Coaching rivalry? More like best buds

Penn football coach Al Bagnoli and Villanova coach Andy Talley go way back.

From scrimmages during their coaching days back at Union College and St. Lawrence, respectively, which date back to the late 70s and early 80s, a friendship grew and has remained over the past 30 years.

The two coaches, both of whom have over 200 career wins, will be taking each other on this weekend at the Penn home opener (see preview).

Below is what they had to say about their relationship and coaching against each other in the context of Saturday's game:

Bagnoli:

“When I got down here he was one of the first guys that reached out and showed me the way around Philly and suggested some things. We’ve had a long friendship. His main objective is to win the CAA and go to the postseason, while our main objective is to win the Ivy League championship. Now for those three hours, we’re actually in mortal combat, but once you get out of those three hours, we play golf together on occasions, we have dinner on occasions, we see each other every Wednesday at press conferences, we see each other at social functions, so I consider him a good friend of mine. If they were in the Ivy League, it would be completely different. Just the league dynamics.”

Talley:

"Penn-Villanova has turned into a great rivalry game. The coaches and players on both teams know each other well so that adds to the game in a positive way.

"Al and I have been friends for a long time. I have the utmost respect for him. He is a great football coach with an incredible coaching resume. He has done a phenomenal job throughout his career at Penn.

"Penn is always one of the best-coached teams we play. Playing at Franklin Field presents a big challenge due to the fact that Penn has always done a great job of protecting its home field. Penn is routinely tough against the run so their run defense will present us with a lot of challenges. I fully expect another 60-minute battle that will more than likely come down to the final few plays of the game."