The Quakers open their 2008 season on a hot, sunny afternoon here at Franklin Field, searching for their first win over Villanova since 1911.
FINAL/OT: Villanova 20, Penn 14
Bradford Blackmon gets the ball on first down, runs right, then heads back to his left -- and then fumbles the ball about 10 yards forward. Villanova recovers, and the game is over.
First OT Villanova 20, Penn 14
What a run by backup Villanova QB Chris Whitney. On 2nd and 6, Whitney faked the handoff and kept it himself, then did a complete spin to his left to elude Penn defenders and march on in to the endzone.
But the Quakers block the ensuing extra point, meaning that they can win it with a score.
Start of first overtime, Penn 14, Villanova 14
Penn won the toss and will defend first.
End of Regulation, Penn 14, Villanova 14
To overtime we go.
Penn called that final drive quite conservatively, much to the chagrin of booing Franklin Field fans. Bagnoli called a run on first down, let the play clock wind down and then went with another run up the gut to finish out the quarter.
1:28 Q4 Penn 14, Villanova 14 Another Penn interception in the endzone. Sophomore Jonathan Saelinger picks of Young's offering into single coverage, and the Quakers' poor fourth-down-conversion attempt doesn't come back to bite them -- yet.
3:19 Q4 Penn 14, Villanova 14
Three yard gain for Blackmon on 1st down. And on second, Irvin lines up as a wideout, setting up a direct snap to Blackmon. That play never really got anywhere (Blackmon wound up running to the sideline without getting positive yardage), and to make things worse, Penn was called for an illegal block in the back.
On 3rd and 14, Irvin drops back and finds Blackmon in the slots. He picks up 12 yards before being forced out of bounds.
Penn goes for it on fourth down -- and loses yardage on the play. On an HB draw, Blackmon is forced back, and further back, losing 15 yards.
Nova takes over on Penn's 45.
5:51 Q4 Penn 14, Villanova 14
The Quakers get great field position for a potential go-ahead drive, starting on their on 48 after Villanova went 3-and-out.
8:22 Q4 Penn 14, Villanova 14
Once again, Penn takes advantage of Olson on 4th and 2 from Villanova's 42. They line up in shotgun formation, and while Olson again goes for the punt (this time with more success, pinning 'Nova at its own 7), the Wildcats visibly didn't know what Penn would throw at them.
Meanwhile, Chris Whitney is in at QB for Villanova.
14,758
10:34 Q4 Penn 14, Villanova 14
Irvin throws a bullet up the middle to David Wurst, threading the Wildcats' secondary perfectly for a first down just inside Villanova territory.
11:23 Q4 Penn 14, Villanova 14
Another huge Penn interception in its own endzone - this one from Josh Powers, his first career pick. That brought an abrubt end to the Wildcats' drive, just when it looked like they would score.
On Penn's first play, Irvin airs one out, throwing from Penn's 20 to Villanova's 35. The pass was incomplete thanks to good 'D,' but it was right on the money -- not bad for the first time Irivn's gone deep today.
End Q3 Penn 14, Villanova 14
New promotion: two fans get large plastic bags and compete to see who can catch the most toast. Doesn't look like either man was too successful, however.
1:36 Q3 Penn 14, Villanova 14
On 3rd and 12, another conservative play call. Irvin rolls right and finds a man for a 4 yard gain, but that's it. Olson forced to punt, and it's a good one; 'Nova starts from its own 28.
2:45 Q3 Penn 14, Villanova 14
Halftime stats finally in:
Irvin 9-for-14, 124 yards, 1 TD
Olson 2-for-3, 13 yards
DiMaggio 8 rushes, 45 yards, 1 TD (avg. 5.6)
Blackmon 8 rushes, 37 yards (avg. 4.6)
Derham 4 receptions, 52 yards, 1 TD
Blackmon 3 receptions, 44 yards
Reinert 2 receptions, 12 yards
Koontz 1 reception, 23 yards
Olson 3 punts, 114 yards (avg. 38)
5:04 Q3 Penn 14, Villanova 14
The Wildcats' 41-yard field goal attempt is wide right, no good. Game remains tied, with Penn taking over from its own 24.
