"We're preparing as if we are playing the Raiders."
Penn football head coach Al Bagnoli's comparison refers to the fact that his opposition this weekend has a sideline and playbook resembling those of an NFL squad.
Fortunately, the Quakers do not have to square off against Jerry Rice or take a hit from Warren Sapp in their opening game of the season.
Instead, the Red and Blue travel across the country to play the University of San Diego in Penn's first westward trek in recent memory. Penn finally sealed the deal with San Diego after a failed attempt to schedule a game with St. Mary's College in San Francisco.
The Toreros (1-1) have a coaching staff with NFL background and will likely run a variation of the West Coast offense, which NFL teams are using more and more.
The NFL experience for USD starts at the top with head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is in his first season as Toreros coach. He joined San Diego after one year as quarterbacks coach of the Oakland Raiders and 15 seasons as the quarterback of five different NFL teams, making it to the 1995 AFC championship game with the Indianapolis Colts. A number of Harbaugh's assistant coaches also have professional football experience.
In San Diego, Penn faces the added challenge of competing against a West Coast offense, a scheme it rarely sees on the east coast.
Fortunately, Penn runs the same offense, so it will not be wholly unfamiliar.
"The West Coast offense is something we do as well, so from that perspective, it's good," Bagnoli said. "Variations of that offense is what we are preparing for."
While senior defensive back Kevin Stefanski cites the West Coast offense as one of San Diego's advantages, he also notes that Penn's defensive structure should match its balanced attack well.
"I expect them to establish the run, but one thing we do well is stop the run," Stefanski said. "So eventually they're going to have to throw it up in the air."
The Toreros have gone to the air with confidence so far this season, as quarterback Todd Mortensen has thrown for over 440 yards and has yet to record an interception in his first two games.
Mortensen, a 25-year-old graduate student who just transferred from Brigham Young, is in his first and only season as a starter.
"We see that he hasn't made any poor decisions so far, and as a team, we decided that he needs to give one back to us," Stefanski said.
Stefanski has experience with embarrassing the opposition on opening day -- he picked off two passes in the first game of the 2002 season at Lafayette.
While the Penn defense sees San Diego running back Evan Harney as a threat on the ground -- he is averaging 80 rushing yards per game this season -- the Toreros' ability to defend the run is their most glaring weakness.
San Diego allowed exactly 173 rushing yards in each of their first two games this season.
Despite this glaring vulnerability, Penn players say they will not shift their game plan to favor the run.
"I don't think we're really focusing on running the ball more," Penn junior running back Sam Mathews said. "We're just trying to have a balanced attack, and if we get some good yards on the ground, better for us."
Though it appears the San Diego defense will provide him with some open holes, Mathews also praises the development of his young offensive line.
"Every day I feel more and more comfortable behind them," he said. "They're doing a great job and starting to really come together as a group."
All the subplots aside, it should be an eventful weekend for the Penn team, about a fifth of which hails from the Golden State.
"My parents still haven't come out to see a game yet," said senior defensive back Bryan Arguello, who lives 45 minutes from San Diego. "We've been practicing for a month now, so we really want to play. And in my backyard ... I'm very excited, to say the least."
