Penn starting defensive tackle Drew Goldsmith knows a thing or two about going up against his brother, Neil.
They were playing the computer game Diablo when, at the ripe age of seven, Drew revealed his inner Diablo. He flung his younger sibling into a wall, knocking Neil out cold for several minutes.
Fortunately for Lafayette, he came to, and 12 years later, blossomed into a quality linebacker.
They view the game as an extension of their personal rivalry.
"It's kind of a culmination of us playing football for so long, and finally we get to face off and see what we're made up," Neil Goldsmith said.
And he's not too upset that they won't be lining up mano-a-mano, since they're both on defense.
"It would get in my head too much," he said.
That head is much different than his brother's. Drew is the crew-cut Whartonite, while Neil sports an afro, is deciding between an Anthropology and English major -- George R.R. Martin is his favorite author - and plays guitar in his spare time.
But he has another pastime: Mario Kart, on the Nintendo Wii. Is he good?
"Yeah, yeah, I'm amazing," he replied.
He's also been pretty amazing over the Leopards' first two games. Goldsmith has recorded Lafayette's only two interceptions, picking up 42 return yards to go along with his seven tackles.
Not bad for someone whose career was nearly derailed by knee problems. He was pretty heavily recruited until he tore his ACL during his senior year.
With his liberal-arts persona, he didn't want to follow his brother to Penn (and, Drew added, his grades might not have been good enough to be admitted).
So he turned to Lafayette, which had pursued him from the start.
Then he tore his ACL again, and just like that, his freshman campaign was lost.
He missed Lafayette's bizarre 8-7 victory last year. Drew was on the sidelines, but he didn't take too kindly to losing.
"I was still pretty pissed," Drew Goldsmith said. "It took me about a half hour to come out of the locker room."
Tomorrow, though, they will both be on the field. They'll have relatives and friends in the stands, and for the immediate family -- the Goldmiths' mother, father and stepfather - there will be an obvious dilemma.
"They were talking about making a shirt half Lafayette, half Penn," Neil Goldsmith said. "I guess we've got to root for both defenses."
--Senior Sports Editor Brandon Moyse and senior staff writer David Bernstein contributed reporting to this article.
