Ambulance on Walnut Street

John Hurley, Penn's #4 QB, likely gets the start Saturday

Columbia's game notes are now out for the Lafayette game. It looks like the listed two-deeps are the same as they have been since CCSU.


The injury situation seems particularly dire at Penn, at least for this week against the Bucknell Bison at Franklin Field.

Starting QB Keiffer Garton is out with an arm injury.

Backup QB Kyle Olson is also hurt, but may play.

Safety, punt returner, and All-America candidate Chris Wynn is nursing a hamstring and is out.

Wynn's backup, Jon Saelinger, is also out.

Leading RB Michael DiMaggio has been out of a few games already this season, as has his backup Matt Hamscher. Both may play this Saturday, but RB Bradford Blackmon may be moved to WR.

Let's be frank, Bucknell is not a strong team. The Bison lost by 24 to Cornell, lost to Duquesne, and just barely beat Marist and Georgetown. It's possible Penn won't risk any further injuries to other key players and use them sparingly. It's also possible the Quakers are just looking ahead to the game against Columbia on the 17th and just can't be too concerned about this game right now. It's a rock and hard place for Bagnoli, who can't want to even think about dropping a home game against Bucknell.

It looks like sophomore John Hurley will get the start at QB. He comes from the super high school St. Xavier in Cincinnati, the same school as Lou Miller, Evan Miller, Ross Morand and recent Columbia grad Drew Quinn. But he missed all of 2008 due to injury and was placed lower on the depth chart this season than freshman Billy Ragone before Ragone went down for the season with an injury last week.

Even if Olson does play, he just isn't Keiffer Garton. Garton can run extremely well, has a strong arm, and is the #1 reason why Penn turned it around last season and made a run for the title. If he is out or not 100% for the rest of the year, the Quakers just don't seem anywhere near as dangerous.

More serious is the loss of Wynn, because the Penn secondary doesn't seem strong at all without him. Schools like Columbia, Brown and Harvard that actually have a vertical passing attacks may have field days.

But it's not all bad news for the Quakers.

Even if DiMaggio and Hamscher remain out or at less than full speed, freshman Lyle Marsh is making some serious noise at tailback and the offensive line is solid and healthy.

I don't believe I can accurately express just how much a Homecoming win over Penn next weekend would mean to Lions fans. We're not looking past Lafayette, because a win in Easton would be huge too. But if Penn's injury situation doesn't clear up soon, this much-improved Columbia team may be facing the Quakers at just the right time on the biggest stage.

Either way, get your HOMECOMING TICKETS NOW!!! A limited number of the chairback seats are still available... so do it now!