Saturday roundtable: savor second place?

For the first time in two years, Penn football isn't playing for an Ivy League title today. The question for the final Saturday roundtable is does finishing in second place matter?

Megan Soisson:No. The goal was to win the Ivy championship. With no playoffs or post-season implications, second place really doesn't matter. I don't think Al Bagnoli's squad is playing for second place today, they're playing for pride. They're playing to go out with a win for their seniors. They're playing to have only four Ivy losses in four seasons. They're not playing for second place.

Brian Kotloff: Finishing second might not be the goal, but beating Cornell today is important. Besides the reasons Megan listed, it's important as a program to always maintain separation between you and your competition. The Quakers cannot allow Cornell to get a huge, confidence-boosting win today that would make Penn appear even more vulnerable heading into next season. So in a way, second place does matter. Penn football can keep its aura if, even in a down year, it still goes 5-2. Finishing fourth would show that the rest of the league has caught up. Calder Silcox: I have to say no. When you flip through the Ivy football record book at the year to year finishes (that's a normal activity, right?), you never look at anything but the bold name at the top of the standings. But specifically in the context of Penn, this program has been so dominant, not only the past two years, but the past two decades, that anything short of a trophy seems like a down year. Brian makes a great point, though, that Penn needs to make sure a non-title year doesn't slip to a 4th-place year.

Kevin Esteves: The standings scenario is interesting, but I think Bagnoli and Co. will put this game into perspective and realize it is for the seniors. The unveiling of the Chuck Bednarik statue for this game is timely because it reminds the team and the fans that this is a program with a long history of great players and great football. These seniors played a role in that, and they just want to go out with a win. I'd imagine that the underclassmen would want to show their own respect for the seniors by giving it everything they have today. Forget everything else.