COLUMN: The top 25 will have to wait

From Kent Malmros', "The Mark of a Golden Penn" "The way I look at the Penn season this year is they're two good games into a season," Bob Weinhauer, who coached Penn to a Final Four appearance in 1979, said. "Two good games do not make a season at all." Beating Temple last week, then the No. 6 team in the country and now No. 10 in both polls, simply isn't enough to make an unranked, unproven team jump to a top-25 position. Yes, Temple is good. And yes, the Quakers played even with the No. 8 Kansas for 56 minutes. Maybe neither showing was a fluke, but voters have no other information to base putting the Quakers among the ranks of perennial basketball powers such as Clemson and St. John's -- both of whom currently sit at the bottom of the poll as No. 24 and No. 25, respectively. That isn't to say the team won't deserve a place there at some point this season. The first two games of the season were a good start. But not yet. "It's not something that we're concerned with, maybe because we've never been involved," Penn guard Matt Langel said. "We say to ourselves, 'Look, if we do what we need to do I am sure we would be there.' "But being ranked or being in the top 25, that's not what the game is about for us. We just like to go out there and win games." One might make the argument that Pittsburgh's rise to No. 20 and No. 21 in in the polls was based on just one upset. But when Pitt upended Kentucky in Puerto Rico, they remained undefeated for the season, at 6-0. When they suffered only their first loss in the finals of The Puerto Rico Shootout, it was to now-No. 2 Maryland. At 6-0 entering the final game of the tournament, Pitt showed it has been dominant in other non-conference play this season. By beating Kentucky in the semi-finals, it earned a place in the top 25. Furthermore, the Quakers played both the Jayhawks and Owls on the Palestra floor. The Palestra is the ultimate homecourt advantage, and on that basis alone voters are more likely to question the validity of the Quakers showing. Ranking No. 29 in the Associated Press poll, and No. 34 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll carries no shame. "All that a national ranking would do for us is solidify what we already believe," Penn forward Jed Ryan said. "We were like, 'Listen, we've played with each other so long now, we know what we can do. We're older, we're stronger, we're more mature as a team.' And all the national ranking would do is say, 'This is what you can do, and this is what other people think you can do'." Last season, Princeton rose into the national spotlight with early season wins over then-nationally ranked Texas and Wake Forest. The Tigers followed up those wins with a strong showing in a loss to No. 1 North Carolina, embedding themselves in the top 10 for many weeks. But what the Tigers did was in no way similar to Penn's situation this season. Princeton had made a name for itself the last several years. Bill Carmody had a proven system returning four starters. Two years of respect, and legitimate non-conference results early in the season, earned the Tigers the national recognition that they received. The Penn players know they have more to prove. The rest of the non-Ivy League schedule will not give the Quakers the chance to shock the college hoops world as they did against Temple. But, they will face teams that can give them a chance to prove their capabilities. "We thought at the beginning of the year that we had a little bit up on everyone," Ryan said. "We have known that we are going to be able to play with everyone." Thursday the Quakers begin the rest of their non-league schedule, and their quest to crack the top-25 fraternity. While a win against Lehigh will not make the No. 29 ranking move four more spots, it is imperative that Penn beats the Engineers -- and every other non-league opponent for that matter -- if the whispers are to stop. The real challenges will come nine and 23 days later. On December 12, Fran Dunphy and Co. travel to State College, Pa., to face Brian Earl's eternal older brother, Danny, at Penn State. Over Christmas break, the Quakers face Iona in the ECAC Tournament on December 26, and then either Georgia Tech or Hofstra the following day. Seniors Ryan and Paul Romanczuk will find themselves in an unusual position -- they will be favorites to win games against a Big Ten team and and ACC team. Now all they have to do is execute the win, and then people can talk about the top 25. "Penn State is going to be a big road challenge. A win there is the kind of win that will make people think we are for real," Ryan said. "It is those kinds of wins that could put us in the national rankings, and those are the games that will make people say, 'These guys are for real, they didn't just win two home games'."