For all the statistic gurus out there, try to comprehend the following:
Penn football currently ranks first in the Ivy League in pass defense, but simultaneously ranks last in pass defense efficiency. The Quakers have conceded an average of 208.7 yards per game through the air, which is a few yards better than Princeton at 213. However, in terms of pass defense efficiency, Penn's total comes out to a lousy 162.4 –– more than 20 points higher than six of the other seven Ivy squads.
What accounts for this numerical enigma? It's a combination of factors, but the stats are mostly explained by the low volume of pass attempts against Penn and the relatively high number of touchdown passes surrendered by the defense.
In other words, teams don't pass the ball against Penn all that often, but when they do, they tend to score. My colleague Karl Bagherzadeh went as far as calling Penn's secondary problems "the elephant in the locker room" (see column).
Conclusion: If the Quakers want to win an Ivy title, their pass defense will have to step up –– because numbers like these don't stay secret for long.
On this week's episode of This Week on 33rd Street, I sit down with football writer Karl Bagherzadeh, who was in Hanover, N.H., to witness Penn's 28-21 win to open the Ivy season. This week, we talk about what the Quakers finally did well and what the final "piece of the puzzle" is to becoming a complete team:
We’re excited to bring to you Penn Sports Plus, a new Buzz feature that spotlights people in the Penn Sports scene who don’t usually get much attention. No current Penn athletics players or coaches will be featured in Penn Sports Plus, so we’ll have plenty of space for the unsung athletes and athletic workers at Penn.
This week we feature the Penn women’s rugby team, with junior co-captain Marissa DeCesaris and junior match secretary Becky Williams giving us a crash course on what women’s rugby at Penn is all about.
What conference is the women’s rugby team affiliated with?
DeCesaris: This is the first year we’re in the Ivy League (Ivy Rugby Conference). The Ivy League formed two years ago, but we didn’t join because we couldn’t make the transition quickly enough. With the help of PennRec, we were able to join this year.
Penn and Cornell joined this year. It was a transition in level of play because we had been playing at a Diviision III level. So far that’s been really good because we have a much higher level of play.
What is your schedule like and who do you play?
DeCesaris: We practice three times a week for two hours. … We practice ballhandling and tackling. We usually play at Penn Park, and once in a while we’ll have a game at Franklin Field as well. My freshman year we didn’t have a field so we’d play at Hill Field.
Williams: There are five or six games in a season, and the competitive season is in the fall. We’ll play more local teams in the non-competitive season in the spring.
What’s the most important thing you’ve taken away from your Penn rugby experience so far?
DeCesaris: I never played rugby before I turned 18, so being able to learn a new sport really pushed me to learn something new. The girls have been a second family to me, so to be able to go to college and have that second family has just been amazing.
Williams: I didn’t play rugby before coming to Penn either. There’s no other way to exercise but running, and meeting new people and working administratively has been a great experience.
What are your favorite Penn rugby memories?
Williams: My favorite was playing on Hill Field freshman year in one of my first practices. It was pouring down rain and the whole team got muddy. And then we walked into Hill for dinner afterward after practice while we were stilly muddy and scared everyone eating there!
DeCesaris: One of my favorite moments was when we had our first game at Penn Park last fall. It was the first time we were actually able to have a lot of students come watch us play. Now we have more turnout because people’s friends can come and sometimes the men and women’s rugby teams watch each other play.
What are your favorite memories of Penn athletics in general?
DeCesaris: When I was a senior in high school, I ran in the Penn Relays in track and field. Getting to be at Franklin Field like that was awesome. Now I get to practice there and work out there. Franklin Field is a huge intimidating place where a lot of really good athletes have played there and it’s really, really fun to play there.
Williams: I also play trombone in the band and watching basketball games in the Palestra is a cool experience.
Penn Football defeats Penn State, 13-7October 3, 1953
It was the second game of the season. The Quakers were coming off a season-opening victory over Vanderbilt.
Among those the Quakers took on in the game was Penn State sophomore Lenny “Sputnik” Moore, who was NFL Rookie of the Year after joining the Baltimore Colts in 1956.
In what would ultimately be the final time the Red and Blue would take down Penn State in football, the Quakers defeated the Nittany Lions, 13-7, under coach George Munger.
