Football bound for showdown

Penn versus Princeton stirs up a lot of passion by itself.

Throw in a potential Ivy League football title on the line and you've got yourself a ball game.

The Penn football team (6-1, 4-0) travels to Princeton (5-2, 3-1) on Saturday in a game whose importance goes well beyond the history between these schools.

"We're trying to win an Ivy League title and they're standing in our way right now," Penn senior quarterback Mike Mitchell said. "It's not so much that we hate them and they hate us."

"This is the most important game all year and the most exciting so far," senior Rob Milanese said. "Because it means so much and because of the rivalry."

The reason for the rivalry being the afterthought this year is due to the quantum leap the Tigers have made to near the top of the Ancient Eight standings.

"This is the best Princeton team in a while," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "They are a very dangerous team."

Princeton's success comes on the heels of a 3-6 season that included a 21-10 loss to the Quakers at Franklin Field.

Despite 2001's underwhelming record, the Tigers' ascent this season was not altogether unexpected, as they were expected to finish second in the preseason Ivy coaches' poll.

"They are the best defensive team we've seen in the Ivy so far," Bagnoli said. "They've got more speed on offense than any Ivy League team we've seen so far."

That speed on offense begins with Cameron Atkinson.

The star senior running back ran 26 times for 119 yards in the Tigers' 32-25 overtime win against Cornell.

Sophomore backup quarterback Matt Verbit filled in admirably for injured starter David Splithoff, going 20 of 34 for 204 yards. Splithoff has struggled with injuries all season and is uncertain for Saturday's game.

The Tigers fell behind by 22 against the Big Red before rallying. The comeback was keyed on the defensive side of the ball, as Cornell was held to only 53 yards of offense in the second half.

"They're very stout up front and nobody has run the ball very effectively against them," Bagnoli said. "When they get out there with their nickel and dime packages they have six pretty athletic guys out there so no one's really shredded their secondary either."

The depth of Princeton's secondary versus Penn's talented wide receivers might be the marquee matchup of the game.

In the Quakers' 31-7 win over Brown last week, Milanese had eight catches for 121 yards and Daniel Castles had seven for 93.

"Mike [Mitchell] really spreads the ball around and hits the open guy," Milanese said. "It makes it really tough on the defense. They can't just guard one guy; we have four or more guys who can make plays."

While the Quakers would like to see a repeat of Mitchell's performance of 28 for 34 for 334 yards, another aspect of the game cannot be repeated -- the five turnovers.

"If we turn the ball over with the frequency we did against Brown, it's going to be a long afternoon," Bagnoli said.

This is the first of a two game stretch that will ultimately determine the fate of Penn's season. After this week the Quakers take on Harvard, which is also undefeated in the Ivy League this year. The Crimson dealt Penn its only loss a season ago.

However, next week is next week.

"You guys are always talking about Harvard," Bagnoli said. "Trust me they [Princeton] have our full, undivided attention."

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