Three things Penn must do to top Villanova

The last two years the Penn-Villanova game has come down to the final play. This season, however, the Quakers will have to work extra hard to make sure it stays that way.

With All-Ivy running back Joe Sandberg likely out with a hamstring injury, and an opponent in Villanova which hasn't yet lost to an FCS (I-AA) team yet (beating Lehigh and Maine after putting up a fight against Maryland) a win will be far from easy. So here are three keys to the game, things Penn must do well to keep the game close and ultimately have an opportunity to win.

1. Perhaps the biggest key is for Penn to maintain a respectable running game without Sandberg. Whether the line was getting no push or backup running back Kelms Amoo-Achampong was just not finding the holes, the running game for the second half last week without Sandberg was borderline disastrous. Amoo-Achampong ran up the gut each time, and got stuffed as many times as he had carries. While Sandberg took 17 for 85 yards and a touchdown, Amoo-Achampong took 15 for 24 and, needless to say, didn't reach paydirt in the 8-7 defeat.
The playcalls were fairly conservative last week, but Amoo-Achampong is a north-south runner, and besides some off-tackle runs he likely won't be attempting anything too crazy. Above all Penn needs this running game in order to take some pressure off of junior quarterback Robert Irvin, who threw two picks, no touchdowns and went for less then 100 yards in Week 1.

2. In 2005 Adam Francks returned 29 punts for 161 yards, fair-catching only a couple all season. Greg Ambrogi, the 2007 returner might want to go for more of a Reno-Mahe mentality. Ambrogi's muff against Lafayette was one of four turnovers in a game that, due to some inept offenses, was one of field position. With the basic offense Penn ran last week who knows what will happen when coordinator Bill Schmitz truly implements his wide-open style. Lafayette is a top-25 team and 'Nova isn't, but three weeks into the season you can't take too much stock into that -- the Wildcats will jump at any opportunity to take advantage of a few mistakes.

3. For a team that plays a 5-2 defense, one sack wasn't too impressive in the opening game. The Quakers got some pressure on the quarterback, but it wasn't anything special,and it needs to greatly improve. This defensive line and linebacking core is a very good one, but it looked like the secondary was the strength last week. Sophomore corner Chris Wynn made two picks last week -- and not easy ones at that for the wide receiver turned defensive back -- Tyson Maugle had the team's lone sack, two pass breakups and two tackles for loss, while safety Pat Kimener looked more than solid, grabbing nine tackles. When the only sack comes from a cornerback, and four out of the top-seven leading tacklers in Week 1 were in the secondary, your defense is in a bit of trouble.