Three Up, Three Down: Penn football vs. Lafayette
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Billy Ragone: The fifth-year senior is coming off a devastating ankle injury from last year and is looking to prove a point this season. Offensive coordinator Jon McLaughlin has said that Ragone has looked 100% in practice since the spring. In fact, the team has had to try and slow down Ragone in practice in efforts to keep his rehab on track. Ragone will try to avenge a performance from last season in which he and the departed Andrew Holland threw for a combined seven interceptions. Ragone will be out to prove to the Leopards that he is ready for this season.
Offensive Line: This line has seen only one change from last year’s championship group. Inexperienced junior right tackle Matt Kiefer will be making his first start for Penn, but the coaching staff is more than confident in his abilities. This group is big, physical at the point of attack, and will help an already impressive rushing attack led by senior Brandon Colavita.
Lafayette’s Recent Performance: Last week, Lafayette opened up by surrendering both a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in a 34-6 loss, pinning the Leopards at (0-2). This is Lafayette’s first road game and in recent years, the Leopards have won fewer than 39 percent of their games on the road in the last four seasons and only once at Franklin Field. Barring an upset, Penn should be able to pin back the Lafayette offense, which has only amassed an average of 369 total yards per game through two games (compared to its opponents' average of 432.5 per game).
Three Down-
Matt Smalley: The Leopards sophomore defensive back was ferocious against William & Mary recording eight tackles and a sack in their loss to the Tribe. Smalley has been playing with reckless abandon not only in the secondary but also on special teams where he currently has a 129.5 per game average in kick return yards. Smalley has clearly established himself as a defensive leader and will be on a mission to exploit Kiefer and a recently injured Cameron Countryman on Saturday night.
Replacing Brandon Copeland: The defensive line is full of young linemen this year and with the losses of Brandon Copeland, C.J. Mooney and Taylor Brown, there will be some growing pains. Defensive coordinator Ray Priore says that the line did a good job at not getting knocked off the ball, despite being outweighed by probably 50 pounds - which is promising for young linemen. It’s always difficult to get a group on the line to gel immediately and improvement will come throughout the season. This group will have to work hard to shed blockers and create a pass rush against an offensive line whose average height and weight are 6-foot-4 and 324 pounds compared to Penn's three starters (Jimmy Wagner, Austin Taps and Alex Kahn who average 6-foot-1 and 267 pounds).
Offensive Diversity: The worst thing Penn can do is become a one-dimensional football team. Last season, the offense depended on the passing game against Lafayette, as the Leopards held Penn's rushing attack to 78 combined yards. In one-dimensional shutdowns, the Red and Blue lean on receivers like senior Conner Scott to pick up the slack, a potentially deadly situation for the Quakers to have to deal with. The Red and Blue have to come out of the gate with ingenuity and keep key players like the aforementioned Matt Smalley and senior linebacker Mike Boles off balance throughout the contest.