The top of the Ivy League preseason media football poll looks exactly the same as it did last year, but the Quakers have to hope the final standings look a little different.
For the third consecutive season, Al Bagnoli's team was picked to win the Ivy League -- but this time, by the slimmest of margins.
Penn received eight first-place votes and eight second-place votes for 120 points, while defending champion Harvard garnered the other eight nods along with seven seconds and a third for 119 points.
Last year, the Crimson crushed Penn 31-10 to clinch the title at Franklin Field, but the Quakers' trip to Boston this season will be made easier by the departure of Harvard quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was drafted by the St. Louis Rams.
Brown, led by running back Nick Hartigan, was picked third, followed by Yale, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth and Columbia.
"It's a league built on parity," Bagnoli said.
"I think everybody senses that they can beat each other in the league."
Catching the ball
Last season, top wide receivers Dan Castles and Gabe Marabella combined for 96 catches, which are 96 catches the Quakers will have to replace, as both graduated last year.
Apart from running back Sam Mathews, only one returning player has more than a dozen catches, which creates an interesting situation, but not necessarily a bad one.
"I'm not sure we have a go-to guy like a Castles," Bagnoli said. "The key for us is to try to distribute the ball around a little bit."
And that responsibility will fall on the arm of Pat McDermott, returning for his second season as a starter.
"There's a lot of guys that can catch the ball," the senior said. "I'm sure there will be certain guys that step up as the season goes on."
The diminutive Matt Carre and his 21 catches will be back, as will Ryan Pisarri, who successfully returned from injury last year, and Chris Mizell and Sagar Patel.
But Bagnoli has been counting on two more players to join the mix this year.
"The two kids right now that had to take the next step were Nick Okoro and Danny McDonald," Bagnoli said. "And both have done a nice job."
Okoro, a senior, saw no action last year, and McDonald, a junior, appeared in nine games but made just three catches last season.
Running free?
When McDermott went down with an injury before the Harvard game last year, freshman Bryan Walker had to grow up in a hurry.
Now entering his second season, Bagnoli is confident enough in Walker's progress to allow his starter some more freedom.
"You can probably take the reins off Patrick a little bit to run more than we did last year when we didn't have anybody behind him that had any experience," Bagnoli said.
"If he sprains an ankle, I don't think it's catastrophic anymore."
Last season, McDermott rushed 49 times for 47 yards, and the staff held its collective breath on every one of them. Now, he says that while the game plan will not change, he is up to the task.
"I won't be looking to do it, but if it presents itself," McDermott will run.
In his two starts at the end of last year, Walker threw for 435 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
More importantly, he bounced back from the loss to Harvard with a 19-for-36, 257-yard effort in the season finale, a victory at Cornell that clinched second place in the Ivy League for the Quakers.
Welcome back
Former defensive back Kevin Stefanski, who won three Ivy League titles in his four years with the Quakers, is back with the program.
Stefanski was hired as assistant director of football operations, where he will work side by side with director Rich Schepis.
Stefanski declined to be interviewed, but Bagnoli was full of praise for his former standout.
"He was one of our favorite guys so to get him back in any capacity, it's been great," Bagnoli said.
"He understands the history and tradition; he's been part of everything."
In his four years, Stefanski recorded 104 tackles and seven interceptions.
End zone notes
n Sophomore defensive tackle scott martinho broke his collarbone and will most likely miss the entire season.
n Backup kicker peter stine, who played after moving from the sprint football team last year, will not return to the program this season. Stine, a junior, was 1-for-3 kicking field goals for the Quakers last season.
His departure leaves sophomore derek zoch as the team's only kicker. Zoch converted just two of his five attempts, but did hit a 27-yard field goal to defeat Princeton on the road.
He also converted six of his seven extra point attempts.
