Football | Backup generates power in win

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Oct. 25 - For the first 16 minutes of Saturday's 9-7 win over Yale, the Quakers' offense was stagnant. Senior quarterback Robert Irvin showed an ability to roll right and hit tight end Josh Koontz on the run, but not much else, so coach Al Bagnoli decided to call on backup Kyle Olson early in the second quarter.

At the time, the move seemed unremarkable. All season, Olson has been given a designated series or two per game to prove himself, and then - after Irvin had gone 4-for-9 for 27 yards with an awful interception that set up Yale's touchdown - seemed like as good a time as any.

But on the next series, it was Olson again under center. And on the next. Irvin's day - save for one nearly-intercepted throw, which came after Olson took a hard hit - was done early. Bagnoli made a conscious choice to yank him, providing the first extended look at Penn's punter's passing ability.

"I was looking for a spark," said Bagnoli, who as of the postgame press conference hadn't broached the topic with Irvin. "It's kind of one of those gut feelings."

The success was mixed. Olson the play caller was competent, if not spectacular. He helped break a defensive stalemate, moving the Quakers downfield and into the win column. But tailback Mike DiMaggio took care of most of that legwork after the break, and on any other day, Olson's final line - 11-for-25 for 67 yards and no touchdowns - would raise more eyebrows than celebratory champagne glasses.

"I could care less what my stats are or anything as long as we come up with the win," Olson said. "I'm just pretty happy right now."

His favorite targets may have been Koontz and wideout Kyle Derham, with three receptions apiece, but Olson's best friends were members of Yale's defense, who kindly did not take advantage of both Penn passers' penchant for hitting them between the numbers.

Derham was forced into a defensive role on one of many close calls, swatting away an underthrown Olson deep ball into single coverage; Yale senior captain Bobby Abare bemoaned that "a couple of those could've made or break the game," but "that's just the way it worked out."

At other times, though, Olson showed considerable poise. Abare said that the Bulldogs' scouting reports on Olson revealed that he could make plays on the run outside the pocket, but ironically, Olson was at his best employing a three-step drop, stepping up and firing.

Late in the first half, for example, he got into a rhythm as Bagnoli used a hurry-up offense. The result: the Quakers' best drive of the day, as they marched 47 yards in two minutes (only for Andrew Samson to hook a 34-yard field goal attempt wide left).

Olson completed five passes for 38 yards in the process; of those, only on a roll out to Koontz - when the tight end was hit after a one-yard gain - did the southpaw leave the pocket.

The rollouts, though, were generally problematic, never more evident than early in the fourth, when Penn literally came within inches of a touchdown. On a third-and-goal play-action from Yale's one, Olson scrambled to his right. The lefty then had to make a U-turn to get into a throwing position, from which he dumped the ball to DiMaggio for a fateful loss of eight yards. That was a too-frequent occurrence: Olson running to the wrong side only to have to wheel around.

Bagnoli cautioned that Saturday's quarterback switcheroo was "not a reflection," presumably referring to Irvin. Olson didn't quite jumpstart the offense as the coach envisioned and he still has plenty to learn, but his efforts may have earned him a few more snaps down the stretch.

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