Though it would only last a week, Penn cracked the top 25 at No. 20 in the country following the win.
In Munger’s final season as coach, and only losing season, his Penn team went 3-5-1.
During his coaching campaign, Franklin Field held upwards of 75,000 spectators for big games.
The Quakers won the overall series 25-19-4 after the yearly matchup between the two Pennsylvania schools ended in 1958.
Per Philly.com's Jonathan Tannenwald, Penn basketball's Big 5 tilt with St. Joe's will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2/ESPNU. The Quakers and Hawks are set to square off at the Palestra on Sat., Jan. 19 at 5 p.m.
Penn has a small winning streak going in its series with St. Joe's, having won the contest in each of the last two seasons. The Hawks are the only Big 5 team the Red and Blue have been able to beat since the 2006-07 season.
The Quakers' game against La Salle on Jan. 5 at the Tom Gola Arena will also be televised, but on CBS Sports Network. Penn's other Big 5 matchups — against Villanova on Dec. 8 and Temple on Jan. 23 — have yet to be picked up by a network.
Correction: This post previously stated that the Penn-St. Joe's game would be shown on NBC Sports Network.
Last week we discussed which part of Penn’s offense should be the focus (see story), and after Saturday’s game, football columnist Karl Bagherzadeh said the Quakers should go with the run game. In this week’s Mano-A-Mano, football writer John Phillips and Senior Sports Editor Megan Soisson debate how Penn’s backs should be used.
John Phillips: The Quakers have a ton of RBs, and if they plan to run the ball every game as often as they did against Dartmouth, that’s not a bad thing at all. But the distribution of the carries seems off to me. Jeff Jack had the brunt of the carries for the Quakers — including 18 on Saturday — but wasn’t productive, averaging just 2.9 yards per attempt.
Why not let Lyle Marsh or Spencer Kulcsar, backs who have proven to possess big play potential, get more carries and see if they can jump start the ground game?
Megan Soisson: I’m honestly not sure if I can even attempt to explain half the personnel decisions Al Bagnoli and his staff makes, but heck, I’ll give it a go.
Bagnoli explained after the game on Saturday that Colavita was pulled in the first series with an injury, and Marsh was bruised up going into the game so he was limited. Jeff Jack became the go-to back by default, but I really don’t see Jack as Penn’s number one guy. He’s at his best when he’s coming in as a second or third option replacing Colavita or Marsh to give the Quakers a set of fresh legs.
So his 2.9 yards per carry Saturday is likely a result of him carrying the ball too much. I would have liked to see Marsh do more, but he was productive when he needed to be — and if that was because Bagnoli was being cautious, then that’s great play calling on his end. Marsh had just two carries, one of which was a 51-yard dash to the end zone.
JP: If you want to give Bagnoli credit for his timely use of Marsh, that’s fine. But I don’t think the lack of carries for Marsh is simply due to injury. If you go back to the ’Nova game, Marsh had just five carries to Jack’s 14. Surely in that game, Jack ran the ball well, but it’s starting to become a trend, regardless of Marsh’s health.
I’d love to see more of Marsh, especially based on his versatility in the pass game, but I think the Quakers did not plan on possibly losing Colavita. Last year at this juncture, Colavita had rushed the ball 57 times. Being without him has clearly thrown the coaching staff through a loop, and giving Jack the carries that Colavita would usually receive is their first attempt at navigating a strange land without No. 33.
MS: We have to remember that Marsh sat injured almost the entirety of the past two seasons. He entered this season completely healthy, but I have to imagine the coaches are still playing it safe. His carries are definitely down, but with Colavita likely not playing against William & Mary, I expect to see more from Marsh.
We don’t know the extent of Bam’s injury, but against a non-conference team there’s no reason to risk his health even if he feels ready to go. This week the coaches will have the chance to factor his absence into the game plan, and then I think we’ll have a better indication of how Marsh and Jack can be used better.
JP: I really hope you’re right and that the coaching staff can establish some sort of balance with the current platoon. Marsh deserves a shot, but if Bagnoli doesn’t yet think the Jack as RB-1 ship has sailed yet, maybe one more game in which Jack is unable to handle the load is enough to lead to a change — or give Colavita enough time to get healthy. At this point, the offensive isn’t in a position to be picky.
