Ethan Alter | Bagnoli's not to blame

Coach Al Bagnoli wanted to take full responsibility for Penn’s 37-12 loss to Lafayette. He used words like “embarrassed” and “humbling” and blamed himself for not preparing the team adequately.

The truth is that the Quakers were not out-coached, but rather exposed by an underdog Lafayette team led by a quarterback making his first collegiate start. Whether Penn’s poor showing is more attributable to personnel issues or a one-time lack of execution remains to be seen.

In the words of the disappointed Bagnoli: “That was an old-fashioned rear-end kicking that we haven’t had here in a long, long time.”

The big plays started in the second quarter and didn’t stop for the Lafayette offensive and defensive units. Except for Justyn Williams’ electrifying, Devin Hester-esque 92-yard PAT return, Penn had no answer.

Yes, it was the first game of the season. And yes, the Quakers are still figuring out what they have on both sides of the ball. That said, they were at home against a struggling program that scored just 19 points in its first two games combined.

The Penn secondary was repeatedly burned by a combination of mismatches and communication errors.

Asked about his second-quarter, 44-yard touchdown reception, Lafayette tailback Ross Scheuerman said he couldn’t remember ever being so open in his life. He lined up in the backfield and jetted up the right sideline. No Penn defender ever picked him up.

Later, wide receiver Mark Ross took advantage of man-to-man press coverage and made a spectacular catch en route to a 73-yard touchdown. Penn’s Anthony Marino did his best, but was just overmatched on that particular play.

Billy Ragone, Penn’s returning all-Ivy quarterback, looked uncomfortable all night. In the first half, a mix of solid inside runs and short playaction passes were enough to keep the Quakers in the game. But as Penn fell behind and Ragone was forced to throw, the Lafayette defense had little difficulty holding Penn scoreless for the entire second half. Ragone was pulled in the third quarter after throwing the first of his two interceptions of the night, which was returned for a touchdown.

The Red and Blue were undone by the Leopards’ playmaking ability and their own inability.

“It’s usually a game of big plays, we didn’t really make any,” Bagnoli said. “You have to be able to make some big plays because it’s really hard against anybody to sustain drives for 16 plays that go 70 yards.”

Indeed, Penn’s only touchdown scoring drive was a nine-play, 76-yard drive that ate up 4:09 minutes of clock. An impressive march to be sure, but as Bagnoli said, it’s tough to sustain drives like that over the course of a game.

Penn’s preparation and mindset could have and should have been better coming into the game. Responsibility for a trouncing this thorough, however, cannot be placed solely on the shoulders of Bagnoli and the coaching staff.

“We came in this game prepared, we just didn’t execute the way we would have liked to,” defensive back and kick returner Matt Hamscher said.

The job of coaches is to put their players in a position to succeed. The job of the players is to block, tackle and make plays.
The Quakers came up short in the third department in particular.

Adjustments will be made this week. The Quakers will be hard at work in practice all week, let there be no doubt about that. Some personnel might be shuffled, some schemes modified, yet come game day, Penn will have to block, tackle and make more plays than the
opposition to come out on top.

As much as Bagnoli wants to take full responsibility, the players have their work cut out for them this Friday against Villanova — who they haven’t beaten in 100 years. Bagnoli will make sure a win is within their grasp. The question is whether or not they will reach out and grab it.

ETHAN ALTER is a junior history major from Los Altos, Calif. He can be reached at dpsports@theDP.com

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