Football Hopes to Leave Penn Quaking

Tomorrow, the Harvard football team looks to rebound from a losing a Bear fight by sticking it to Penn.

The Crimson (5-3, 3-2 Ivy) will face the Quakers (4-4, 3-2 Ivy) in what shapes up to be a very even game on paper.

The Quakers are coming off a 41-13 win over Princeton. Led by sophomore running back Kris Ryan who had 31 carries for 151 yards on the day, Penn stayed alive in the Ivy race.

The loser of this game will suffer a significant blow to its Ivy League title hopes. With both teams clinging to a last shred of hope for an Ivy crown, this game figures to be an intense match-up.

Offensively, the Quakers are a very similar team to the Crimson. Both teams like to run the football. On the ground, Penn is averaging 156 yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry.

The Quaker ground attack is spearheaded by Ryan, the league's leading rusher. He has 1161 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season and averages 5.8 yards per rushing attempt.

"We have to stop the run," Coach Tim Murphy said. "That has got to be your first concern when you play Penn. If you don't stop their ground game, they'll dictate the way the game progresses."

Although the Penn ground game has got to be a concern for Harvard, the passing game, led by sophomore quarterback Gavin Hoffman, who completed 15-of-28 passes for 150 yards against Princeton, is also a threat.

Hoffman is a transfer from Big Ten team Northwestern.

Penn has tallied 227 yards per game and 10 touchdowns this season through the air. Penn, much like Harvard, possesses a balanced offense that utilizes multiple sets and tries to keep the defense guessing. The Crimson has averaged 398 yards per game offensively this season, the Quakers, 383.

Both Harvard and Penn have gained 5.3 yards per play on offense and while the Crimson has scored 26 touchdowns this season, the Quakers have scored 23.

Because the two offenses are so similar, the difference could very well be the defense--especially against the pass.

Both defenses have been victimized by passing offenses this season. Opposing quarterbacks have engineered a string of fourth-quarter comebacks against Harvard this season.

"[Penn] had a lot of trouble adjusting to Brown's spread formations and passing game," Murphy said.

Because of this, look for both coaching staffs to open up their offenses tomorrow.

Even if neither team wants to pass, both defenses are so good against the run that they may force the offenses into a wide-open attack.

This season, Harvard and Penn's opponents are averaging under 100 yards per game rushing with only eight touchdowns on the ground against the Crimson and five against the Quakers.

Senior quarterback Brad Wilford, who was 18-of-36 passing for 175 yards and 4 interceptions against Brown, and his receivers should be able to capitalize on Penn's vulnerability against spread formations.

With senior wide receiver Terence Patterson and tight-end Chris Eitzmann leading a deep receiver corps, Harvard should be able to create match-up advantages downfield.

The Crimson need to stay away from sophomore defensive back Kunle Williams, who returned two interceptions for touchdowns against Princeton, one of them a 100-yard return, tying an NCAA record.

Although Harvard does need to look to pass against this Quaker defense, the bread and butter of the offense has been senior running back Chris Menick, who Harvard will count on for crucial yardage.

Menick, who rushed for 110 yards on 29 attempts against Brown, will look to keep the Ivy-leading Harvard rushing attack on track against Penn.

Menick has his work cut out for him since Penn is only allowing 2.7 yards per carry, far short of Menick's 5.1 yard per carry average this season.

When Harvard is on defense, the marquee match-up will be senior linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski against Ryan.

Notwithstanding Harvard's difficulties against the pass this season, if Kacyvenski and the rest of the Crimson defense can make the Quaker offense one-dimensional, they will have gone a long way toward winning this game.

Look for a tight defensive struggle tomorrow with some aerial fireworks.