Dave Zeitlin: It's a net gain for the Quakers

EASTON, PA -- Didn't this already happen?

The Penn football team starting the season at Lafayette's creaky stadium, and pummeling a less-than-formidable opponent, despite traces of early-season rust?

Oh right, that's what happened last year.

But here's the difference: The Quakers went into the 2001 season with high expectations, and figured to trounce on the Leopards. This year, the Quakers were picked to finish fourth in the Ivy League, so Saturday's 52-21 whitewashing was somewhat surprising, at least for the opposition.

"Make no mistake about it, they're good. Maybe we underestimated them a little bit," said Lafayette quarterback Marko Glavic, who was chased out of the pocket all game. "They lost a lot of good players from their team last year, but those two inside linebackers they had were ridiculous -- they were real good."

Glavic was referring, of course, to Penn's fearsome All-Ivy linebacking duo of Travis Belden and Steve Lhotak, who terrorized a tenuous Leopards offensive line.

Glavic underestimated them, as he did with the rest of Penn's defense, a unit that returned just three starters from last year's squad.

And, boy, did he pay for it. Lafayette's junior quarterback was sacked three times, which went quite nicely with his three interceptions.

But don't feel bad, Marko. You made the same mistake most other opposing players will do this season. You thought that a team that lost so much talent couldn't possibly be as good as it was last year.

And you were wrong. Dead wrong. I would even argue that the Quakers played better this year.

In last season's opener, the Quakers defense had an exceptional game, as they shut out the Leopards, 37-0, while holding them to a mere 40 yards on the ground. The offense, however, struggled to find its rhythm, despite might what the score might have indicated.

On Saturday, the defense picked up right where it left off from last season, holding Lafayette to 12 first downs and only 60 rushing yards. Lafayette took advantage of a couple of key Penn penalties and some breakdowns in the secondary to cross the goal line three times, but the Quakers defense still proved that they are just as good, if not better, than last year's unit.

The Quakers offense, meanwhile, picked apart the Leopards defense, partly thanks to some excellent field position. Quarterback Mike Mitchell and running back Stephen Faulk looked very comfortable in their new roles as Penn's offensive centerpieces.

I could've sworn I was watching Kris Ryan, as Faulk barreled ahead, broke tackles, and scampered into the end zone three times, all in the first quarter.

It looked like Gavin Hoffman out there, as Mitchell ran a smooth, no-huddle shotgun offense that had the Leopards' secondary staggering.

"You know you're going to be playing a bunch of good football players, regardless of who they lose," Lafayette coach Frank Tavani said. "Obviously losing all those players didn't seem to hurt too much."

Didn't hurt too much? Right now it looks like the Quakers might be even better.

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