If a season simulation on "Dynasty Mode" of EA Sports' NCAA Football 2007 is in any way a harbinger for Penn's upcoming season, then the Quakers are in deep trouble.
In Penn's Ivy League opener against Dartmouth at Franklin Field, junior Bryan Walker found a wide-open senior Matt Carre for a 40-yard touchdown in the first quarter, giving the Quakers the early 7-0 lead.
This touchdown was just the first of many Walker-Carre connections throughout the season, but unfortunately for Penn, the dynamic duo was about the only bright spot in a year filled with miscues.
Penn would later surrender four touchdowns to the perennial cellar-dwellers, as the Big Green prevailed 28-21.
The Quakers bounced back against Columbia, cruising to a 24-7 victory. It would also be their only win until the season finale.
Part of the team's struggles stemmed from a major flaw with the video game. Senior standout running back Joe Sandberg was not listed on the team roster, so for the purposes of the simulation, the recently graduated Sam Mathews was used in his place. However, Mathews was suspended for three games for unspecified academic reasons.
In his absence, the Red and Blue proceeded to drop four straight, punctuated by a devastating 21-17 loss to Harvard, in which junior kicker Derek Zoch missed two field goals from inside 30 yards. Zoch finished the season with an abysmal 38 percent field goal percentage, converting only eight of 21 attempts.
The season did end on a slightly high note for Penn, as it trampled Cornell 49-19 to cap off the season. Furthermore, Walker finished with an impressive 119.7 passer rating, and Carre ended up with nine touchdowns and raked in 112 yards per game.
Nonetheless, the Quakers finished up with a mediocre 2-5 record in league play, and due to what must have been an over-zealous athletics director (or a non-conference scheduling flaw in the game), they endured the most embarrassing loss in the school's history, falling 76-0 to Iowa State.
There's always next year.
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