Before Saturday's game against Villanova, special teams play was emphasized by both Penn defensive coordinator Ray Priore and head coach Al Bagnoli.
With the defensive excellence of both teams, almost everyone expected a close, low-scoring game. In order to win, Bagnoli and Priore knew that the Quakers needed solid special teams.
But in a game that featured several big plays on special teams, most went against the Red and Blue.
Penn did get the first big play of the game, as a bad snap on a Villanova punt in the first quarter left the Quakers in business at the Wildcats' 14-yard line.
Three plays later, Penn kicker Evan Nolan was set up for a 23-yard field goal. But Nolan's kick was blocked, costing the Red and Blue a chance at an early lead.
In the second quarter, already trailing 9-0, Penn executed the most innovative and exciting play of the game, when wide receiver Gabe Marabella hit quarterback Pat McDermott with a 27-yard pass off a double reverse.
Three plays later, Nolan was set up for a 21-yard field goal. But Nolan's kick was blocked for a second time, swinging the momentum back in Villanova's favor.
On the Quakers' next series, McDermott showed his athletic ability by faking a Wildcats defender out of his jock en route to a 39-yard gain to the Villanova 17-yard line.
Three plays later, Nolan got a third chance at a field goal, this time from 37 yards out. Nolan got it away, but it hooked left at the last second and hit the upright.
Three field goal attempts, nine possible points and invaluable momentum amounted to nothing, and Penn went into halftime down 9-0.
"I don't know if it was the kicker, the snap or the protection," Bagnoli said. "Usually it's a combination of both. And it was big."
One bright spot for the Quakers was the punting of senior Josh Appell, who averaged 46.3 yards in seven attempts and placed two punts inside the Wildcats' 10-yard line.
But even this aspect of the Quakers' special teams came back to haunt them. On a couple of occasions, Appell was kicking the ball so hard that he was outkicking his coverages, which led to big returns.
At the beginning of the second quarter and the game scoreless, Appell struck a 49-yard, line-drive punt down to the Villanova 28. The Penn coverage team was not able to get back in time, and Villanova's J.J. Outlaw returned it 28 yards to the Penn 47-yard line.
Working with the benefit of a short field, Villanova was in the end zone three plays later with the game's first points.
While some would blame the loss on the ineffectiveness of McDermott and the Penn offense for the first three quarters, the special teams was where the game was won and lost.
In fact, McDermott did reasonably well in the offensive game plan, which called for him to play mistake-free and not lose the game for the Quakers.
"We thought it was going to be a relatively low-scoring game and we thought that when given opportunities to score, we were going to have to take advantage of it," Bagnoli said.
"No one has really marched down the field against that defense, and with a relatively inexperienced quarterback and five new offensive linemen, we thought points would be at a premium."
McDermott gave Bagnoli's strategy a chance to work. Unfortunately, another major part of the equation, the special teams, let the Quakers down.
