Dan McQuade: Penn just getting started

Dartmouth football coach John Lyons sulked into the post-game press conference just after Penn finished its rout of the Big Green.

Lyons looked down and talked into his shoes.

"They kicked our asses," he said. "In every aspect of the game."

Dartmouth guard Kevin Noone was not as sullen as his coach, but he concurred.

"They pretty much owned us up front," he said.

They're right. The Quakers led every major statistical category in the 49-14 thrashing.

It might not seem that big, since Dartmouth is 0-3 and could be the worst team in the Ivy League. But it's not like the Quakers were playing their best on Saturday.

Think about that for a second. Four-hundred and forty-two yards passing, 185 yards rushing, and 14 out of 17 on third down conversions, and yet there's no way that Penn played its best game.

In a few weeks, the Quakers could be downright scary.

Mike Mitchell is probably the guy on the team with the most room for improvement. He has only played three games as a starter and was not even on the team last year.

Mitchell threw for 428 yards and four touchdowns, including an 82-yarder to Rob Milanese. But he threw three interceptions, including two early ones into the end zone that killed Penn drives and kept the game scoreless.

His early struggles didn't hurt the Quakers because Dartmouth was not able to capitalize. But his early interception against Lehigh a week earlier didn't hurt the Quakers, either.

You can talk all you want about three interceptions and some off-target passes, but 428 yards and four touchdowns -- that's a great game in any league, no matter how many picks you throw.

Maybe early struggles against the likes of 2-1 Harvard or 3-0 Yale could hurt the Red and Blue, but by that point Penn's inexperienced quarterback won't be so inexperienced anymore.

In a few weeks, Mitchell won't need to calm down. He'll have half a season under his belt with only room to improve.

Penn's lone offensive veteran at a skill position, Rob Milanese, was pretty much held in check in the early part of the game by Dartmouth. But Penn's other receivers stepped up. In the first half, Erik Bolinder had nine catches for 102 yards and Daniel Castles had four catches for 43 yards.

When the Big Green stopped doubling Milanese, he sprung to life with a touchdown catch late in the first half, and then the 82-yarder early in the fourth to put it away.

It's the same with Stephen Faulk. He's three games into his career as a running back at Penn. He was pretty much done at halftime, carrying only four times in the second half because the Quakers had built such a huge lead.

There's been a lot of talk about last season and how this year's Quakers wouldn't be able to hold up to the likes of Kris Ryan and Gavin Hoffman.

Last year is over. Who cares about it anymore? Last year's guys were good, but the Quakers have been a juggernaut this season so far this year.

Forget last season. If you can't do it yet, just wait a few more weeks -- the Quakers will take care of it for you.

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