Replacing players from year to year is never easy. The task becomes even harder when one of them is an All-American, but that is one of the many challenges faced by collegiate coaches.
Senior kicker Evan Nolan is making that adjustment a little easier for Penn coach Al Bagnoli, taking over for erstwhile Quakers' star Peter Veldman.
Nolan, who appeared in just two games last season, stepped in nicely on Saturday in San Diego, booting a pair of field goals and converting six of seven extra points.
In his debut as Penn's number one kicker, the Cincinnati native did something only six other players have done in the program's history -- split the uprights from 49 yards out.
With under a minute to go in the first half, the Quakers marched the ball 35 yards to the San Diego 32-yard line. Penn quarterback Patrick McDermott tried unsuccessfully for the end zone with eight seconds remaining.
The Red and Blue already enjoyed a 23-0 advantage, but would not be satisfied going into the locker room without at least trying to add to their lead. Nolan put some muscle into what ended up being a line drive right at the crossbar and over it went as time expired.
Nolan's field goal was the Quakers' longest since Jeremiah Greathouse's 50-yarder in 1995. Veldman's longest kick was 42 yards against Lehigh in 2002.
Penn could have rattled off more than 494 yards of total offense if it were not for those pesky end zones getting in the way.
The Quakers, with help from a handful of San Diego turnovers, were able to control the battle for field position for the full four quarters.
In the early going, a 68-yard drive highlighted by a 26-yard run and ensuing touchdown by Sam Mathews got the Quakers on the board.
Then, before they knew it, the Toreros were out of the game.
Immediately after Penn's first kickoff, San Diego quarterback Todd Mortensen was sacked and fumbled on the Toreros' 25-yard line. Junior Doug Middleton recovered the ball for the Red and Blue, setting up an easy 25-yard charge to the end zone.
On the Toreros' next possession, junior Chad Slapnicka picked off a Mortensen pass at the San Diego 15-yard line, and the Quakers added six more points to the board.
Of Penn's eight touchdown drives on the day, five started in San Diego territory.
The stingy Quakers defense also prevented the Toreros from crossing the 50-yard line for nearly the entire first quarter.
San Diego did not reach the Quakers' red zone until late in the third quarter, when Mortensen found wide receiver Adam Hannula in the end zone for the Toreros' first score. But the home team fumbled on each of its subsequent trips inside the Red and Blue 20-yard line, including one into the end zone.
a wild weekend of upsets highlighted Division I-AA football.
Top-seeded Montana fell, 41-29, to previously unranked Sam Houston State. The Bearcats pulled out to a 20-3 lead in the first half and never looked back. Only a 19-point fourth quarter performance by the Grizzlies kept the score from being more lopsided.
In another stunner, unranked James Madison blanked No. 6 Villanova, 17-0. It was the first time in eight years a team held the Wildcats scoreless. Villanova finished the day with minus-two yards rushing on 46 carries. The loss drops Villanova to No. 11.
Only five undefeated teams -- including the Quakers (1-0) -- remain in the top 25. Half of the teams in last week's top 10 dropped their games over the weekend, but only three -- Villanova, Northern Iowa and New Hampshire -- fell out of the top 10.
Meanwhile, Penn moved up two notches to No. 22 in the ESPN/USA Today poll. The Quakers are also ranked 22nd in The Sports Network poll.
RED AND BLUE FAITHFUL were able to follow the action for the first time on ESPN Radio 920. Fans listening online from Philadelphia reported that the Web site had reached its audio streaming capacity. The Penn Athletic Department made the streaming audio available for free as part of its new Web site launched this fall.
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