Third stringer Rodney Thomas turned in a respectable performance in relief of Josh Staph, rushing for 61 yards on 17 carries, but the team missed Staph’s newfound ability to break tackles.

In the team’s defense, Murphy said Lafayette focused primarily on stopping the run, leaving the team vulnerable through the air.

“Their game plan was to take away the run, especially on the tight-end side,” Murphy said. “So we made big plays in the passing game.”

Bulletin Board Material

Lafayette has now played the two teams picked to finish 1-2 atop the Ivy standings, Penn and Harvard, in consecutive weeks. And while Lafayette Coach Frank Tavani said the two teams would play a “heckuva game”, his comments seemed to indicate he thought Penn would win.

“Penn is just so physical, more so than Harvard,” Tavani said. “Their

quarterback [reigning Ivy Offensive Player-of-the-Year Gavin Hoffman] is as big as most tackles. Our guys just bounced off him.”

“And with [tailback Kris] Ryan, you’re looking at two NFL guys right there,” Tavani added.

Penn destroyed Lafayette 37-0 last week, beating them so badly that Tavani was relatively pleased with his team’s performance against Harvard. The Quakers looked far more mortal Saturday, however, barely edging perennial Ivy doormat Dartmouth 21-20.

Harvard will host Penn November 12.