Sayonara San Diego:

Penn 61 - San Diego 18 SAN DIEGO -- Coming into Torero Stadium to kick off the 2004 campaign, there were a number of questions facing the Penn football team. And for the first two series of the game against San Diego -- a pair of three-and-outs -- doubts hung in the 75-degree air.

Ten minutes later, all doubts held by the crowd of 4,012, which included a large contingent of Red and Blue faithful, were erased by a trio of Penn touchdowns -- two of which were the result of San Diego turnovers.

This was just the beginning of a rout unlike any the Toreros (1-2) had allowed before -- they had never allowed opponents to score more than 56 points. The Quakers (1-0) rewrote their own record book as well, scoring their most points since the formal inception of the Ivy League in 1956.

In the process, the longest win streak in Division I football was extended to 17 games.

Penn junior running back Sam Mathews got the Quakers rolling with a 26-yard charge to the San Diego 5-yard line midway through the first quarter. One snap later, Mathews put the ball across the line for the first score of the game and the new season.

"He was terrific," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said of Mathews. "He is definitely one of the marquee players in our league, and I think you can see why if you watch him. He does everything for us."

After the kickoff, the Toreros lost the handle, and senior Luke Hadden recovered the ball for the Red and Blue. This put junior quarterback Pat McDermott back in control, and the Quakers' offense did the rest.

Mathews drove again to the end zone, and less than a minute later, McDermott tossed his first touchdown pass to junior Matt Boyer.

After rattling off 20 points in the opening quarter, mostly attributed to an effective use of play-action and a prolific ground attack led by Mathews, the Quakers were off to the races.

"Definitely not a bad way to start the season," Mathews said.

The new-look offensive line, the most noticeable difference from the past two Ivy championship teams, provided the support Mathews needed for his career-high three touchdowns. "I just ran behind them," Mathews said.

Coming into the game, Mathews was the known commodity. McDermott, however, was somewhat untested. Bagnoli wanted to help the junior signal caller gain some confidence early.

"Our thinking was try to get him out of the gate and get some confidence," Bagnoli said. "I think he did OK. It's the first time that he was "the guy' and the first time that he was under the microscope. That's going to be a work in progress and it's going to be a learning experience."

McDermott kept his composure despite early struggles completing passes. Even though his first completion to the Quakers' signature receiver, Dan Castles, did not come until the second quarter, McDermott kept the ground game running smoothly.

But while the offense was flexing its muscles, the real stars early in the game were on the defensive side of the ball. The Quakers held San Diego to just nine total yards and zero first downs for the initial 13 minutes.

Just before the whistle signaled the end of the first quarter, the Toreros got their first taste of the Penn side of the field. But it would take them until late in the third quarter for the Toreros to find the Quakers' end zone. After a failed two-point conversion, the scoreboard read 33-6 in favor of the Red and Blue.

The Quakers' rush defense was nearly impenetrable, allowing just three first downs and 88 total yards on the ground.

"I think we felt good," Penn senior defensive end Bobby Fallon said. "It was good to get everyone a boost of confidence under their belt."

After halftime, San Diego quarterback Todd Mortensen turned into a passing machine, completing 37 of 61 throws for a total of 331 yards -- 246 in the second half.

But as impressive as the statistics may appear, the Toreros were never able to finish off a drive by putting points on the board. The Penn defense stepped up and made the big stops when necessary, including a forced fumble in the San Diego end zone after the Toreros had driven 53 yards downfield. Penn sophomore Brian Fairbanks quickly recovered the error to end the threat.

"They're very sound in their scheme and they play their assignments well," Mortensen said of the Quakers' defense.

The Toreros managed to convert just seven of 19 third downs, but the biggest obstacle for San Diego was the team's four turnovers.

"You can't turn the ball over four times against Penn," San Diego coach Jim Harbaugh said. "If you take the turnovers out, we moved the ball well and put up a lot of offense. There's no way to beat a team like Penn with four turnovers."

Penn junior Michael Johns and sophomore Scott Williams each recorded nine tackles as the Quakers neutralized the San Diego running game, forcing Harbaugh to change his game plan.

"They're a physically overpowering force, and they could stop the run," said Harbaugh, himself a former NFL quarterback. "I thought we could run the ball on them."

While the win was undoubtedly satisfying for the Quakers, many players were even more happy to be playing in their home state in front of family and friends.

"We've got a lot of players from California and they were really excited to play in front of their people who usually have to travel all the way out from California to [Philadelphia], so I thought it was great for them," Mathews said.

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