GAME ANALYSIS: Football defends its title hopes

In its win over Yale, the Quakers' defense gave up fewer than 300 yards for the first time since October 3. Welcome back, defense. It's nice to see you again. After taking the week off against Brown, the "defense formerly known as No.1 in Division I-AA" looked a lot like it did the first few weeks of the season. It held the opposition under 300 yards for the first time since October 3 against Bucknell. After the Quakers defense effectively stopped Yale's ground game, the Elis were forced to rely on the pass in the second half to make up a 10-point deficit. The strategy seemed like a good bet after Brown picked apart the secondary last week. But Penn's secondary held its own, and Yale's passing offense will not be confused with Brown's. The combination translated into a 34-21 victory that moved the Quakers within two wins of an Ivy League title. "Any good team is going to come back from an effort like [Brown] and address the issues and go after it," Yale coach Jack Siedlecki said. "Their kids were getting off blocks and making plays and hey, that's what its all about." At first glance, the numbers are a bit misleading. Yale scored 21 points and amassed 290 total offensive yards, including 217 in the air. But 121 yards and seven of those points came after Penn had taken a 20 point lead in the fourth quarter and put the game out of reach. Darren MacDonald and co-captain Joe Piela led the Quakers with nine tackles apiece, and five different players contributed to the squad's five quarterback sacks. After spending most of the week talking about putting the Brown game in the past and concentrating on Yale, Penn coach Al Bagnoli acknowledged the importance of strong play by the defense on Saturday. "Psychologically it was important for our defense to play well," Bagnoli said. "You don't know what kind of emotional scar is left over from last week. I thought it was very important, both short-term and long-term, to get our confidence back on defense." Penn's defense looked extremely tough right from the start, only allowing 30 total yards on Yale's first three drives. By that point, the score was 21-0, and the outcome was largely decided. The main reason for Penn's success was its ability to shut down Yale's running attack, which entered the game ranked first in the Ivies. Yale's Rashad Bartholomew, the second-leading rusher in the league, came in leading the team with 102.5 of its 212.8 yards per week. But Penn's rush defense came in as No. 2 in the Ivies, holding the opposition to an average of 84.7 yards per game. Something had to give, and as conventional wisdom predicted, a good defense stopped a good offense. Bartholomew only managed 53 yards on 18 carries, for an average of 2.9 yards per carry. Overall, Yale only managed 73 yards on 40 attempts, for the pathetic average of 1.8. "We were pretty embarrassed after our performance last week, and I think we were kind of anxious to get out there and turn things around and redeem ourselves a little bit," Piela said. With the running game struggling, the Elis turned to their number two running back, Josh Phillips, who was more of a slasher than Bartholomew. He led a 17-play, 7:36 touchdown drive that encompassed the second half of the second quarter and closed the gap to 21-7. This was basically the only time in the game that Penn's defense seemed overmatched. The Elis sent eight straight running plays at the Quakers, and kept breaking just enough tackles to keep the drive alive. "Part of the problem was I guess we got a little complacent toward the end of the half," senior defensive tackle Jason Maehr said. "Guys started going down with temporary injuries during that period, and it made it kind of tough. Unfortunately they drove down and scored." Despite the aberration, a field goal at the end of the half gave the Quakers a 24-7 lead at the break. Before Saturday, the Elis averaged almost 10 more runs than passes per game. The first half was nothing new, with 30 rushes against only 10 passes. But the big lead and inconsistent rush forced Yale to make major changes to its game plan. The second half saw only 10 running plays and 24 passes. "We got a little behind and started looking more for the pass and that played right into their hands," Bartholomew said. "I'm sure they were probably expecting us to pass a little more in the second half." After the teams exchanged fumbles on the first two plays of the second half, the Elis had a three-play, 50-yard drive punctuated by a 38 yard halfback pass from Phillips to Jake Fuller for a touchdown. Yale was suddenly within 10 points. But with Yale passing on two of every three plays, the Quakers held the Elis to a total of negative six yards on the next three possessions. By that point, the score was 34-14. Although the Elis followed with a decent drive and then a last minute touchdown against Penn's defensive substitutes, the Quakers defense clearly had returned. "They put pressure on us early and kind of rattled me a little bit," Yale quarterback Joe Walland said. "They put pressure on us, they made the plays when they came up, and they stopped us in all phases of the game." The run defense will again be looked upon to dictate the tempo of the Quakers' next two games against co-leaders Princeton and Harvard, which both average over 150 rushing yards per game. Two more performances like Saturday will mean an Ivy League title.

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