MS: And there’s really no need to be picky given the options available beyond Marsh, Colavita and Jack. Ragone isn’t too shabby of a rusher, either, as we know. Hopefully we’ll see a rhythm established this weekend.
Verdict: Even if the coaching staff is being cautious with Marsh, they’re going to have to let him loose sometime soon. Give this one to John. Jeff Jack obviously can’t carry the load on his own.
For the second time in three weeks, freshman Erin Mikolai of the Penn women's soccer team picked up Ivy Rookie of the Week honors. Mikolai notched two goals in a 4-0 rout of NJIT on Sunday and upped her total to a team-best three scores on the season.
The last time a Penn player earned Ivy ROW honors multiple times in a season was two years ago when Kerry Scalora won the award three times. Scalora went on to score five goals on the season and take home the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award.
If she continues to make an impact for the Quakers, Mikolai certainly has a chance to bring the ROY award to Penn for the second time in three years. It looks as if she will compete with Dartmouth's Corey Delaney for the honor, who has one goal and four assists on the season. The two shared the Ivy ROW award two weeks ago, before Delaney won the award outright last week.
Penn football picked up its first win of the season Saturday, defeating Dartmouth, 28-21, in the first Ivy game of the year for both teams (see game recap). The Quakers jumped out to a 20-0 lead at halftime and held off a Big Green second-half surge.
THE GOOD:Penn's mistake free offense. Zero turnovers. Not even a fumble that was ruled an incomplete pass by the referee, but just a simple, clean sheet for the Quakers’ offense. Backup quarterback Andrew Holland came close to ruining the party, throwing two near-interceptions in a row, but he was then quickly pulled out of the game. The memory of the eight-turnover debacle against Lafayette is probably still deeply ingrained in everyone’s head, so we’ll wait to see if this unit can produce 60 minutes of mistake-free football again. But no giveaways in the first true meaningful is promising.
THE BAD: Colavita is hurt … again. After sitting out most of the first two games with injuries, running back Brandon Colavita was in fact in the starting lineup against the Big Green. But then, one series later, he was back on the sidelines again, this time on crutches. Will the Quakers ever have a full, healthy stable?
THE UGLY: Dartmouth's botched field goal at the end of the first half. With three seconds remaining before halftime, the Big Green were set to attempt a 41-yard field goal, and Penn coach Al Bagnoli called two consecutive timeouts to ice the kicker. Whether the timeouts affected the kicker, however, was made negligible when the snap sent the football sailing off the holder's helmet. Dartmouth jumped on the loose ball, but the half ended with Penn up, 20-0. See the video.
The Quakers kick off the Ivy season against the Big Green in Hanover, N.H. It should be a close game, as each matchup between these teams in the past three seasons has come down to the final possession. Follow all the action here:
On this edition of This Week on 33rd Street, Senior Sports Editor Megan Soisson sits down with Sports Editor and football writer Alyssa Kress to discuss what went wrong in Penn's 24-8 loss to Villanova and what needs to improve if the team hopes to open its Ivy season with a win at Dartmouth:
Junior Dani Shepherd currently leads the Division I standings in digs per set. After an impressive weekend against Princeton and Towson, she is now boasting 6.61 digs/sets, which will extend her already comfortable lead.
Shepherd was picked for the first-team All-Ivy last season and finished last season third in the nation in digs per set.
She is the only Ivy player in the top 50 in this category, and she is just one aspect of the impressive defense the Quakers have mustered up so far this season. Despite losing their first Ivy League match of the season, Penn had a strong defensive showing, posting 10 blocks and 118 digs in the five-set match.
We're excited to have a new segment on The Buzz called Three Up, ThreeDown, in which we predict three players whose stock will rise and fall over the course of upcoming games.
Look for the following threesome to be thriving after Penn's Ivy opener at Dartmouth on Saturday:
Three Up —
Billy Ragone: Quite simply, this is Ragone’s time. He found his groove in Dartmouth’s backyard last year after a slow start, and it would be no coincidence if he were to do it again Saturday. The Big Green ranked dead last in the Ivy League in rushing defense a year ago, and they can be expected to once again set Ragone up to tuck and run. That usually translates into a more confident aerial attack from him.
