HANOVER, N.H.
Two years ago, he was just some guy.
He was the backup few people knew about. He wore number 13.
It was on a miserable rainy day here two years ago that Pat McDermott first came onto the Penn football scene. And it wasn't by design.
Those were Mike Mitchell's Quakers. They and their gun-slinging quarterback won the Ivy title in 2002, then ran the table in 2003. If Mitchell had not gone down with an injured left leg in the third quarter against Dartmouth, McDermott would have never been in the game.
But there he was, number 13, as his predecessor watched from crutches on the sidelines. He was a little shaky in the early going, but he pulled it together in the fourth quarter, finding Dan Castles in the end zone for his first collegiate touchdown. It also didn't hurt that his 6-foot-3 target made one of the most acrobatic catches of the season right on top of the pylon.
Penn went on to win unceremoniously, 33-20. But back then, Penn always won. That was the feeling you got when you walked into the stadium. Mike Mitchell's Quakers didn't just win, they were dominant. Just ask Cornell, which lost to Penn by a combined score of 82-34 those two seasons.
A lot has changed between then and now.
Today, there's a chink in the armor. Only 16 players here on Saturday made the trip in 2003. The run-and-gun offense that used to throw points on the board has become more methodic and conservative.
It began with McDermott's first start on Oct. 18, 2003. With Mitchell unavailable, the then-sophomore held his own in what amounted to a "damage control" situation resulting in a a gift of a win over Bucknell, 14-13, at Franklin Field. He didn't shock the world, but his defense made him a winner.
When McDermott took the reins for good last season in San Diego, the tone was different. The strategy, drawn up by the coaching staff amounted to short, easy passes. "Building up Pat's confidence," was the story from coach Al Bagnoli. Fair enough -- the Quakers scored 61 points against a horrendous defense. Not bad for confidence.
As the season wore on, the opposing teams got tougher, and the games got tighter -- 14-3 against Columbia, which finished 1-9, 20-16 against Brown, 16-15 over Princeton. All along we heard about building confidence. The offense depended on swing passes and short tosses in the flat. Bagnoli's team was not really taking any chances. They were not playing the brand of football that had brought them three of the last five Ivy titles.
This season, it's time for things to change. McDermott has the tools, and by now he should have the confidence. And Saturday, that wasn't an issue.
"I'm comfortable with the short stuff," McDermott said. "I just struggled today with it."
Tipped balls at the line of scrimmage on short passes fell for two interceptions, and another nine-yard lob to the sideline was almost picked off. But when McDermott put some air under the ball, it paid dividends. A 26-yard strike to Nick Okoro set up Penn's first score. McDermott's 30-yard flea-flicker was the successful start to a 61-yard drive for another score in the second quarter. And a 41-yard completion to Dan McDonald highlighted the Quakers' aerial attack.
There is plenty of room to open up the offense. McDermott is perfectly capable of a more aggressive passing scheme, and it's time that the coordinators take advantage of his talent.
Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens, who spent two years in the high-powered Pac-10, commented on McDermott's strength. "He's got a powerful arm, he's an accurate thrower and he seems like a tough guy taking the ball and running it," Teevens said, noting the big plays that stung his secondary.
The speed is there in the receiving corps, from McDonald to Matt Carre. It's time to spread the field, which will in turn open running lanes for Sam Mathews.
If this team is to become Pat McDermott's Penn Quakers, Bagnoli must give his quarterback more freedom to look downfield more. Right now, it's nobody's Penn Quakers, and Clifton Dawson's Harvard Crimson and Nick Hartigan's Brown Bears are looking pretty tough.
Jeff Shafer is a senior Marketing and Management concentrator from Columbia Falls, Mont., and editorial page editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is jshafer@wharton.upenn.edu
