Saturday Roundtable: Bright lights on Penn

The Ivy football season is finally upon us and it's kicking off with a bang for Penn. Not only are the Quakers on the road, but they are playing in the first night game at Dartmouth's Memorial Field. On top of that, the game will be televised on Fox College Sports. Oh yeah, the Red and Blue also have a 15-game conference streak at steak. With all that piling up, I asked my colleagues just how these factors might help or hurt the Quakers.

Kevin Esteves: I think these factors help the Quakers because they will jolt the team into action. Dartmouth may not be an elite contender but the fact that this will be its first night game ever means lots of fans and a pumped up Big Green team. Once you add the TV element — and the fact that Penn has dropped two games in a row — then I think you can expect to see the "Quakes" approaching this game like its "Primetime" and going to work. They need a bounce-back game here and with all the excitement that will surround this game, it shouldn't be difficult to summon that extra effort.

Megan Soisson: Honestly I'm not sure how much Dartmouth's first night game and the national TV stage will play a factor. To this team, it's the first Ivy game and the first big test of the season; if they fail this test they'll have a long road to a third-straight title. The Quakers needed those losses against Lafayette and Villanova to put them in their place and humble them a bit. The defending champs have yet to win a game, so they'll be hungry — very hungry. Ultimately, Penn will take every factor playing into this game and turn it into a positive, whether that be a 15-game Ivy win streak or a quarterback that has struggled the first two weeks. .

Brian Kotloff: I think the pressure and hype surrounding this game can serve as a rallying cry of sorts for the Quakers. Their shortcomings in the first two games can be instantly forgotten by starting off the Ivy League season the same way they finished last year. Going into an environment like Saturday's where the spotlight is on, the Penn players can view this as a test of whether they're still a championship-caliber team. Often, great teams rise to the occasion for games like this. I get the feeling this group will feed off the energy of the hostile crowd and the big stage — captain Greg Van Roten even told the Inquirer that the Quakers feel "disrespected" by the fact that Dartmouth believes this is its year to beat Penn.

Calder Silcox: : First, let's discount the national television factor. Maybe it's because I never grew up with cable TV and have never heard of this channel before, but Fox College Sports? Not big time... It's cool to play under the lights, I get that there's a nice build-up to the game all day, both for fans and players, but I don't see that being a big factor either. Though coach Al Bagnoli said Penn hasn't been talking about their streak this week, that has to be in the forefront of the players' minds. The Quakers want to win tonight because they want to carry on something that two years of graduated seniors started and they don't want to be the ones to end it.

If you don't happen to get Fox College Sports, be sure to follow our liveblog right here on The Buzz, starting just before kickoff at 6 p.m.