Mano a Mano: Who is Penn's top Ivy threat?

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Penn football is getting its season started this weekend on Saturday in a nonconference tilt against Jacksonville, but some of us are already looking ahead to Ivy play. Sports Editors Ian Wenik and Holden McGinnis debate which Ancient Eight rival poses the biggest threat to the Quakers this year.

Sports Editor Ian Wenik: This is an easy one. It’s Princeton. The Tigers dealt the death blow to the Quakers last year when they came back from a 16-0 deficit to win on Homecoming, 38-26, and they’re just as much of a threat this time around. Sure, defensive tackle Caraun Reid is in the NFL now, but Princeton returns players like two-time first-team All-Ivy selection Anthony Gaffney at corner and 2013 second-team All-Ivy selection Mike Zeuli at linebacker. Their defense won’t miss a beat.

Sports Editor Holden McGinnis: While we’re on the topic of experienced defenses, how about Harvard? Princeton came away with the win against Harvard, 51-48, in three overtimes, but the Crimson pose just as serious a threat. While Harvard graduated a number of All-Ivy players in one of its strongest senior classes in recent memory, they still return dynamic players up and down their roster.

Senior defensive lineman Zach Hodges will pose an even more serious threat to the aforementioned inexperienced offensive line of the Quakers. Meanwhile, the secondary is anchored by senior defensive back Norman Hayes, Harvard’s sole captain. The Crimson still have a strong offense, led by senior quarterback Conner Hempel and junior running back Paul Stanton. Barring injury, they’ll pose serious issues for the Quakers in all phases of the game.

IW: I think that the Tigers have a thing or two to say about offensive firepower. Quinn Epperly is still Princeton’s quarterback, and who could forget his NCAA record-setting performance against Cornell, when he completed 29 passes in a row? Epperly fully deserved to be named Ivy Offensive Player of the Year last season. My only concern is that he’s lost his favorite target, wide receiver Roman Wilson, to graduation. Who will take his place? It might be one of the Tigers’ two main senior wideouts — Seth DeValve or Matt Costello.

Making matters easier for Epperly is that he has running back DiAndre Atwater in the backfield once again — Atwater averaged a solid 4.7 yards per carry last year. Outside of the question mark of No. 1 receiver, I don’t really see a major hole in Princeton’s depth chart. Do you see any weakness in Harvard?

HM: For Harvard, it’s a pretty similar situation in terms of weakness. The Crimson lost their top two receiving targets in wide receiver Ricky Zorn and tight end Cameron Brate. However, they retain most of their other offensive weapons, primarily Stanton and junior wide receiver Andrew Fischer. Hempel has plenty of weapons for his senior campaign and should be able to put up similar numbers to their third-best passing offense last season.

Verdict: It’s a draw as both are daunting competitors to the Red and Blue.