Mathews holds key to Penn's Ivy title hopes

Coming into this season, Penn junior running back Sam Mathews seemed poised for another outstanding season. Thus far, however, he has been unable to fully recapture the form which saw him gain nearly 1,300 yards on the ground and earn him a first-team All-Ivy selection.

So far this season, Mathews has carried the ball an average of 18.5 times per game, and has gained an average of 81.6 yards per game. Both of these numbers are down from last season, when he averaged 29.1 carries and 126.6 yards per game.

Mathews' total rushing yardage has also decreased significantly from last year. Through eight games, he has gained a total of 653 net yards on the ground, just over half his total of 1,266 yards last season.

Penn coach Al Bagnoli is not concerned with his star back's relative lack of production, however, and considers this more a function of other factors.

"Our total offensive numbers are down -- that's a start," he said. "It starts when we had five great offensive linemen graduate, all five were all-league, and one's in the NFL, and one was a first-team All-American."

Bagnoli also cited Penn quarterback Pat McDermott's lack of experience compared to his predecessors, which has allowed opposing teams to put more defensive pressure at the line of scrimmage.

"Last year we had the best of both worlds," Bagnoli said, "because we had a quarterback who could really throw the ball, so they couldn't put six, seven, eight guys in the box."

With Mike Mitchell at the helm last year, the Quakers averaged 267.4 yards passing per game. This season, that number is down to 250.6 yards per game. If that holds for the rest of the season, McDermott will finish just short of Penn's passing total from last year of 2,674 yards, as he has already thrown for 2,005 yards this season.

Bagnoli said that opponents throughout this season "are forcing the quarterback to win the game."

"When you look at the experience factor, the experience is in the backfield -- [senior fullback Kevin] DeSmedt, Sammy, experienced kids," he said. "The inexperience is at quarterback, and they are forcing the quarterback to try to win the game, so we're seeing a lot more of seven guys in the box, even against some spread sets."

Although Mathews' rushing totals are down, his versatility as a receiver has increased significantly this season. He has already more than doubled his total receiving yards from last season, having gained 261 yards through the air this year versus 116 last year. With one more catch, he will also double his receptions from last year, from 14 to 28.

Bagnoli called Mathews, "really a complete guy."

"He can run inside -- despite his size, he's deceptively powerful inside so he can slash and hit it in there," Bagnoli said. "He's got enough speed to get outside, and he's a terrific blocker both out on the corner and as a pass protector, and he can catch the ball really well."

Bagnoli has been wary of over-using Mathews so far this season, but said that the Pittsburgh native will play as much as necessary to win against Harvard on Saturday.

Mathews is "going to play the number of times we think it takes us to try to win the game," Bagnoli said. "But a lot of it is as the game goes -- if he has a long run you have to pull him out, because he can't go back-to-back after a 60-yard run."

The most important of Mathews' statistics so far this season, then, is this: five Ivy League wins, and no losses.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.