The Penn secondary: Few positions for the Quakers should benefit most from the non-conference-to-Ivy-League drop in competition level than the secondary. Although they got torched by a freshman QB last week, Penn’s young defensive backs shouldn’t be tested as much by first-year signal-caller Alex Park, who got picked twice at Holy Cross a week ago. Dartmouth comes in 7th among the Ivies in passing offense.
NBC Sports Network: A bit of a stretch maybe, but NBCSN definitely picked a good Ivy game to showcase for the second week into its new television deal with the Ancient Eight. This will be Dartmouth’s only nationally televised game all year, so you can bet that Memorial Field will be rocking. And if the past two years are any indication, this should be a thrilling game that perfectly showcases what the Ivy race is all about.
But since not everybody can be on the up-and-up, here's a trifecta that might find tough times this weekend:
Three Down —
Andrew Holland: That Bagnoli allowed Ragone to nurse his bruised collarbone for much of the Villanova game suggests that he’s invested in Billy for the long haul. It’s Ivy time, so we've arrived. Penn’s coaches have been waiting for this precise point in the season to see what Ragone has to offer when the games take on extra significance. Dartmouth topped the Ivy League in passing defense last year and captain safety Garrett Waggoner returns after missing all but two games a season ago. So Ragone’s hybrid style looks a little better right now.
Lyle Marsh: Dartmouth’s defensive scouting report should be simple: Crowd the box and dare Ragone or even Holland to go over the top. That approach means Marsh may never fly too far off the radar while either pounding the rock or catching short, high-percentage passes out of the backfield.
Brandon Copeland: As my fellow columnist David Greenbaum so astutely pointed out this week, Copeland isn’t getting much help up front. Through two games, this defensive line has zero sacks, and you can bet on Dartmouth double-teaming Cope every step of the way. The youth up front can also shoulder the blame for the Quakers’ seventh-ranked spot in rushing defense. Just because Dartmouth lost All-Ivy running back Nick Schwieger to graduation doesn’t mean coach Buddy Teevens has lost his commitment to running the football early and often. And besides, nothing Cope does on Saturday could ever top his 15-yard interception return for a touchdown last year in Hanover, right?
This week, we’re breaking from Mano-A-Mano tradition and having a Womano-A-Womano.
So far this season, it’s clear the Quakers rely more on their passing game than their running game. But should that be the case? Senior Sports Editor Megan Soisson and football beat writer Anna Strong break down the Penn offense and debate which unit is serving the Red and Blue better.
Anna Strong: Of the 723 yards of total offense the Quakers have through the first two games of the season, 486 of them — roughly 67 percent — have come from passing. Penn completes 63 percent of its attempts and averages 10.3 yards per catch.
Averaging a first down per reception is a good sign, and the fact that 27 of Penn’s 39 first downs came from passes shows that Ragone and Holland are capable of making those crucial plays.
Megan Soisson: That first down stat is padded because Penn chooses to pass the ball 57 percent of the time, though most of that came in the first week. And Penn can’t find a happy medium through the air — it’s either seven interceptions or 142 yards. Neither is impressive.
Sure, those stats are nice. But what are the Quakers gaining from that? Stalled drives and a lackluster offense that’s far from explosive.
When the passing game isn’t working, that doesn’t help the run, but Penn would benefit from opening up the stable and letting Jeff Jack, Lyle Marsh and Brandon Colavita really run free. The running back corps hasn’t been productive, but that’s only because it hasn’t been given the opportunity. They’ve averaged 4.2 yards per carry, but on just 57 total attempts.
AS: Granted, the quarterbacks had some problems passing against Lafayette in the season opener with those interceptions. But that was resolved against Villanova — Penn didn’t turn the ball over once.
Holland did his part, going 11-for-17 for 102 yards and one touchdown pass, replacing Ragone late in the first half. Wideouts Joe Holder and Conner Scott had solid days with 41 and 29 yards receiving, respectively.
MS: Wait, you think 41 and 29 yards receiving is solid? It’s average at best. Par for the course.
Holland’s stat line wasn’t bad, but it’s not great either. And in this assessment, I’m more concerned about team passing stats. I repeat: 142 passing yards in a game is chump change, and their yards per completion was a paltry 9.5 compared to ’Nova’s 16.4
We haven’t seen much from either the passing game or the running game, but it’s time for Penn to get back to powerhouse football and pound the gridiron.
