COLUMN: Better times ahead

Jordan Smith, Commentary Still, it's premature to say the era of Ivy League success that began when Al Bagnoli took over as coach before the 1992 season has come to end. For all the disappointment of the 5-5 1996 campaign, there are plenty of reasons to think the Quakers will rise again. ·1996 was not as bad as you think Take a look at the results this season. Penn lost four games in the league. Those four teams finished 1-2-3-4 and combined for a record of 27-13. In those four contests, the Quakers were outscored by a scant 10 points. No team demonstrated that they could dominate Penn, even undefeated league champ Dartmouth, who eked out a two-point victory at home. The most clear sign of a program in decline is the emergence of a talent gap, and that is shown by being blown out of games. Penn was never outclassed this season -- they simply lost the tight football games. ·The secondary can only get better The defensive secondary was burned way too often. The inability to stop top receivers, like Cornell's Steve Busch and Eric Krawcyzk or Brown's Sean Morey, very directly cost the team games. But this was a unique group, by far the most inexperienced unit on the team. Several key members were sophomores and juniors recently converted from offense. If inexperience was the problem, then Penn addressed it this year by throwing them into the fire. As a group, they performed better late in the season and it seems reasonable to expect better results next year. ·The Passing game will improve The Quakers started three different quarterbacks this year, getting adequate performances at best. But Penn's two passers at the end of the year, junior Tom McLeod and freshman Brian Russell, will be back next year. Whoever emerges as the starter next fall will be able to call on experience as the No. 1 man, a crucial element. Given the general poor quality of quarterbacks in the Ancient Eight, Penn has to feel comfortable with those two returning. Penn wide receivers John James and Alec Dafferner played well this year, emerging with Brian Bonanno as receivers the team could trust while Mark Fabish nursed his numerous injuries. James, the possession man, and Dafferner, the long-ball threat, will be back in 1997. ·No one is irreplaceable Of course, the glass-is-half-empty crowd says, "Jasen Scott was the offense and he's gone." The defensive line, which held the defense together, loses key guys like Chris Osentowski and Tom Foley. The offensive line loses veterans like Sears Wright and Matt Julien." Scott, the senior tailback, was great this year, running for nearly 1200 yards. But in junior Rick Granata (who had a 100-yard game against Colgate) and sophomore Jason Magee, Penn should be able to replace Scott the way Scott and Aman Abye spelled Terrance Stokes two years ago. ·Marrow will lead the front seven As for the defensive front seven, it should remain a menace. Sure, the loss of seniors will hurt, but the key to the D-line is tackle Mitch Marrow, the best returning player in the Ivy League -- bar none. The linebackers should step up as well. Penn may even have a surplus with sophomore Darren McDonald, junior Mark Van Meter, and red-shirted senior captain Tim Gage all returning. On the offensive side, everyone in college football loses senior linemen. It's a position that takes time to learn. There's no reason to think Penn's new starters will be worse than anyone else's. ·A favorable schedule Due to the even number of schools in the Ivy League, teams play one more conference game at home or on the road. In 1996, Penn played four away games. As it happens, Penn's four road games came against the nationally-ranked league champs Dartmouth, third-place Brown, arch-rival Princeton, and traditional rival Cornell, with seniors playing at home for the last time. Next year, Penn has to leave the friendly confines of Franklin Field to face weak sisters Harvard and Yale, games that Penn should win on sheer talent difference anyway. The only rough game figures to be Columbia, which has beaten Penn two years running. No one's suggesting you make plans to be tearing down goalposts in 50 weeks or so -- there are guaranteed to be surprises. But it's way to early, years too early, to suggest that Bagnoli, a coach who still has a 27-8 record in the Ivy League, has forgotten how to mold a winner. The sky isn't falling just yet.