In football it's hard for one player to make the entire team better.
But Brown's Nick Hartigan -- the Ivy League's leading rusher -- might have done just that.
"Not only are they getting great offensive production, they're seeing residual effects," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "He makes it easier for his quarterback to pass the ball. He also eats up a lot of clock, keeping the defense off the field."
Hartigan -- a sophomore running back who came into this season as a relative unknown -- is Division I-AA's third leading rusher, averaging 146.5 yards per game.
The Quakers (6-0, 3-0 Ivy), however, boast the Ancient Eight's top rushing defense -- surrendering 106 yards a game -- and are poised to stop any Brown upset attempt.
"In the Ivy League, every game is a championship game," Penn senior center Matt Dukes said. "If we win, we're in control of our destiny."
The Bears (2-4, 1-2 Ivy) have not defeated the Quakers since 1999 and have failed to win at home all season, something they've only done once since 2002.
While Penn might be favored, Bagnoli uses last week's Princeton-Harvard game -- where the Crimson defeated the Tigers 43-40 in overtime -- as evidence that no team in the Ivy League is a pushover.
"It makes you stop and think," he said. "It's a league that has as much parity as any league around."
Last year, Chas Gessner led the Bears' offense. The All-Ivy wide receiver signed as a free agent with the National Football League's New England Patriots but was eventually dropped.
This year, however, Brown coach Phil Estes has created a more balanced attack, thanks to Hartigan's breakout season.
"I'd love to say they're strictly a running team," Bagnoli said. "They have a more effective, more balanced attack. It's a lot more of 50-50 between run and pass. Last year it was more 65-35 pass."
The Brown passing game is led by senior quarterback Kyle Slager. Slager averages 201.3 yards passing per game, yet the quarterback has passed for only five touchdowns this season.
Hartigan's success has put Brown near the top of the Ancient Eight in time of possession, which, according to Bagnoli, "has never been the case for them."
While the Bears defense allows over 350 yards per game, their passing defense is second best in the Ivy League.
"They're always in motion," quarterback Mike Mitchell said. "They like to move back and forth and give you lots of different looks."
Brown junior defensive back Angel Gutierrez is third in the Ivy League with three interceptions.
Penn is accustomed to this defense, however, as it is the same scheme the Quakers use.
Bagnoli indicated that while the Brown defense "is very active, they're not necessarily very big."
This means that the Quakers will likely run the ball with sophomore halfback Sam Mathews against a Brown defense that allows nearly 160 yards rushing per game.
"We love having Sam back there," Dukes said. "He's doing a great job this year. We take a lot of pride in that up front."
Saturday's weather might also play into the game, as it is expected to be over 70 degrees in Providence, R.I.
"I think that's an advantage for us," Dukes said. "We pride ourselves in wearing our opponents down."