AS: The Quakers opted to err on the side of caution against Villanova exactly because of the seven picks thrown at the Lafayette game, but the fact that Penn could only put eight points on the board given its offensive numbers is disappointing. Both quarterbacks could take more risks and take advantage of their receivers, who have demonstrated their ability to get open, even against stingy Lafayette and Villanova defenses.
This will be especially important against Dartmouth, whose defense has allowed 453 passing yards. That defense, however, has successfully limited opponents to 162 rushing yards, which shows they are better at protecting the run. The Quakers should take full advantage of this. The Big Green have also not managed a single interception all season, which should give the Penn quarterbacks a little more confidence in the pocket.
MS: Those are great stats, Anna, and maybe we’ll see some real production in the air this weekend. But this can’t be the solution for the season. The running backs need a chance to shine, because there’s some serious talent in that group.
Verdict: This one wasn’t even left up to the judges — Megan picks up the KO. Hopefully for Penn’s sake, the coaching staff heeds her advice and runs the ball. Open up the stable and release the thoroughbreds!
For the second consecutive week, the Quakers were unable to pick up a win as they fell to Villanova, 24-8, in their final non-conference tune-up before Ivy League play begins next Saturday at Dartmouth.
THE GOOD: The offensive spark of Spencer Kulcsar
Despite primarily playing special teams in his career before Saturday's game, Spencer Kulcsar came up with a large contribution to the rushing attack in the second half. The Quakers were without senior running back Brandon Colavita, who had a rib injury, but Kulcsar, a sophomore, picked up the slack in the second half with long runs of 27 and 28 yards that brought Penn into Villanova territory. While Colavita is expected back for Ivy play next week, Kulcsar displayed the depth of the Penn rushing attack and could be in line for more carries next week.
THE BAD: The struggles of the secondary
Facing a Villanova team known for its ground game, the Quakers focused on stopping the run. While the Red and Blue stopped the Wildcats' rushing attack early, they allowed the Villanova aerial assault to control the first three quarters of action until the game got out of hand. Three of Villanova’s top-five receivers had injuries, yet quarterback John Robertson threw for over 200 yards while scoring two touchdowns in the Villanova victory.
THE UGLY: Dexter Davis’s fourth quarter shoving match
Villanova’s offense hit Penn with a barrage of long drives throughout the game and Penn seemed ill-suited to hit back. The only strike from the Quakers came from defensive back Dexter Davis’ fight with a Villanova player late in the game. Davis was shoving the offensive player and landed a blow to the helmet before being assessed a 15-yard personal foul. The penalty provided the Wildcats 15 yards and a first down towards their third and final touchdown drive.
After turning the ball over eight times against Lafayette last weekend, resulting in a 28-21 loss, the Quakers look to bounce back and get their first win against Villanova in 101 years. Follow all the action below:
There have been a lot of questions surrounding the quarterback situation between Billy Ragone and Andrew Holland for Penn football (see Mano-A-Mano). But according to coach Al Bagnoli, it's far from a controversy.
Here is what he had to say:
“They’ll both play. Hopefully people aren’t trying to make this a quarterbacking controversy. It’s really nothing like that. It’s [good] to have kids that can both help you win Ivy games and hopefully Ivy League championships.
"So when you add that, Billy’s style and what we’re asking Billy to do, we’re suceptible to potential injury because he is going to take hits playing quarterback. He’s going to be in the pocket, he’s going to release the ball, he’s ocasionally going to be sacked, if he’s going to scramble and run, he’s going to get hit.
"Then we’re going to call gun-run plays where he’s actually the ball carrier. You do that 10-12 times a game, because he does that great, if you’re not careful, you only have one kid, and he’s taking the same amount of hits your tailbacks are taking. Nobody ever says you should only play one tailback. We play three. So the cumulative effect of that happening, you’ve just got to protect yourself from saying we have to have a kid ready to go because if something happened to him, it’s not a quarterbacking controversy.
"They’re best friends, they do a great job of managing the game. It gives some versatility, it gives some depth, and they will both play again on Saturday.”
Penn football coach Al Bagnoli and Villanova coach Andy Talley go way back.
From scrimmages during their coaching days back at Union College and St. Lawrence, respectively, which date back to the late 70s and early 80s, a friendship grew and has remained over the past 30 years.
