How do the Quakers and Tigers match up?

The 1999 Penn football team is hardly the same Red and Blue squad that won last year's Ivy Championships. Lost to graduation were offensive weapons Matt Rader and Jim Finn and defensive stalwarts Darren Macdonald and Joe Piela. The returning corps of wide receivers was decimated by several unexpected losses. David Rogers is currently on a Mormon mission. Starter Doug O'Neill has been out all season with a knee injury; his younger brother David was ruled academically ineligible prior to the start of the season. In case you're wondering just who is left for the defending Ivy League champions, as well as who they'll be lining up against on Saturday, here's the skinny, position-by-position: Quarterback Penn: When sophomore Gavin Hoffman transferred to Penn from Northwestern over the summer, he was expected to step into the Quakers offense immediately and continue right where Rader left off. After some early season struggles as he learned the offense, Hoffman has settled in quite nicely, going 132-for-222 for 1,586 yards and eight touchdowns. His overall completion percentage is 59.5 percent, giving him the third-highest quarterback rating in the Ivy League. And despite taking much heat early in the season for immobility and a lack of touch, Hoffman is on pace to break Penn's single-season passing yardage record. Princeton: Sophomore Tommy Crenshaw will be the signal caller for a Princeton team that has begun seven out of the last eight seasons with a new face at quarterback. Crenshaw, who spends his springs as a pitcher for the Tigers baseball team, has been impressive in his last three games, completing 66-of-108 passes (61.1 percent) for 764 yards and three touchdowns. On the season, Crenshaw has gone 102-for-186 for 1,111 yards, throwing three touchdowns and seven interceptions. Edge: Penn Running Back Penn: The spot vacated by last year's Bushnell Cup winner, Jim Finn, was supposed to be the hardest spot for the Quakers to fill. But sophomore Kris Ryan has stepped right in and the Quakers have hardly lost a step in the rushing game. Ryan is currently seventh in Division I-AA in rushing with 144.2 yards per game. Overall, Ryan has rushed the football 169 times for 1,010 total yards and nine touchdowns. He is also averaging an impressive 6.0 yards per carry. Princeton: After using a four-tailback rotation last season, the Tigers have primarily split the rushing duties between senior Derek Theisen and freshman Cameron Atkinson. Theisen has rushed 84 times for 347 yards, averaging 4.1 yards per attempt. Atkinson, who leads the club with four touchdowns, has rushed 82 times for 316 yards, netting 3.9 yards per carry. Edge: Penn Receivers Penn: The Quakers were hit hard by the sudden absence of Rogers and the O'Neill brothers; the older O'Neill and Rogers were Penn's Nos. 1 and 2 last year in receptions. Without the experienced returners, sophomore wide receiver Rob Milanese has been a pleasant surprise, to say the least. Milanese leads the team with 26 receptions for 450 yards (17.3 yards per catch). Colin Smith has 21 catches, while junior tight end Ben Zagorski and senior wideout Brandon Carson have 19 receptions each. Princeton: A favorite target for Crenshaw has been Phil Wendler, who is currently eighth on Princeton's all-time single-season reception list with 52. Wendler is also fourth on the all-time list with 102 career catches, and sixth in Division I-AA with 7.43 receptions per game. His 52 receptions are good enough for second place in the Ivy League and his 7.43 per game average places him sixth in I-AA; his 555 total yards give him the third highest total in the conference. Danny Brian and Marty Cheatem also see a great deal of action, having pulled in 19 and 15 receptions this season. Edge: Princeton Offensive Line Penn: The offensive line is perhaps the deepest part of the Penn team. Tackle Jason Lebron and co-captain Carmelo Rubano, the team's center, provide veteran leadership up front. The results so far, though, have been mixed for the Quakers. The good news is the success of Ryan at tailback. The Quakers are fourth in the Ivies in rushing offense, gaining 151.7 yards per game on the ground. The bad news is that Hoffman has been sacked 21 times in seven games. Princeton: Center Bernie Marczyk has started 31 straight games and counting at center, a school record for an offensive lineman. Overall, the Tigers return four starters up front, including two players -- guard Hamin Abdullah and tackle Dennis Norman -- who were first team All-Ivy a year ago. Princeton is fifth in the Ivies in rushing offense, averaging 131.7 yards per game. Edge: Princeton Defensive Line Penn: Up front, the Quakers return four starters, three of whom earned All-Ivy honors. Defensive tackle Mike Germino leads the squad this season with seven of Penn's 23 sacks; he also has made 32 tackles. Jason Maehr and Adrian Puzio have 7.5 sacks between them. Penn's rush defense is in the middle of the pack in the Ivies, allowing 102.6 yards per game. Princeton: The Tigers' defensive line is anchored by All-Ivy defensive end David Ferrara, who holds the school's all-time record of 27.5 sacks. Princeton's rush defense has given up slightly more yards on the ground than the Quakers, allowing 110.3 yards per game. Edge: Even Linebackers Penn: The Quakers have had to cope with the graduation of three-time All-Ivy linebacker Macdonald. However, senior co-captain Jim Hisgen has excelled in his role as the anchor of the defense, leading the team with 57 tackles and six tackles-for-losses. The other starting linebacker is junior Dan Morris, who is second on the team with 17 solo and 43 total tackles. Princeton: The linebacker corps is led by tri-captain Chuck Hastings, who started every game at outside linebacker last season. Playing alongside Hastings is sophomore Drew Babinecz, who had a big freshman year as a backup linebacker. Edge: Penn Secondary Penn: Returning starter Joey Alofaituli has been strong at cornerback for the Quakers, while Anthony DeSalle has had success as Piela's replacement. DeSalle leads the team with three interceptions. At the safety positions, senior Eric Bunn has played valiantly at strong safety despite having no ACL, while senior Hasani White moved from corner to free safety at the beginning of the season. White is third on the team with 34 tackles. The Quakers' pass defense dropped to fifth in the Ivies after allowing 440 yards and five touchdowns against Brown. On the year, opponents are averaging 254.3 yards per game through the air. Princeton: Gerry Wilson was off to an All-Ivy season in 1998 with three interceptions in four games before breaking his arm; he is again healthy and starts at one of the corner spots for the Tigers. Sophomore Brian Beem, who made an impact during his freshman year, is the starter at the other corner. Princeton's pass defense is third in the Ivies, giving up 215.9 yards per game in the air. Edge: Princeton Special Teams Penn: Returning starter Ryan Lazzeri is averaging 40.4 yards per punt, while place kicker Jason Feinberg is the second most prolific field goal kicker in Division I-AA, going 11-for-14, an average of 1.57 field goals made per game. Feinberg has also converted on 18 PAT attempts. Kickoff returners Carson and Matt Thomas are averaging 21.6 and 23.3 yards per return. The main weakness on special teams has been returning punts; the Quakers average a mere 6.8 yards per return. Princeton: The Tigers lost four-year starters at both the kicker and punter positions. Kicker Taylor Northrup is 7-for-10 from field goal range with nine extra points so far this season. Ryan Demler and Kevin Kongslie have each returned a kick for a touchdown. Edge: Penn Overall Penn: The Quakers are coming off disappointing back-to-back losses to Brown and Yale and must rebound against their archrival to stay alive in the Ivy title race. Princeton: If the Tigers are to improve their overall record to .500, they must win on the road in front of a Penn Homecoming crowd, something that is not easily done. Penn is 5-1 in its last six Homecoming games. Edge: Penn