The Penn football team didn't come close to holding Princeton to negative rushing yardage last Saturday, but the Quakers still boast the nation's top rushing defense.
Running back Jon Veach led the Tigers with 66 yards, and Dave Splithoff, Princeton's scrambling quarterback, chipped in 55 as the Quakers rivals rolled up 141 total rushing yards, by far the highest total against the Quakers this year.
It's a testament to the Quakers defense that Princeton's success only upped Penn's rushing yards against average to 43.4 yards per game -- just under 20 yards lower than the nation's second-best rushing defense.
Sure, the Quakers returned nine of 11 defensive starters this season, but there's a lot to be said for the coaching staff's offseason adjustments in response to the passing explosion in Ancient Eight offenses.
"Everyone across the league last year was surprised with what offenses started doing," senior linebacker and defensive captain Dan Morris said. "This year, in the offseason, we had a lot better chance to prepare for those kinds of offenses and all the crazy spread sets, and the coaches did a great job in finding answers."
The Quakers have had plenty of answers for their opponents this year. They held Princeton to just 10 points, bringing their total points allowed to 61 on the year -- an average of just 8.7 points per game -- good for tops in the country in scoring defense. And all of it keys off of the Quakers' ability to stop the run.
"We've been stopping 'em early, and the offense has been putting points on the board," defensive lineman John Galan said. "It's like I've said before, the [opposing] coaches start to get a little worried that they'll have to start putting points on the board, or before you know it, it's a blowout. So they start passing the ball all over the place and moving away from their running game."
That's when opponents take to the air, and is the main reason the Quakers' numbers in passing defense aren't as stellar as their numbers against the run. When opponents throw the ball 35-40 times a game, they're bound to accrue somewhere between 250 and 300 passing yards.
"[Opponents] lose their patience, partly because we have that great offense that'll get up on people, and we've been stopping them early," Galan said. "When you have to score points you don't have time to get five, six yards at a time. You need to get the ball down the field 30 yards at a time."
And it's hard to throw a 30-yard pass if you're flat on your back, a phenomenon Penn's opposing quarterbacks have become pretty familiar with this season. Over the last three games, the Quakers have collected 22 sacks, totaling losses of more than 150 yards.
"A lot of guys are having a great year sacking the quarterback," Galan said. "It's great because [opponents] can't key on one person. If they double me, [defensive end] Chris Pennington gets a sack. If you double-team me and Chris, [defensive back] Vince Alexander gets a sack."
Whoever gets it, one thing is sure, the Quakers are winning games with defense this year.
"Last year was the offense's turn to make a move," Morris said. "Now we're making a move, and so far we've been successful."
