Editors roundtable: What we want to see in the football opener

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With six hours to kickoff, your DP Sports editors put together a little virtual roundtable. The question I posed my colleagues: What do you most want to see from Penn tonight against Lafayette?

Megan Soisson: I want to see Billy find a target downfield. In my conversation with him this week he seemed very confident in his passing ability, so I'd love to see that tonight. Billy mentioned Luke Nawrocki and Ryan Mitchell as potential targets, so if he can get the ball in their hands a few times (especially in the endzone), I'd call that a success.

Kevin Esteves: I want to see how the new kicker situation unfolds in the team's first game. After losing the program's all-time leader in points in Andrew Samson, Penn coach Al Bagnoli has given the nod to freshman Connor Loftus over the senior Dan Lipschutz. How will Loftus respond in his first game? If this is a close one late, like in last year's 19-14 Penn victory, I'll be watching to see how much trust Bagnoli puts in his new kicker.

Brian Kotloff: I want to see how quickly the new-look offensive line can gel. All indications are that these are smart players who know the ins and outs of the system, so it's possible they'll only need a half to shake off the rust. Or they could struggle to adjust to the pressure and speed of real game action. Whatever the case, they hold the key to the season in both protecting Billy Ragone and opening up holes for Penn's bread-and-butter, the running game.

Calder Silcox: Everyone is thinking offense but really I want to see if Penn's defense can remain as dominant as it was last year. Penn's 'D' was best in the league last season, but now only four of 11 starters remain on that side of the ball. We all remember the high-power offense running through team after team last season, but Penn played against some pretty good offenses and held them totally in check. Against Dartmouth Penn held league-leading rusher Nick Schweiger to 72 yards on 28 carries (2.6 yards per attempt). Penn's defense sacked Columbia QB Sean Bracket five times, and forced the Lions to settle twice for FGs. Isn't there an old cliche about defense winning championships?

If you can't make it to the game, be sure to follow our liveblog right here on The Buzz, starting just before kickoff at 6 p.m.