Saturday roundtable: Who needs to step up?

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Penn hasn't beaten Villanova football in 100 years — the stat may be a little stilted; the two teams didn't meet between 1911 and 1980, but it's still a motivating point for the Quakers when the two teams meet tonight. So I posed the question to my co-editors: who for Penn needs to have a big game to break the streak?

Kevin Esteves: To me, it's obvious: quarterback Billy Ragone. You're not going to win too many games in which your QB completes just 8 of 23 passes and throws two picks, like he did last week against Lafayette. He'll have to be his usual dual threat self and keep the chains moving on offense. It's also a big game for Ragone in terms of his confidence and psyche heading into Ivy play. He needs a bounce-back game here, if we're looking at the bigger picture.

Megan Soisson: Aside from the obvious, I think you need to evaluate who was shaking off the rust last week and who just needs to step up and explode today. I'm inclined to say tight end Luke Nawrocki or wide out Ryan Mitchell, but when I think back to the Lafayette game I can't stop seeing Lafayette receivers getting away from Penn's cornerbacks. Anthony Marino and Justyn Williams need to stick with the Wildcats' receivers — we know Williams can run, and Marino is nearly as fast — and prevent big-yardage plays. Brandon Copeland and the defensive line can handle the short-yardage plays, and the Quakers can get back to their signature top-ranked defense.

Brian Kotloff: I'm going to go with coach Al Bagnoli and his staff. I think, as he admitted last week, he needs to put his players in a better position to win. The players executed poorly against Lafayette, but the coaching staff's offensive playcalling was also questionable. Especially against a team as talented as Villanova, Penn needs to get Ragone in a rhythm early. The playcallers can do that by establishing the run first and then calling some short, quick throws to help Billy gain confidence. Last week, it looked like the offensive coaches were expecting too much too soon from their offense, as many of the passing plays called for downfield looks off of play action.

Calder Silcox: Two words: Connor Loftus. Both teams know that this is going to be a physical game, and with rain today and a chance for more tonight, it's going to be a sloppy one as well. With that in mind, I think both teams are going to have trouble getting into the endzone with any frequency, and it might come down to kicking. Loftus took care of business Saturday but only got one real opportunity to show his stuff. He could really be tested today. As a side note, I still remember the Penn-Nova game my freshman year that the Quakes lost in overtime. If we were to find ourselves in a similar situation tonight, Loftus will surely be key. As another side note, he has a great name for a kicker: Loftus.

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 7 p.m.