Three Up, Three Down: Princeton Edition

Last week’s predictions were mostly on the mark. Connor Loftus got “up” from his 21-yard miss at Yale to kick the game-winner against Brown and Penn’s tight ends stayed “up” and caught four receptions for 44 yards as quarterback Billy Ragone continued to spread the wealth from the pocket, hitting seven different receivers.

But Penn didn’t get behind in the early going, holding Brown’s potent first-half offense to just a field goal before halftime. So who’s up and who’s down on Saturday against Princeton?

Three up —

Conner Scott: After disappearing in the second half against Brown, expect to hear Scott’s number called more consistently at Princeton, which boasts the second-worst passing defense in the Ivy League. Scott abused two-time first-team All-Ivy Brown cornerback A.J. Cruz early and often last week, so he can make any defensive backfield look silly, let alone Princeton’s.

Jeff Jack: After rushing the ball less than both Ragone and Lyle Marsh for the first time all season last week, expect Jack to literally carry more of the load on Saturday. Jack looked good last week against the Ivy League’s second-ranked rushing defense, averaging 5.2 yards per carry against the Bears. Look for Marsh to be used more as a receiver to mitigate Princeton’s fearsome pass rush and exploit the Tigers’ suspect pass defense, leaving the ground game to Jack.

Dave Twamley: Twamley led the Quakers with nine tackles last week and has been a ballhawk all season, surpassed in total tackles this season by only fellow defensive back Sebastian Jaskowski. Expect Twamley to cause problems for Princeton quarterback Connor Michelsen, who has thrown three picks in the last two games.

Three Down —

Billy Ragone: As in down on the ground. Even while giving up exactly 1,200 total offensive yards and 71 points to Harvard and Cornell in their last two games, the Tigers still registered five sacks for 50 yards in both contests combined. Princeton comes in ranked second among Ivies in sacks and third in rushing defense by a wide margin. So whether running or passing, Ragone may find himself on the ground quickly on Saturday.

Run defense: Penn stifled Brown up front last week, allowing just five rushing first downs and 3.6 yards per carry on 23 attempts. The Quakers won’t be so successful against the Tigers, who lead the Ivy League in rushing attempts and average 151 yards per game. Princeton’s wide variety of ball carriers will do their best to pummel Penn into submission as the game progresses. They should succeed against a defensive front that got gashed on the ground by Columbia and Yale earlier this season.

Kickoff coverage: While the Quakers’ kickoff coverage unit held Brown in check last week, Princeton freshman kick returner Anthony Gaffney comfortably leads all Ivies in kick return average at 27.2 yards per game. Expect the lightning-quick Gaffney to have a solid showing against a fifth-ranked Penn kickoff coverage unit among all Ivies.