Heading into its season opener against Duquesne, the Penn defense will have to shift focus from the run-first mentality of most Ivy League teams to Duquesne's powerful aerial assault.
At the helm of the Dukes' attack is redshirt freshman Scott Knapp. Knapp completed 23 of 42 passes last week for a Duquesne freshman-record 365 yards in a 23-12 victory over Robert Morris last week.
Knapp's yardage total was the seventh best in school history and eclipsed the first career starts of Duquesne's last four quarterbacks in both yardage and passes completed. The Pittsburgh native threw for 255 yards in the first half alone.
However, Penn should be well prepared to defend the passing attack. The Quakers return five seniors to the defensive backfield, including All-Ivy honorees Casey Edgar and Michael Johns.
"We feel pretty strong at secondary," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "We return a lot of experience there to make it at least an even matchup."
The Dukes host Fordham Saturday before making the trip to Franklin Field on Sept. 17. Missing Players
The Quakers will enter the season without two players who were originally listed on the 2005 roster.
Junior defensive end J.T. Laws left the University due to financial reasons. The New Castle, Del., native opted to return closer to home and is now taking classes and playing football at Delaware.
Laws appeared in all 10 games last year, making seven tackles -- one for a loss -- and recovering a fumble.
Rookie tight end Andrew Thurston is out for the year after having shoulder surgery at the end of high school. The Mesa, Ariz., native is still attending the University and is expected to remain with the team.
These two losses go along with the other two season-ending injuries to sophomore defensive lineman Scott Martinho (collarbone) and senior linebacker Chad Slapnicka (back).
Run first
Despite Duquesne's emphasis on its passing attack, Bagnoli acknowledges that his defense will be much more focused on stopping the run this season, especially as the Quakers enter the Ivy League schedule.
With players such as Brown running back Nick Hartigan -- who lit up the Quakers for 176 yards last year -- and Harvard tailback Clifton Dawson -- who rushed for 160 in Harvard's Ivy League title-clinching 31-10 win over Penn -- both on the watch list for the Walter Payton Award -- given to the best offensive player in Division I-AA -- the Quakers will be concentrating more on their opponents' ground attack than in the past.
"If you look at the returning marquee kids in the league ... [they] are tailbacks," Bagnoli said. "A couple of years ago they were all wide receivers."
No Ivy League player has ever won the Payton Award since it was first given out following the 1987 season.