After all the early scoring, things have settled down quite a bit.
6:13 Q3 Penn 14, Villanova 14
And now, a moment reminiscent from last year's Penn-'Nova game.
Irvin rifles one, all right, and squarely into somebody's hands. But that somebody would be Villanova's Martel Moody, who hauls in the interception at Penn's 30.
7:51 Q3 Penn 14, Villanova 14
Nova lost yardage on that very brief 3-and-out. Penn was well-prepared for a second-down screen, and on a short 3rd-and-long pass, Maugle again provided an instant tackle to force a punt.
Penn takes over on its own 12.
10:00 Q3 Penn 14, Villanova 14
Bagnoli opts for a Blackmon run play on 4th and 15. He gains 4, but that's the end of a drive that never got going.
Olson's punt is caught at about midfield, and Nova starts with great field position at Penn's 43.
11:58 Q3 Penn 14, Villanova 14
Chris Wynn is putting on a defensive clinic out there. In single coverage, Wynn stayed inside Antwon Young's offering and outjumped the Nova's receiver for his second outstretched-arms interception of the day.
Wynn's tackled just inside the endzone, so Penn takes over from its 20.
14:47 Q3 Penn 14, Villanova 14 Villanova set to receive. Beautiful kickoff -- deep into the corner, right in front of the endzone. But Penn is called offsides, leading to a 5-yard loss and a re-kick. And this one is anything but beautiful. It's a floater, and the Wildcats start from their own 40.
Halftime Penn 14, Villanova 14
The internet here at Franklin Field went out for a little while; hopefully it will be OK the rest of the way.
Not much happened in those final minutes of the half. We got our first look at 4th down trickery of sorts; Bagnoli brought out Olson in shotgun formation on 4th and 5 from around Nova's 45, only to have Olson punt one away. Didn't work particularly well -- the Wildcats took over from their own 16 on that play, barely better than a touchback.
Stats to follow momentarily.
5:20 Q2 Penn 14, Villanova 14
One play later, Penn's Chris Wynn returns the turnover favor, making a diving interception.
Irvin's back in and completes his first to tight end Josh Koontz at midfield.
5:28 Q2 Penn 14, Villanova 14
On second down, Blackmon runs to the right side on a draw play, but he fumbles it (forced by 'Nova's Terrence Thomas). The Wildcats recover at their own 47.
7:35 Q2 Penn 14, Villanova 14
Irvin had been looking pretty good, but here comes Olson for his first Division 1 snaps.
He completes his first two passed, sandwiching a Blackmon run and setting up a first down.
Then on 1st and 10, Olson is chased out of the pocket down the left side and is forced to throw it away for his first incompletion.
7:56 Q2 Penn 14, Villanova 14
After Young hits Atkinson up the middle for a big Villanova game, the Wildcats fumble it on the next play. But they recover, setting up...
Young lofts one up to the middle to the very pronouncable receiver Matt Szczur, who had one step Penn's last man back. It lands right in the hands of Sczur, who then has a clear route to the endzone for a 38-yard play and a tie game.
Scoring drive: 4 plays, 68 yards, 1:52.
9:56 Q2 Penn 14, Villanova 7
Draw to DiMaggio was a good enough fake to not only fool plenty in the stands, but also the 'Nova rushers, who throw Irvin down to the ground for what appeared to be a sack. But just as Irvinwent down, DiMaggio was dusting himself off in the endzone, picking up 12 yards for the score.
Scoring drive: 12 plays, 79 yards, 5:16.
11:20 Q2, Villanova 7, Penn 7
Penn's slowly and unexcitingly marching downfield, until on 1st down, Irvin rolls out on a play action and finds Blackmon wideopen down the left sideline. Nobody's within 5 yards of him, and he hauls it in for a 29-yard game.
