How important is it for Penn's defense to have a strong game this weekend against Villanova?
Very.
The 22nd-ranked Quakers (1-0) have five victories all-time in this surprisingly brief series -- the two teams have only squared off just eight times. The Red and Blue have recorded a shutout in four of those victories, the last one coming on October 14, 1911.
In fact, Penn is 1-3 against the Wildcats when it doesn't shut them out.
This year, No. 11 Villanova (2-1) features a tough defense that has yet to give up 20 points in any game this season. The Wildcats are led by four defensive linemen that have made a combined 115 collegiate starts.
Penn quarterback Pat McDermott figures to have a much tougher time than he did last weekend against San Diego.
So while most of the pregame talk will focus on the Quakers offense versus the Villanova defense, it will likely be Penn's defense that decides the outcome of the game.
"They're a good team," Penn defensive coordinator Ray Priore said of the Wildcats' offense. "They've got some great skill kids. The wide receiver [J.J.] Outlaw is very, very good. Where they got us a couple years back is in their team speed."
Villanova will be the most athletic team the Red and Blue will face all season. But despite their talent, the Wildcats offense has sputtered all season long, hitting rock bottom in a 17-0 loss to James Madison last week.
In a game played in a driving rainstorm, Villanova managed just 91 yards of total offense against the Dukes, and finished with a paltry minus-2 yards on the ground.
But Penn senior linebacker Luke Hadden says that last week's game isn't even worth discussing due to the weather conditions, and that the Quakers are expecting Saturday's game to be their most fast-paced game of the season.
But Hadden also knows that the onus is on the defense to win the game.
"We put the pressure on ourselves," Hadden said. "If we pitch a shutout, it's easy for the offense. ... The offense is in for a challenge, and we're in a challenge, too, defensively."
Hadden will play an especially important role in the effectiveness of the defense. An offseason injury to linebacker Ric San Doval has deprived the defense of its signal-caller as well as further cut into what was already a thin linebacking corps.
Hadden will be called upon to make up for both of these deficiencies.
"Ricky used to take the calls, and now it's kind of on me," Hadden said. "And I gotta get ready to go pretty much the whole game."
One wrinkle in the Wildcats' offense that Penn must be prepared for is Villanova's constantly changing quarterback situation.
Both junior Joe Casamento and sophomore Marvin Burroughs have seen significant action since the start of the 2003 season, with both quarterbacks splitting time behind center in six games. Burroughs is scheduled to start on Saturday, but the Quakers must be ready to possibly see both quarterbacks in the game at some point.
Both Hadden and Priore downplayed the significance of Villanova's rotating quarterbacks, saying that the Wildcats' offense is virtually the same no matter who is throwing the football.
Of much more significance is the Penn defense's ability to make big plays, shortening the field for the offense.
From the looks of things, the Quakers' offense will need good field position. No team has had more than a 53-yard touchdown scoring drive against Villanova all year, and five out of the six touchdowns the Wildcats have allowed this season have come with the opposition starting inside the 'Nova 40-yard line. All but one of the six touchdowns came off of a turnover.
Villanova has shown its susceptibility to turning the ball over. It's just up to the Red and Blue to force these turnovers, as they did last week against the Toreros, when the Penn defense set up two first-quarter touchdowns by causing turnovers deep in San Diego territory.
"That's the trick of any defense," Priore said. "You've gotta create opportunities for the offense and shorten the field with such a great defense that they do have."
