Penn not ready to throw in the towel

Two weeks ago, the Quakers traveled to Brown with their heads raised high.

Penn was the only remaining Ivy team without a conference loss, and it boasted the No. 1 rush defense in the nation.

What a difference two weeks makes.

After two consecutive losses to Brown and Princeton, Penn's chances of securing an Ivy League championship appear to be slim to none.

The Bears finish off their season against the worst teams in the Ivy League: Columbia and Dartmouth.

Nonetheless, it would be a mistake to assume that Penn is not motivated heading into the showdown with Harvard this weekend.

"Not every single thing can be about playing in championship games. I think that's the reality of life," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "That's like saying, 'Well, I'm not gonna go to work, because I'm not having a record-breaking year.'"

The Quakers may not accomplish their preseason goal of winning the league, but there is still much to play for in the final two weeks.

"We're playing for pride," Penn kicker Derek Zoch said. "We all need to dig inside and work our best, work our hardest."

Penn senior running back Sam Mathews had the same sentiments.

"We need to look at ourselves, and not worry about what other teams are doing."

Zoch slumping

After struggling last season, Zoch made a convincing case in the first five games this season that he could provide the consistent foot the Quakers had been lacking.

So much for that theory.

Since converting nine of his first 10 field goal attempts, Zoch has made only one of five field goal attempts in the past three games. He also missed a PAT attempt against each of Brown and Princeton.

Bagnoli attributes the special teams struggles to a mixture of things.

"There isn't one central thing," he said. "One time it's a bad block, the next time it's a bad snap, the next time it's a bad kick.

"There's not a consistent variable, and that's been frustrating."

Zoch agrees that it is a combination of factors contributing to the missed field goals.

"There's definitely not one thing," he said. "It's definitely a mixture."

And yet, while it may be a combination of factors, the statistical blame falls on Zoch.

"In the last two games, with different people each time, we've had some mistakes at bad times," Bagnoli said. "Anytime you get a chance to put some points up on the board, against good teams, and you don't convert, it comes back to haunt you."

Still, Zoch is optimistic about the rest of the season.

"I feel like I just gotta go out there with a positive attitude, knowing that I've done well at the beginning of the season, and I need to continue to do that," he said.

Defending the run

Six games into the season, Penn led the nation in rush defense.

Two games later, the Quakers have dropped to fifth in the nation, and they are no longer even first in the Ivy League, as Harvard surpassed them last week.

Bagnoli has not been particularly disappointed with Penn's rush defense in the past two weeks. He views it mainly as a byproduct of trailing early in games.

"Part of it is falling behind in both of those games," he said. "It's a lot easier to play run defense when you're out in front, because opponents don't necessarily run the ball to any huge degree, so you have a lot more opportunities to get sacks, which come off the rushing totals."

Bagnoli also attributed the sudden letdown on defense to the fact that Brown and Princeton both have strong running games, "with very good offensive lines and very good tight ends."

"It's a combination of playing two very good run offenses, with two very different styles," he added. "Brown runs downhill with the big back, and Princeton runs sideways with the option and stretch plays.

Despite the drop in the standings, Bagnoli is optimistic that if Penn jumps out to an early lead in its final two games, the rush defense will be as effective as it was in the first six weeks.

"If you're going to allow 45 or 50 rushing carries like we did against Brown, you could play pretty good rush defense and still give up 200 yards," he said. "To be honest, I thought we did a decent job against Hartigan -- about as well as anybody's done."

Sandberg and Mathews

While Penn's rushing defense has struggled, its rushing offense has stumbled as well.

Against Princeton, junior Joe Sandberg ran for 46 yards on six carries, but his counterpart in the backfield, Mathews, garnered just 46 yards over 20 carries.

Similar to his explanation for Penn's deteriorating rushing defense over the past two weeks, Bagnoli attributes Penn's ineffective running game to falling behind early.

"The key is, we gotta get out in front, and we have to put ourselves in a situation where the offense can try and shorten the game," he said.

Because Penn allowed both Brown and Princeton to jump out to large leads in the first half, the Quakers were forced to turn to deep passes, which proved to be largely ineffective.

"On the offensive side of the ball, we haven't been able to get the run game going, and we've been playing from behind a lot, so we've been having to throw the football," Mathews said. "We just need to make plays in all areas."

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