, senior Ted Schroeder will be taking the snaps for Columbia in just his second career start. Schroeder, who found himself filling in after starter Paris Childress broke his foot against St. Mary's, has performed well, completing 28-of-45 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown. "I've seen him on film. We're going to face a lot of good quarterbacks down the road and this is one quarterback that can get us ready for that," Penn safety Bruce Rossignol said. "He can really throw the ball, but he can't beat us if we play our game." And while Finn may be receiving the accolades for running, Columbia has amassed more yards on the ground this season than Penn. The Lions' balanced running attack has picked up 609 total yards and seen three different players rush for at least two touchdowns. "They've been amassing a pretty good running attack and they have some pretty talented guys in the backfield. They're going to try to use that to set up the passing game," Quakers senior defensive end Justin Gallagher said. "We have to control the defensive front. "If we can stop the run and force them to pass, to become a one-faceted team, then we can shut them down." Despite the marquee matchups and heated drama surrounding the rushing and passing games, the key to victory tomorrow might very well be special teams. Last week, the Lions wasted their strong defense when freshman kicker Sam Warren missed an extra point in the third quarter and a 33-yard field goal in the fourth, as Lehigh won 20-19. "We have found what a difference the kicking game makes in close games," Tellier, who retains confidence in his kicker, said. "We know [Warren's] range and if we are at that range we will kick it." When the final seconds tick off the clock tomorrow at Franklin Field, one team will emerge undefeated, a clear shot at the Ivy league crown in its sights. Though Columbia's rushing defense has made a strong case thus far, history, and the home field edge, are on the Quakers' side in their quest for a 10th Ivy League title.