Penn to battle Princeton for last place?!!

The Ivy League's twoThe Ivy League's twotraditonal powers areThe Ivy League's twotraditonal powers aretied for last place withThe Ivy League's twotraditonal powers aretied for last place withYale with 1-3 records. When the folks at Princeton decided 1996 would be the Tigers' final year of football at Palmer Stadium, they probably didn't think the last Penn-Princeton game at the 82-year old horseshoe would be for little more than pride. And they certainly weren't alone. After all, one of the two schools has won at least a share of the Ivy League title in each of the last four years. And in three of those four years, the grudge match between the Quakers and the Tigers has had a direct impact on the league championship race. But this season has been different. Penn (3-4) and Princeton (2-5) are tied with Yale at the bottom of the Ivies, both owners of 1-3 league records. Hopes of another championship have disappeared at both schools. Still, pride can be a powerful force, especially in a game against a despised rival. The Quakers say their trip to Princeton tomorrow -- the 88th game in the series -- is just as important to them as any previous matchup against the Tigers. "For me, it's the last time I'll ever play Princeton," Penn senior nose guard Chris Osentowski said. "It's our senior year -- we want to end up 3-1 against Princeton instead of 2-2." One senior who won't get to participate in the game is Tigers tailback Marc Washington, who sprained a knee last week in Princeton's upset of then-undefeated Columbia. Washington, who had 578 yards and six touchdowns on the ground in addition to 16 receptions, had been the Tigers' most potent offensive weapon this season. Washington's replacement, sophomore Derek Theisen, rushed for only 27 yards on 10 carries last week in his first action of the season. "Obviously, Washington's a fine player, and I'm sure they'd rather go into battle with him," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "But they're just like any other program. They've got good kids, and I'm sure that kid will step up." But without its top runner, Bagnoli thinks the Princeton offense may work harder to get the ball to some of its other talented skill players, especially the receivers. The Tigers corps of wide-outs is highlighted by senior Kevin Duffy, who has 28 catches for 381 yards and four touchdowns. "They've got excellent wide receivers," Bagnoli said. "Wide receivers may be the strength of that team. Duffy is one of them. He's the best one." More passing would put the pressure on Brett Budzinski, a senior who played wide receiver last year but was converted to quarterback when expected starter Harry Nakielny decided to take a year off from school. Surprisingly, the results of the switch have not been disastrous. Budzinski was a quarterback as a sophomore and in high school, which explains why his performance this year has been solid. He has completed 51.3 percent of his passes for 853 yards and seven touchdowns with six interceptions. "What we've seen on him from film, he seems to have adjusted really well," Osentowski said. "He's a really good athlete. We need to be able to stop them from running the ball and get them into throwing situations. I think if we get pressure on him, he might get rattled easily." The Princeton defense was abused early in the year, yielding 110 points in the first four games. But it has shown signs of improvement in the last three weeks, limiting Bucknell to 10 points and Columbia to 11. "They are relatively young," Bagnoli said. "They graduated a lot of kids in their down group and linebackers." Still, the Tigers appear to have a lot of talent on defense, especially in the secondary, which Bagnoli thinks may be the best in the Ivy League. Leading the way are All-American cornerback Damani Leech and free safety Jimmy Archie, who helped limit Miles Macik to three receptions for 35 yards in Princeton's 22-9 win over Penn last year. "They look pretty solid on film," Quakers quarterback Tommy MacLeod said. "They run a lot of different coverages, and they basically just try to outsmart you. We'll see what we can do. I think we're pretty ready, though. We've seen all the coverages that they've run on film, so nothing should be new." So despite their records, there's not much that's new about Penn-Princeton. It will be the same old rivalry, with the usual intensity, regardless of the standings.