Scouting Penn

Columbia fans will not miss this guy

OVERVIEW

What’s a bigger shock, the fact that Columbia has lost 15 in a row or Penn has lost 8 in row?

It’s hard to believe, but true. The Quakers have gone 0-4 to start this season after fading out with four straight losses to end 2013.

As bad as it is for Penn right now, the entire fan base is taking Saturday’s game completely for granted against the Lions. Maybe that’s warranted, but the Quakers have been blown out three games in a row and are having trouble holding on to the football with a -6 turnover ratio.

All of this is ruining Head Coach Al Bagnoli’s farewell season. And that begs the question of whether it was wise for Bagnoli to let everyone know this would be his final season so far in advance. This may have affected recruiting adversely and thrown too much uncertainty into the mix even though Ray Priore was immediately named the next head coach at the time of Bagnoli’s announcement.

Whatever the causes, this appears to be the worst Penn team since the pathetic 1991 squad that led to a house cleaning and Bagnoli’s hiring in the first place.

OFFENSE

New QB Alex Torgerson is talented, but like many young QB’s he’s throwing too many INT’s. His favorite target is RB-turned-WR Spencer Kulcsar who’s grabbing about six passes per game and 75 yards per game. But, and this is a leitmotif for this offense, he has no TD catches. Torgerson is also facing more pressure than Penn QB’s are used to. He’s been sacked 12 times, an average of three times per game.

RB Lyle Marsh is out for the season and the running game has suffered accordingly. Klyle Wilcox is the top rusher, but he’s only averaging nine carries per game because Penn has been so far behind in a number of games so far this year. Saturday could be the day he really breaks out and gets some serious carries. Freshman RB Tre Solomon from Brooklyn could also make a splash this weekend, as he’s been impressive in limited duty.

DEFENSE

Sporadic injuries have hurt this unit, but not as much as playing four very good offensive teams in a row. In other words, it’s hard to tell just how bad or good this Quaker D really is.

Junior linebacker Nolan Biegel has been a nice new impact player this season and he leads the team in tackles. But senior LB Dan Davis is still the leader of this team and he has three sacks so far this year. Feerooz Yacoobi is a major force at defensive end and Evan Jackson is the leader of the secondary.

Again, the defensive stats are ugly, but the names listed above serve as a cautionary note to anyone who thinks the Quakers are an easy mark.

SPECIAL TEAMS

A bright spot this year for Penn has been the emergence of junior PK Jimmy Gammill. He’s 8-9 on FG’s, and he’s hit a 48-yarder. Freshman Hunter Kelly has been a solid punter.

Kulcsar is doing the punt returning and is solid as well. Benjamin and Eric Fiore are splitting the kickoff returning duties and have been unspectacular in that job.

Penn’s kick coverage has been a mixed bag. They’ve been good on kickoffs, but rusty on punt returns.