Alyssa Kress | Better get Becker back in the system

With Kevin Kolb basking in the Arizona sun, the next great Philadelphia quarterback controversy could be right here at Penn.

Though the Quakers are just two games into the season, junior quarterback Billy Ragone isn’t giving his team a chance to win, and it’s time to make a switch.

That doesn’t necessarily mean benching Ragone altogether, which the coaching staff would never dream of doing, anyway.

But it does mean incorporating sophomore quarterback Ryan Becker into the offense consistently, as he was last season.

In Penn’s first game against Lafayette, Ragone went 8-for-23 and threw two picks . Becker got on the field only after the game had slipped away, with the Quakers down, 30-12.

Ragone came back into the game briefly in the fourth quarter.

The result?

He threw an interception on the first play of the drive that led to a touchdown, though a meaningless one at that point.

“I think they put us in a position to throw the ball early, and we weren’t able to do that effectively and that starts with me,” Ragone said after the week-one loss. “I missed open guys and I didn’t get the balls in the right spot.”

Ragone certainly played better in Saturday’s loss to Villanova ­— he did throw for a career-high 250 yards — but still made critical mistakes that cost his team a win.

With the game still within reach for the Quakers and Ragone not playing well in the second half, it would have seemed like a logical time to give Becker some snaps. Instead, he kept the bench warm while Ragone remained under center and threw two interceptions that sealed the game for the Wildcats.

“I didn’t think there was any need to [put Becker in the game],” coach Al Bagnoli said. “He played quite a bit last week … Today just wasn’t the time. [Ragone] was playing well, he was in a rhythm, and he gave us the best chance.”

But based on history, it doesn’t really seem like Ragone gave Penn the best chance to win.

In last year’s matchup against Villanova, the Quakers were down, 15-10, with three minutes left. Ragone was leading a drive down the field when he threw a pick six, sealing the Wildcats’ win.

It was a case of deja vu on Saturday. Ragone tried to lead a game-winning drive but threw an interception, effectively giving the Wildcats the game.

The coaching staff has made it abundantly clear that Ragone is their guy. After the season he had in 2010, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be. But they have also said that both quarterbacks will see time, a promise they need to fulfill as the Ivy League season starts this weekend.

If the Quakers can consistently use both Ragone and Becker, it creates variety and unpredictability that is essential behind a young offensive line.

Both players have two years of eligibility remaining after this season, and it is time to start using them.

ALYSSA KRESS is a junior communications major from Abington, Pa., and is a former Assistant Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. She can be contacted at dpsports@theDP.com.

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