Judgment Day: It's do or die for Penn

Penn must win its final two games to be Ivy League champions. But Harvard is 5-0 in the league this year. When Penn and Harvard knock helmets at Harvard Stadium, there will be a tendency to link the game to past tradition. Tomorrow's game at 12:30 p.m., however, is not a link to the past as much as the beginning of a new tradition. Comparing the upcoming contest to the series of championship games they engaged in during most of the 1980s fails to capture the youthful look of the two schools. The uniform colors will be the same as they once were, but the men inside the uniforms and the coaches on the sidelines will be trying to establish new traditions. Al Bagnoli is no stranger to winning. Since his arrival at Penn in 1992, the Quakers (5-4, 4-1 Ivy League) have been near the top of the Ivy League every season. But for the most part, his own recruits have never won a championship and his current players have little experience in big games. Some of the current starters stood on the sidelines during Bagnoli's second championship season in 1994, but none have been the key players on Judgment Day. A win at Harvard, followed by another victory against Cornell, cements the image of Penn as the dominating Ivy League football program of the decade. Harvard coach Tim Murphy is no stranger to winning either, but most of his victories came for other employers and not with the Crimson. His current players were in pee-wee leagues the last time Harvard (7-1, 5-0) was in contention for an Ivy League title. None of his players have even been in the top half of the Ivy League standings before, let alone in a championship game, in November. Murphy has accumulated as many Ivy victories this season, five, as he had in his first three years combined at the helm of the Crimson. A win proves Murphy was correct to start youth in previous seasons at the expense of victories in the attempt to win a championship this year. Despite his squad's undefeated mark in the league, Murphy still sees his squad as the underdog. "We expected we would have to be undefeated at this point in the season to challenge Penn," Murphy said. "We've played well every week, but they have to be the favorite because of their experience and because they were the consensus pick to win the league." Jerry Seinfeld might agree with Murphy that Penn is the favorite because its laundry is more experienced in championship games, but the Penn players inside the numbers share Harvard's inexperience. Matt Rader, Penn's quarterback, was competing for the bottom of the ACC last year with Duke, while the rest of the Quakers were fighting to prove their mediocrity. Even five weeks ago, the Quakers' offense was trying to prove that it could get along in harmony without someone moving in an illegal shift on every third play. The special teams were proving that catching skills were not a prerequisite for the position, and the defense tried to hold itself together without Mitch Marrow. The Harvard team the Quakers face is expecting the team that has been the complete opposite of its earlier self. Four consecutive wins later, the special teams play looks heroic, Marrow looks ready to have another four-sack game like he did last year against Harvard, and Rader can't find a receiver he doesn't like. Some guy named Finn turned out to be a decent running back, too. "We've been moving the ball and scoring points and keeping our defense off the field," said Penn's Jim Finn, who has run for 600 yards, almost all in the last four weeks since he moved to running back from defense. "That keeps them rested so that they can shut [the other team] down like they have." Harvard has found players as well, which tempers the enthusiasm over the Quakers' metamorphosis. In addition, the Crimson have had the more consistent performances. Running back Chris Menick is the league's best runner, and the Crimson sport the league's highest scoring offense, while the defense, which returned all 11 of its 1996 starters, is holding teams to less than 15 points per game. Harvard stacks up well in every facet of the game, meaning Bagnoli thinks his squad is the real underdog. "None of our kids have lost to Harvard," he said. "We've done OK with them. Our kids feel confident, like they should feel confident, that they can win the game, but they know they have to play well. If you don't play well, you don't deserve to be an Ivy League champion." The two teams' presumed ability to counter the other's weapons means that small differences will turn out to result in the big difference -- winning or losing. Youth is the biggest variable on Saturday. The offensive skill positions are not only filled by a lot of underclassmen, but even the older players come in without experience in defining games. Butterflies should be plentiful. "[Harvard] really has done a nice job of getting young kids," Bagnoli said. "Their offensive kids are mainly sophomores, and they are in a position where they can be difference makers. It is a game of a lot of sophomores being put in situations, but I think it will be fine." "This is probably the biggest game I've played in college," Rader said. "We're just trying to get our game plan ready and get ready to go. Turnovers will be a big difference." It's only fair that the coaches play a roll tomorrow because as much as this is a single football game, it is also the culmination of recruiting and program-building processes. For the players, however, tomorrow may be a single shot at glory. For them past tradition and future tradition are worthless. Tomorrow is all that counts.

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