Tydings I Penn football rides on, cool and confident

C onfidence is a crazy thing.

A team without confidence can quickly see losses pile up, with each defeat increasing the doubt in each player’s mind.

But when a team wins a game, it can change everything in a heartbeat, which is what Penn football hopes Saturday’s win over Columbia will do.

Before the Columbia game, Penn was mired in the worst losing streak of coach Al Bagnoli’s entire career after failing to win the last four games of 2013 and the first four of 2014.

The most recent three losses had been particularly ugly, with the Quakers losing by an average of 30 points per contest. The offense turned the ball over too often, and the defense made opposing offenses look comfortable imposing their will against the Red and Blue.

That changed on Saturday.

Penn executed its offense as well as it has in a calendar year. Sophomore quarterback Alek Torgersen made all the throws he needed to. Fourth and fifth-string running backs Brian Schoenauer and Eric Fiore stepped in to help Penn gain more than 200 yards rushing.

The defense was even better. After the opening Columbia drive, the Quakers shut out the Lions and made junior quarterback Trevor McDonagh uncomfortable in the pocket, pressuring him and forcing him to make wobbly, inaccurate throws. The run defense looked especially strong, holding Columbia to just 20 yards rushing.

Since many of you are already wondering, yes, this was Columbia, a squad that has lost its last 16 games and last 18 matchups with Penn.

But regardless of whether the Red and Blue were facing a Pop Warner team, an Ivy League team or the Denver Broncos, all they really needed was to come away with a win to take a step forward.

“It was nice to see that we could build, we could win,” Bagnoli said. “We feel a little bit better about ourselves, a little more confidence, and hopefully carry the momentum with us when we go to Yale.”

That isn’t to say the Quakers can forget about those first four games. Those losses amounted to four hours of film that highlight their weaknesses, and while it always feels good to focus on positives, one has to acknowledge their flaws in order to get better.

Even in Saturday’s win, Penn wasn’t able to win the turnover battle, something that the Red and Blue need to do against stronger teams.

And Penn’s upcoming opponent — Yale — has a profile that looks a lot more like those first four squads than Columbia.

The Elis are 4-1 on the year, scoring at least 31 points in each of their five games and at least 45 in each of their four wins. They lead the Ancient Eight in scoring and total offense, utilizing a balanced attack that has given opposing defenses nightmares.

And like Penn, Yale’s only Ivy loss came against Dartmouth.

Since each already has a loss in conference, the matchup at the Yale Bowl holds extra importance with both teams looking to stay in title contention. Only twice — in 1963 and 1982 — in Ivy League history has the Ivy champion had two losses.

But with Saturday’s win, the Quakers now know they have what it takes to win games.

They have the quarterback to lead them. They have a stable of running backs that can make things happen.

They also have a defense that can lay hits on quarterbacks and not let running backs get to the second level. Heck, the Red and Blue have one of the most efficient kickers in the Ancient Eight with Jimmy Gammill going 9-for-10 on field goals to start the year.

All of this goes to say that Penn isn’t going to be a walkover for the Bulldogs. Yale can’t expect to face the Penn team that gave up 60 points to Fordham or the offense that looked lost against Villanova.

No, the Quakers have confidence now.

And confidence can go a long way.

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