Villanova hands Penn football embarrassing defeat, 41-7

There are blowouts ... and then there is Penn football’s home opening defeat to Villanova.

The Wildcats, the No. 6 ranked squad in FCS football, took just over two minutes to score and didn’t let up for the rest of the game, winning 41-7.

The 34-point loss was the biggest loss Penn had suffered since the year before Bagnoli took over, when then-coach Gary Steele’s squad lost by 45 points to Holy Cross. It was Penn’s worst home loss to an FCS opponent since falling to Cornell, 52-13, in 1979.

“That was my biggest concern: When they get on a roll, they are very difficult to contain,” Bagnoli said. “They got on a roll, and we really had no answers.”

The news got worse for the Red and Blue as senior captain and star linebacker Dan Davis suffered a concussion. Junior defensive back Trent Dennington left the game with a concussion, as well.

For the first half, redshirt junior quarterback John Robertson led the charge for Villanova, throwing four touchdowns and completing 15-of-21 passes for 230 yards while adding over 50 yards on the ground. He was pulled at halftime with Villanova already up by 34 points.

It took him just six plays to bring the Wildcats 75 yards on their first drive, culminating in a 35-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Earnest Pettway .

Penn looked like it would respond right away as it took quarterback Alek Torgersen two quick passes to bring Penn all the way to the edge of Villanova’s red zone . But the sophomore QB undid his good work in one play, throwing an interception.

“Obviously it was a big play,” Bagnoli said. “If you could have answered, maybe we could have got a little more confidence. We might gotten a little more emotion ... but we didn’t.”

’Nova was able to take the ball from the one-yard line after the pick and drive 99 yards in 13 plays. Robertson was more methodical on the drive, leading his team down before throwing a TD to senior Poppy Livers . Just a few plays later, junior running back Gary Underwood took off for a 54-yard rushing touchdown, making it a 21-0 blowout.

Yet it got worse in the second quarter.

After another Penn punt, Robertson threw for a 66-yard TD to wide receiver Kevin Gulyas , who had over 100 yards receiving in the first half, and Penn was behind by a shocking 34-0.

“He’s always been tremendously elusive,” Bagnoli said of Robertson. “He’s a kid that can win games with his feet. Now I think he can win games pretty readily with his arm.”

Penn got a score back quickly, as senior running back Kyle Wilcox broke off a 67-yard run for Penn’s first score. But Villanova just wouldn’t stop.

Junior linebacker Don Cherry sacked Torgersen and forced a fumble on Penn’s next drive, recovering it in Penn territory. From there, ’Nova scored another TD, as Underwood ran 14 yards for his second score and a 41-7 halftime lead.

The Wildcats pulled most of their starters in the second half, but the damage was already done. Villanova pulled together 417 yards of total offense in the first half while Penn had just 132, with 67 of them coming on one play.

Each team would turn the ball over twice in the second half, as neither squad moved the ball particularly well in the final 30 minutes.

The Quakers drove to Villanova’s one-yard line in the final quarter but sophomore wide receiver Adam Strouss was stuffed on a fourth-down run. That was the closest either squad came to scoring in the second half as Villanova ran out the clock on the Red and Blue.

“It was one of those [games] we just have to put in our rearview mirror and move on,” Bagnoli said.

“It’s pretty frustrating, but you can’t hang your head like that,” Wilcox added. “We’re really lucky that we even get to go out there and play. That’s the attitude that the players on the sideline try to keep but obviously it’s hard.”

The Red and Blue will look to turn it around next week when they head to Hanover and face Dartmouth, a team they beat in four overtimes last season.

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