Three Up, Three Down: Yale Edition

I couldn’t have done any better with last week's predictions if I had a crystal ball. Scott Lopano was very “up,” earning Ivy Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Ryan Mitchell was also “up,” leading the Quakers in receiving. And Penn’s pass protection was indeed “down” all afternoon long. So who’s up and down this week?

Three Up —

Billy Ragone: Because he’s gotten better every game so far this season. Granted, he started out at the lowest of lows at Lafayette, but he hasn’t thrown a pick since then and is increasingly incorporating lesser-targeted receivers such as Mitch King and Ryan Allen into the passing game as teams start to blanket Conner Scott. Fourth-quarter comebacks do wonders for a quarterback’s confidence regardless of what happened in the previous three quarters. Ragone is a quarterback with momentum going up against the Ivy League’s worst scoring defense.

Conner Scott: Speaking of Scott, it doesn’t matter whether Yale decides to double him or not. They won’t be able to stifle him as much as Columbia did last week when the Lions held him to just 17 yards receiving on two catches. Ragone isn’t going to be going up against a defensive front as underrated and stout as Columbia’s was, so he should have more time to find Scott downfield. Scott has already established himself as the kind of player who just doesn’t have two quiet games in a row.

The hurry-up offense: Fellow football columnist John Phillips accurately pointed out this week how much more comfortable Ragone and the rest of the offense looked in the hurry-up. Al Bagnoli echoed many Quakers’ fans when he wondered aloud after the game why he didn’t go to the hurry-up sooner. Bank on Bagnoli trying to tune up the uptempo stuff against a team that shouldn’t be able to handle much of it.

Three Down —

Kickoff coverage: One good thing the Bulldogs have going from them is tailback Tyler Varga, who leads the Ancient Eight not only in all purpose yards but also in kick return average. Penn comes in ranked just sixth in the conference in kickoff coverage. Special teams supremacy may be one of the Bulldogs’ greatest hopes for victory tomorrow, especially since their defensive woes may result in a lot of kickoffs from Penn.

Defensive front: Columbia ranks sixth among Ivies in rushing offense and still gouged Penn on the ground last week for 196 yards. Warning: Yale has a far better rushing ‘O’ than the Lions. The Bulldogs rank second in rushing and third in total offense among Ivies. So you can bet on Yale trying to stick it to Yale in the running game. If the Bulldogs are patient, they may just be able to wear down Penn’s defense up front like Columbia did.

Cameron Countryman: Countryman looked out of his element as he stepped up to help replace Joe Holder in the slot, dropping a crucial catch on the Quakers’ final drive and showing his youth throughout the game. You’d expect Bagnoli to rely more on Lyle Marsh in the slot than either Countryman or Eric Fiore going forward based on all three players’ performances at the position so far.