Mano-a-Mano: Is Penn-Villanova sustainable?

This weekend, Penn football takes on No. 19 Villanova in the "Schuylkill Showdown," a rivalry in which the Quakers have not won a game since 1911. Is the series against the scholarship-school Wildcats a winning long-term proposition for the Red and Blue? Sports Editors Ian Wenik and John Phillips debate:

Sports Editor Ian Wenik: First off, for the purpose of this rivalry, Penn's all-time 5-12 record against Villanova is really irrelevant, given the 69 and 19-year hiatuses that this matchup has been through. In this day and age, Penn may be able to put up a real fight against the Wildcats every couple of years or so (I personally think this season is one of those years), but for the most part, Villanova simply outclasses the Quakers in terms of size and speed. Just look at last season's game. The Wildcats completely manhandled Penn on both sides of the ball, rushing for 225 yards and holding Penn scoreless until a meaningless Conner Scott touchdown with just over three minutes left. Far too often in the future, those games will be the rule, rather than the exception.

Sports Editor John Phillips: In the same way that people question the purpose of Penn playing a tough non-conference in general, we assume that the purpose of such a rivalry is to win. The people involved in this rivalry would tell you differently, though. This isn't Penn-Alabama, or Penn-LSU. In those cases, the Quakers would leave the stadium never wanting to play football again. Is Villanova a level above Penn? Yes, but the Wildcats are not so much better than the Quakers that the game hasn't been close more often than not. On average, Villanova has won by 13 points since 1999. It's a local opponent that gives Penn a taste for what the top of the FCS is like.

IW: I'm not against Penn playing a tough non-conference schedule. In fact, I'm all for it. I spend most of the first month of the college football season cheering for upsets in "cupcake" games and lauding schools like South Carolina for scheduling tough games like a trip to UCF, a school a notch below the Gamecocks. But the difference between a South Carolina-UCF and a Penn-Villanova matchup, which have relatively similar talent differences, is that South Carolina and UCF don't play each other every season. Penn and Villanova do.

And if you're in a rivalry that's been as decidedly one-sided as Penn and Villanova's has been in recent years, those mounting losses start to add up and stick in the back of your mind. Just ask any Temple player from the last 70 years. If you think some of the frustration of getting whipped by Penn State over and over again has never carried over into conference play for them, you would be dead wrong.

JP: I can definitely see that point, and if you're in Billy Ragone's shoes, having lost to Villanova four times in as many years, it would definitely grind my gears. But you're not stuck in purgatory, losing that game for all eternity. You play it five times, at most. Columbia has the same issue with teams in the Ivy League, but at a certain point, it becomes more about the program and less about the players.

And for the program, this game against Villanova brings people to Franklin Field. This year, the Quakers opened with Lafayette and brought in a crowd of a little over 8,000. If you look back at the numbers for the Villanova game in recent years, the Red and Blue bring in an additional 5,000 people to the game. Just for that reason alone, it's worth it to keep on with the rivalry. And soon, maybe this year, Penn will get over that hump and from there on out, there won't be the mental block that currently exists.

VERDICT: The numbers don't lie. If you can't beat 'em, stop playing 'em. Ian wins.