HANOVER, N.H.
When a team fails to meet early expectations, all eyes turn first to the man under center. When a team scores fewer than 12 points a game through those losses, all eyes turn first to the man under center.
This isn't an excerpt from some kind of football prayer book. It is the reality of Penn football's 2007 season, and those searching for answers are indeed looking at the quarterback position. On Saturday at Dartmouth, they saw something new there - something that may hold the answers to the aforementioned woes.
That something came in the form of senior Bryan Walker, who started his first full game since his sophomore year. It may sound ridiculous after the calamity that was Saturday's milestone defeat, but Walker rose to the occasion in relief of junior quarterback Robert Irvin and made a serious case for a change at the position.
Quakers coach Al Bagnoli said Walker got the unexpected nod after Irvin hurt his shoulder last week at Villanova.
"We were very comfortable with that decision," Bagnoli said. "I thought [Walker] did a pretty good job of acquitting himself."
Granted, Walker's offense scored only 13 points against a defense that wasn't setting any records coming in. But take a closer look, and you'll see that the offense played much better than in either of its previous games.
The Red and Blue slapped 406 yards of offense on the Big Green, plenty more than the 293 it put up against the Wildcats or the 224 in the opener.
Walker was asked to throw the ball with increasing frequency after All-Ivy tailback Joe Sandberg went down, injured again. In all, he let fly 60 times on the afternoon, completing half of those for 266 yards and zero interceptions, not that there weren't close calls.
But more impressive was the way Penn moved the ball. Walker developed a solid rapport with several receivers in the passing game - ones not named Braden Lepisto.
Walker spread the ball around with regularity, with just two of his 30 completions going to Lepisto. Those in attendance quickly became acquainted with the likes of Kyle Derham, Tyler Fisher and Marcus Lawrence, who caught 14 passes combined. Walker kept Dartmouth guessing, even when the whole stadium knew he would be passing with his team fighting from behind.
And let me know the next time Irvin runs for even 30 yards in a game, let alone 67.
For the most part, he made the correct decisions, checking down to his receivers and putting his head down and taking off if nothing was there. He looked worlds more composed than Irvin, who sometimes seems so intent on one receiver that he has blinders on to all the rest.
All indications would suggest that Irvin can develop into a fine quarterback, his 6-foot-5 frame and strong throwing arm among them. But he hasn't developed like someone with a year of experience, and instead of waiting around while Penn loses more games, maybe it's time to give someone else a chance.
If we're talking about a skills competition, with guys throwing balls through hoops, I'll take Irvin any day. But if we're talking about winning games, let's see what Walker can do.
Ilario Huober is a senior International Relations major from Syracuse, N.Y., and is former Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is ihuober@sas.upenn.edu.