13:40 Q2 Villanova 7, Penn 7
Some first-quarter stats:
Irvin 5-for-7, 51 yds, 1TD
DiMaggio 3 rushes, 20 yds (6.7 avg)
Blackmon 4 rushes 11 yds (2.8 avg)
Olson 2 punts, 85 yds (42.5 avg)
Penn and Villanova each had 4 first downs; the Wildcats managed 89 total yards to Penn's 88.
A couple of scores coming in:
No suprise, but Yale crushed Georgetown, 47-7
Fordham defeated Columbia, 29-22
End Q1 Villanova 7, Penn 7 Young's pass on 3rd and 2 is well out of bounds, so Nova will punt -- and punt Zach Ugarte does. Chris Wynn is forced to call for a fair catch at the Penn 21.
DiMaggio runs for 8 yards to end the quarter.
1:45 Q1 Villanova 7, Penn 7 On 3rd and 12 for the Wildcats, Young rolls left and lofts one in the direction of receiver Phil Atkinson, who gets tangled with Tyson Maugle and goes down. It looked inadvertent, but pass intereference is called; Penn coach Al Bagnoli's not too happy.
3:12 Q1 Villanova 7, Penn 7 First incomplete pass from Irvin. He rolls right and tried to find Derham along the right sideline, but his pass was well out of bounds. A second down run only gets one yard, and on 3rd and 9, Irvin is pressured -- he rolls right and ultimately throws it into the dirt (near the feet of a receiver).
Olson has looked good on his two punts so far; 'Nova takes over on its 27.
4:28 Q1 Villanova 7, Penn 7
'Nova gets nowhere after that penalty and is forced to punt on 4th and 14. Penn takes over from its own 32.
4:45 Q1 Villanova 7, Penn 7
Villanova nearly found a seam on the kick return; a late tackle prevented the touchdown, but still enabled the Wildcats to start from their own 44.
On 2nd down, 'Nova exploits a right-side screen pass and takes it all the way to the house. But a flag is down; an illegal block in the back brings it back, to 2nd and 14 from the Wildcats'40.
5:39 Q1 Villanova 7, Penn7
Play action from Irvin on 1st down – throws up the middle for a nine-yard gain, but the pass didn’t have much zip on it. Michael DiMaggio picks up the first down on a power run up the middle.
Irvin’s now 3-for-3 after his six-yard pass to Matt Reinart on the left-sideline. So far, three passes – one right, one center and one right, all between six and nine yards. Bradford Blackmon, who started, gets the first.
On 1st down, Irvin finds Kyle Durham up the middle for another seven-yard pass. And then DiMaggio runs to the right side to pick up the first. So far, Penn moving the chains quite effectively – and now it calls timeout.
After the timeout, Irvin rolls right on a play action, lofts a 29-yard pass into the front right corner of the endzone into the hands of Kyle Derham -- perfect execution of a single coverage situation.
Scoring drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:50.
9:36 Q1 Villanova 7, Penn 0 Penn sent Villanova backwards, leading to 3rd and 13 from inside 'Nova's 15. But the Wildcats aired it out on the next two plays, finding wide-open receivers to march down to the Penn 30. The Quakers' much-touted secondary has looked quite spacious, while QB Antwon Young has been able to take his sweet time.
Another pass for a first down, before the Wildcats decide to hand it off. On 1st and goal from the Penn 1, Young trots into the endzone untouched for the score.
Scoring drive: 8 plays, 81 yards, 3:24.
13:00 Q1, Villanova 0, Penn 0
The Wildcats won the toss, but opted to delay the decision until the second half. So Penn starts with the Pall. Robert Irvin got the starting under center; he completed his only attempt on the Quakers' first series, a slant to the right sideline good for about seven yards. But Penn was forced to punt on 4th and 1, a duty that fell to (apparent backup) QB Kyle Olson.