NOTEBOOK: Football to host another tough Atlantic 10 team

Penn, which lost to a ranked Richmond squad last year, hosts Villanova. And for the second straight year, the Quakers (1-0, 1-0 Ivy League) follow up this win with a home game against a strong opponent from the Atlantic 10 Conference. Last fall, Penn fell 34-18 to Richmond in what was all but a one-sided contest. On Saturday, the Quakers face local rival Villanova (2-1), which just happens to be the No. 14 ranked team in both major Division I-AA polls this week. "The two are similar quality football teams," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "But Villanova is much better at throwing the ball. Richmond's quarterback scrambled a lot last year and ran the option, whereas Villanova's quarterback is more of a drop-back passer. "But they're both very good teams." · This Saturday's game, which is being broadcast live on Comcast Sports-Net, is the first meeting between Penn and 'Nova in 18 years. And the Wildcats are coming in on a roll. Villanova knocked off No. 16 Richmond, 35-30, two weeks ago. However, that was but a warmup for Saturday's 26-21 upset win over then-No. 2 Massachusetts -- the defending national champion in Division I-AA. The Wildcats' success and current ranking means that the opposition will be tough and the stakes will be high for this meeting. "All we can do is play good Penn football within our system," Quakers running back coach Karl Miran said. "The defense we're facing will change every week but we'll play hard as if it's Princeton or Yale or anyone else." "The only thing we can do is keep up our intensity," said Quakers senior linebacker Jim Hisgen, who himself demonstrated intensity with a forced fumble and an interception against Dartmouth. "We don't want there to be a letdown after a conference win." · A bobble of the opening kickoff was but a sign of things to come for Penn in its season opener. At the end of 60 gruesome minutes, the Quakers had fumbled three times and had thrown two interceptions. In all of 1998, Penn turned the ball over only 19 times. "We had five turnovers -- you don't have to remind me," Bagnoli said. "It's a thing that will kill you and it's something you have to minimize against a team of the quality of Villanova." To the surprise of no one, then, the Quakers staff has spent considerable time working with the players on good ball-handling. "Fumbles are something you never want, and we do drills every day to avoid them," Miran said. The Quakers tight ends coach a year ago, Miran added that, "[Last week] the best thing was that no one let it get to them. We came right back out strong and didn't go into a shell." · One reason the Quakers' running backs didn't go into a shell last Saturday was because of the success of Penn's defense. The Quakers 'D' forced several key turnovers that sent their offense right back onto the field. "That's big time," Hisgen said of his forced fumble in the second quarter, which came on the first offensive play for Dartmouth following a fumble by Quakers tailback Kris Ryan. "It was a big momentum shifter. You go from one low to one high in a space of one second." · The Quakers were quite happy to find out during Saturday's win that, yes, there is life after Jim Finn. Ryan, a sophomore, rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, but more importantly showed an ability to evade the first tackle and pick up vital second-effort yardage. Sophomore Matt Thomas also looked strong, picking up 43 yards on just seven carries. "No, I wasn't surprised," Miran said. "We played well in spring practice so the expectations were high, as they've always been." One strong facet of the play of the Quakers' backs was their number of receptions out of the backfield. Penn junior Mike Verille caught four passes for 42 yards and Quakers' backs as a whole caught six. "I think the number of receptions [by running backs] will continue," Miran said. "We always spread the ball around well and it's good to have a quarterback who is smart about his players like Gavin [Hoffman] is and who'll throw to his second or third receivers." · The sophomore Hoffman, who threw for 196 yards in his Ivy debut, looked to running backs and tight ends for 10 of his 23 completions. A 37-yard pass to senior Brandon Carson aside, Hoffman generally did not stray downfield with his passes and was content to throw quick-outs and screens instead. "That's part of his progression," Bagnoli said of Hoffman's tendency toward shorter passes."But Dartmouth played very conservative coverage and you have to try to take the things they give you. "It's part of the package of taking the read and throwing it where they give you [to throw it]."