Field position key to Bears' success

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Throughout the season, the Penn football team has been able to obtain great field position and thoroughly use it to their advantage, but this was certainly not the case in the 34-20 loss to Brown on Saturday. In the first half the Quakers surrendered generous field position to the Bears, who capitalized, rushing out to a 24-0 lead. With the poor field position, the Quakers were forced to put together long drives all half, something they especially did not want to have to do with starting quarterback Pat McDermott on the bench with a shoulder injury. Brown's average starting position was at its own 48-yard line, as opposed to Penn beginning on average on its own 28. The Bears started the game with a field goal drive of seven yards, and in the second quarter scored three straight touchdown drives, two of them starting in Penn territory at the 40- and 23-yard line. "They just had way too many short fields, and that ultimately was the game," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "When you [allow] 302 yards of offense and score 34 points, there are usually some other things that played into it and that was very evident today." While the Quakers defense didn't play with the same dominance as in the first three Ivy League games, they held Brown quarterback Joe DiGiacomo to just 66 yards passing on 22 attempts. This normally would be enough to slow the powerful Bears offense, but Brown's ability to start each possession so far upfield, and Nick Hartigan's 167 yards rushing, were enough to build a three-score lead in the first half. "This was going to be a game about field position, and they put our offense in great field position and we took advantage of that," Brown coach Phil Estes said. The Penn offense's inability to hold onto the ball helped put Brown in such a good first-half position. The Quakers were outgained by only nine yards, and moved the chains once more than the Bears, but three first-half turnovers led to 17 points, which ultimately made the difference. Each turnover was surrendered in the Quakers' half of the field. Starting quarterback Bryan Walker, who played a solid game in the win over Yale last week, made some costly decisions, throwing two first-half interceptions. The picks were thrown high over the intended receiver's head, and the second interception was into quadruple coverage. The Bears' zone defense allowed them to get their hands on a lot of passes, and forced Walker to make inaccurate throws. Walker connected on a few long passes, including a 41-yarder to Matt Carre, but he only completed 39 percent. The other turnover was on a completion to Carre, who was stripped by Brown linebacker Zak DeOssie, leading to a Hartigan touchdown five plays later. For perhaps the first time this year, Penn clearly lost the kicking battle. Derek Zoch missed a 48-yarder, a 27-yarder and an extra point, while Brown's Steve Morgan hit two, including one from 47 yards. "We just had some uncharacteristic kicking game problems that we haven't had [before]," Bagnoli said. Besides those missed opportunities, Zoch's short, high kickoffs and the poor return coverage were not doing the Quaker defense any favors. Designed to avoid long runbacks, Brown did just that, returning their four kickoffs to their own 38, 43, 45 and one to the Penn 33. On the other hand, three of the Quakers' seven kickoff returns ended up inside their own 20. Later in the game, the field position temporarily switched. In the third quarter, with the game still in reach at 31-14, the Red and Blue had a few golden opportunities to cut the lead with three straight possessions in great position. But despite starting at midfield, the Brown 45 and then at midfield again, the offense only went backwards, combining for minus-8 yards on the three drives, while punting on each one.