Yale's success this season has followed the old saying, "The best defense is a good offense."
The Elis' 62-28 week one victory over Towson marked the beginning of an offensive surge that hasn't been stopped -- yet.
"The common denominator that they've had is a tremendous amount of offensive consistency," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "They put up big numbers week in and week out."
Averaging 40.8 points per game, Yale (4-1, 2-0 Ivy) ranks first in offense in the Ivy League. Harvard is second with 36.8.
If any Ancient Eight team can put a halt to Yale's momentum, Penn would appear to have the best chance. The Quakers (5-0, 2-0 Ivy) boast the top defense in the Ivy League, allowing just 14.8 points per game.
While Saturday features a matchup of the top defense and offense in the league, if this week's game is anything like the high-scoring Yale-Colgate matchup from last weekend, the pressure may be on Penn's offense -- not its defense.
The No. 16 Raiders allowed Yale to score 40 points but countered with 52 of their own as Colgate emerged victorious.
Nevertheless, the Quakers defense "is going to have their hands full," Bagnoli said. "We're going to have to be physical with them, we're going to have to tackle well and when we're given the opportunity to make plays, we're going to need to take advantage of them."
In particular, Penn will have to play well against Yale senior quarterback Alvin Cowan, who ranks second in the Ivy League with 312 total yards per game.
Penn has never faced Cowan. Last season, in his first year as Yale's starting quarterback, Cowan suffered a season-ending injury -- a broken fibula in his right leg --against Cornell in Yale's second game of the season.
But Bagnoli has seen Cowan's toughness on film.
"He's a big, strong guy, and he'll try to run over you rather than run around you," Bagnoli said. "He's the key to that offense because he gives them a legitimate running threat. He throws the ball well enough where you've got to defend it, and I think he has that spontaneity to break the pocket, run around, create some time, throw the ball on the run or make a play with his feet."
The only team to keep Yale under 40 points this season was Cornell. But the Elis came away with a 21-7 victory.
"I have complete faith in our defense. They'll step up, so I'm not really worried about that," Penn junior receiver Dan Castles said. "But I think our offense does have to score a lot of points."
Penn is third in the Ivy League with 32 points per game, eight points fewer than the Elis.
But it may not be so easy to break down Yale's defense, which ranks third in the Ancient Eight, allowing 21.6 points per game.
"They've got a real good defense, they run a real good scheme, and they've got some good personnel," Penn senior quarterback and co-captain Mike Mitchell said. "There really isn't any weakness in their defense -- their run-defense is really good, their pass-defense is really good.
"We're just going to come out and play our game," he added. "We're going to have to take care of our jobs on offense and help the defense out."