The two coaches, both of whom have over 200 career wins, will be taking each other on this weekend at the Penn home opener (see preview).
Below is what they had to say about their relationship and coaching against each other in the context of Saturday's game:
Bagnoli:
“When I got down here he was one of the first guys that reached out and showed me the way around Philly and suggested some things. We’ve had a long friendship. His main objective is to win the CAA and go to the postseason, while our main objective is to win the Ivy League championship. Now for those three hours, we’re actually in mortal combat, but once you get out of those three hours, we play golf together on occasions, we have dinner on occasions, we see each other every Wednesday at press conferences, we see each other at social functions, so I consider him a good friend of mine. If they were in the Ivy League, it would be completely different. Just the league dynamics.”
Talley:
"Penn-Villanova has turned into a great rivalry game. The coaches and players on both teams know each other well so that adds to the game in a positive way.
"Al and I have been friends for a long time. I have the utmost respect for him. He is a great football coach with an incredible coaching resume. He has done a phenomenal job throughout his career at Penn.
"Penn is always one of the best-coached teams we play. Playing at Franklin Field presents a big challenge due to the fact that Penn has always done a great job of protecting its home field. Penn is routinely tough against the run so their run defense will present us with a lot of challenges. I fully expect another 60-minute battle that will more than likely come down to the final few plays of the game."
Each week, sports writers and editors from each Ivy paper are submitting their picks for the weekend's Ivy matchups. This weekend there are just two, but that didn't stop us from nearly unanimously picking a Cornell win over Yale and a Harvard win over Brown.
Friday's paper has the abridged version, but the full reasoning behind the choices are listed after the jump.
Harvard's Bobby Samuels:
Yale doesn't have an answer for the Jeff Mathews-led Cornell offense .
Harvard has the offensive weapons to overcome a tough Brown squad and a hostile Brown environment.
Columbia's Myles Simmons:
Cornell's Jeff Mathews got beat up pretty badly by Fordham last week. He'll be ready to bounce back against a familiar Ivy foe.
The defending champs will want to come out with a bang and will probably beat up Brown.
Penn's Megan Soisson:
I'm a little concerned about Cornell's loss to Fordham last week, but Jeff Mathews threw for 489 yards. 489 yards! That's gotta be a recipe for an Ivy win.
Gotta go with the defending champs here.
Yale's Charles Condro:
Cornell wins a game that could be closer than people think. The Big Red offense was one-dimensional last week and its defense gave up a lot of yards. If Yale can get pressure on QB Jeff Matthews, the Bulldogs could make it interesting.
Treavor Scales and Co. will prove to be too much for Brown. Harvard is ranked no. 24 in the FCS Coaches Poll for a reason, and the Crimson will demonstrate that en route to a victory in its Ancient Eight opener.
Cornell's Quintin Schwab:
The Cornell offense will not leave points off the board for the second week in a row, and the Red defense will be fired up by the Homecoming crowd just enough to hold its ground and vault the home team to victory.
Dartmouth's Noah Reichblum & Brett Drucker:
Yale's defense kept their team in the game last week, despite five turnovers from the offense. Once again, the Bulldog D will rise to the task, this time against a talented Cornell offense.
The pre-season top-ranked team should have no problem instilling their physical approach on both sides of the ball.
Princeton's Kevin Whitaker:
It will go down to the final possession, but Jeff Mathews, with home-court advantage, puts Big Red over the top.
After the academic scandal, Harvard will be mercilessly taunted -- but do Brown students even take classes?
Brown's Lindor Qunaj and Jake Comer:
Despite losing to Fordham last week, Jeff Mathews' game was on point and I can't imagine Yale's defense being able to stop Big Red's aerial attacks.
Harvard's Treavor Scales and quarterback Colton Chapple look ready to push through the Bears' still-developing defense, and will help the team to a narrow victory.
As much as I hate to admit it, Penn Athletics has been pouring out some GEMS this week in preparation for this Saturday's home football opener versus Villanova.
First, a message from seniors Brandon Copeland and Billy Ragone:
This Week on 33rd Street is back! In the first weekly football edition, I sit down with football writers David Greenbaum and Mike Tony to discuss Penn's opening-game loss to Lafayette and what it needs to change to beat Villanova in Week 2:
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