Notebook: Hoffman may set record

Gavin Hoffman could break Jimmy McGeehan's Penn single season passing record. As of yesterday, Penn tailback Kris Ryan's status for Saturday's finale against Cornell was still up in the air. His MRI was negative but the sophomore back's sprained right ankle may still force him out of the lineup against the Big Red. "We have a shot for Saturday," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "But we won't know yet. It's day by day." Ryan went down early in the second quarter last weekend against Harvard and has not been on the field since then. "He did not practice [yesterday]," Bagnoli said. "There was no sense to try. We'll re-evaluate [today], re-evaluate [tomorrow], re-evaluate Friday." A tandem of junior Mike Verille and sophomore Matt Thomas will likely take over the ball-carrying duties if Ryan is unable to play against Cornell. The two combined for 26 yards on 10 carries after Ryan went down against Harvard. · Ryan is not the only Penn starter whose status for Saturday's game is in question. Safety Kunle Williams left Saturday's game with a finger injury. And the 6'1'', 190-pound sophomore, who was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week for his two interception returns for touchdowns against Princeton on November 6, may not heal in time for this Saturday's game against Cornell. "If they can set it correctly and it can be casted, he'll play," Bagnoli said. "If they can't, he may not be available." · He didn't duplicate the dramatic returns of Williams, but Penn linebacker Jim Hisgen did enough to give the Quakers their second straight Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week. Hisgen garnered the award on the strength of two interceptions, a forced fumble and eight tackles while helping Penn hold Harvard to just 56 yards on the ground. And this was after recording two sacks, a forced fumble and 10 tackles against Princeton. "I thought I actually had a better week the week before," Hisgen said. "But with Kunle's two interceptions for touchdowns, you can't really compete with that." · With the selection of James Perry as Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, now all nine Offensive Players of the Week this season have been quarterbacks. The last non-quarterback to win the award? Princeton running back Derek Theisen, in the final week of last season. · Penn quarterback Gavin Hoffman won an Ivy League Player of the Week award himself in mid-October and now the sophomore transfer from Northwestern is closing in on Jimmy McGeehan's single-season team record of 2,197 passing yards. With one game remaining in the season, Hoffman is just 114 yards shy of McGeehan's record. "It would be nice because of the quality of quarterbacks they've had here before me," Hoffman said. "But that would be something I'd think about when I'm done playing at the end of the year. Right now we're still in the Ivy race." With Hoffman averaging 231 yards passing per game this season, barring injury he should have little trouble etching his name at the top of the Penn passing charts. "If it happens, it's great," Bagnoli said. "Hopefully it'll happen in the normal course of the game, but you never go out there thinking this guy needs that.? We're not going to specifically say the first 20 plays are going to be passes." In addition, Hoffman only needs 116 yards against Cornell to eclipse the 2,199 yards passing he compiled last year at Northwestern. It took him 11 games, however, to post that mark as a Wildcat -- and Saturday's game will be just his 10th in a Penn uniform. · Heading into the final day of the season, four teams have a shot a claiming at least a share of the Ivy League crown. Brown and Yale sit atop the league at 5-1, while Penn and Cornell are both 4-2. To grab a piece of the title, the Quakers would need to beat Cornell, have Brown lose to Columbia and have Yale lose to Harvard. "It looks unlikely needing both of them to lose," Hoffman said. "They're both playing well, both winning, but we can only control what we do. We've just got to go out there and win [against Cornell]." Although Brown and Yale have only two losses between them and neither has lost in at least six weeks, both may face tough tests this weekend. Columbia, Brown's opponent, is just 1-5 in the league this year. But the Lions played the Bears close last year, losing 10-3. And no matter what the contest means to the Ivy race, Harvard never has any trouble getting ready for "The Game" against Yale. All three games start at 12:30 p.m., so expect fans, players and coaches alike to do their share of scoreboard watching.