Fanaroff | 13 is lucky for offense

The biggest statistic from Penn’s 42-7 drubbing of the Tigers was not the 35-point margin of victory (the Quakers’ largest since 1943).

It was not quarterback Kyle Olson’s career-high three touchdowns, Matt Tuten’s career-best 92 yards receiving or cornerback Chris Wynn’s career-high seven tackles.

All of those impressive numbers speak to the incredible group and individual performances at Franklin Field, but the biggest takeaway from the Princeton contest was the usually unlucky number thirteen — the number of players with a carry or reception. Thirteen different players showed that they can step up and become offensive weapons at any point in the game.

The incredible depth of talent on the defensive side of the ball was established early in the season. But on Saturday it became clear that there is plenty of talent on offense as well. Olson completed passes to nine different receivers — including himself (off of a deflection by a defensive lineman). Six separate running backs teamed up with the quarterback to net 215 yards on the ground.

It’s nothing new to say that the Quakers have tons of talent at the running back position. Through eight games, four different running backs have carried the ball over 30 times for more than 100 yards apiece. Additionally, fullback Luke DeLuca leads the team with five touchdowns on the ground.

“We’re blessed to have some really talented running backs,” coach Al Bagnoli said after the game. “They all come in with a little bit [of a] different style, so it’s a little bit harder to prepare … It becomes a handful when every time a new back comes in, he’s fresh and he presents a little bit [of a] different style.”

The number of pass catchers, however, was unexpected. A week after hauling in a career-high eight catches and his first touchdown of the season, senior Kyle Derham again looked like a true number-one receiver with 75 yards on five catches and a touchdown. Olson’s favorite target on the day, however, was junior wideout Tuten, who caught six passes for those 92 yards. But Olson insists that he doesn’t target anyone specifically and is simply following the coaches’ gameplan.

“Some plays Tuten’s gonna get the ball and some plays are designed for Derham to get the ball,” he said. “I’m just the middleman, I’m just putting the ball in their hands.”

Sometimes, though, the ball went where no one could expect it. Olson’s second pass of the game went to a wide open DeLuca. The 240-pound fullback rumbled 29 yards to the one-yard line and punched it in himself on the next play. Later, towards the end of the third quarter, facing a second-and-goal from the three-yard line, Olson faked a sneak before lobbing the ball to backup tight end Luke Nawrocki for the sophomore’s first career touchdown.

But Olson still takes little credit for spreading the ball out to a variety of targets.

“I really just put the ball where the coaches have keyed in to me every week,” he said. “They tell me where to go with the ball when a certain situation arises. And I just did what the coaches told me.”

The coaches, then, have devised a gameplan in recent weeks that effectively utilizes the abundance of talent at both the running back and receiver positions. If thirteen players can make plays to move the football at any given time, defenses will go crazy trying to stop them all.

With the way the offense has been clicking lately, it appears that any number of the Quakers’ offensive weapons could be the difference against Harvard Saturday — and thus the difference between an Ivy Championship and runner-up status.

Neil Fanaroff is a senior economics major from Potomac, Md., and is former Design Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. He can be contacted at dpsports@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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