Penn defense shuts down Morris

Carl Morris sprinted off the line, made a move past two defenders and dove for the pass, making a nice 11-yard reception for a first down, his second reception in a row.

The problem for Harvard's star wide receiver?

Those catches, made late in the second quarter, were the first for Morris. Moreover, the scoreboard read PENN 34, HARVARD 2 at that point. The game was decided -- Penn had wrapped up the Ivy League championship before Morris had even caught a pass.

A lot will and has been made about Penn's offensive performance in Saturday's 44-9 trouncing of the Crimson. It was the Quakers' job against Morris and the Harvard receiving corps, however, that solidified the victory.

"We just took them out of the game early," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "It was never really a contest."

Taking Morris out of the game early was a huge boost. On the day, he finished with three catches for 16 yards -- he came in averaging 10.4 receptions and 145.7 yards per game.

"You really don't ever stop the kid," Bagnoli said. "You're always holding your breath. He's one step away from a home run on every snap."

Morris wasn't even a part of any singles in the Crimson offense, however. He didn't even get a ball thrown to him until late in the first, when Penn was already up, 10-2.

The Penn defense covered Morris using a variety of schemes, including a zone where either Patrick McManus or Stephen Faulk would bump him at the line and Vince Alexander would pick him up if he ran free.

"They basically had two-and-a-half guys covering him," Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. "But we didn't make any big plays to the other guys. We nickeled and dimed. Turnovers and a couple of dropped balls killed us."

The rush on Harvard quarterback Neil Rose was another factor in the shutdown of Morris. Rose was sacked three times in the game, and faced pressure pretty much the entire game, which forced two early fumbles by the Crimson QB, leading to 10 Penn points.

"We did get some great pressure early up front, and it led to some big plays [for the defense]," Penn linebacker Travis Belden said.

One worry that Bagnoli had before the game was giving up the big play. Rose was never really given a chance to wait for Morris -- or anyone -- to get open deep. The longest Harvard pass all day went for just 17 yards.

The early 10-2 lead for the Quakers forced the Crimson into a catchup offense, allowing Penn to sit back and expect the pass.

"This year, we've been able to keep great receivers in check," Belden said. "The defensive backs really are just rising to the occasion."

Murphy, who has coached the Crimson since 1994, was equally impressed with the Quakers' defensive effort against a team that was favored at the beginning of the season to trounce the rest of the Ivy League.

"It's probably the best defensive team I've seen since we've been here," Murphy said.

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