Word on the street is that a couple of lucky Buzz-ers are getting a meeting with Steve Bilsky in the next few days. We'll be discussing the University's eastward expansion plans for sure, along with a few other things. If you have a (serious) question or issue that you would like to hear addressed by Penn's Athletic Director, please shoot me an email at scurria@sas.upenn.edu.
The best basketball nugget today comes courtesy Brian Seltzer's Penn Sports Network podcast, which you can see here. Glen Miller had some very optimistic words for freshman Tyler Bernardini, the kind that go beyond normal coachspeak:
Tyler has a scorer's mentality, and we want him to shoot the ball if he has good open shots. He has to play within himself, but he's maybe the best shooter on our team, so we want to get him in areas of the floor where he can get his shot off.
Whether he starts and plays 25 minutes or comes off the bench and plays 15, that's a sign we could see a lot of Bernardini this year, which I hadn't really expected until now.
The Ivy League preseason media poll was also released yesterday, and Penn was picked to finish third. Can't really argue with Cornell at No. 1 or Yale at No. 2; I guess the only nitpicking I could do is criticize the random first-place votes for Columbia and Brown.
Throw any other thoughts on the poll in the comments section.
Elsewhere, the Inquirer has news about Villanova's lineup.
And in football, the Providence Journal reports on Yale's next obstacle to the Ivy title, and the Hartford Courant does the same. The Register profiles Yale's QB-turned-DE, Brady Hart, and the Crimson offers a good look at ex-Harvard QB Andrew Hatch, who's now at LSU.
One scrimmage may not say a lot, but it's all we've really seen so far from the men's basketball team this year, so I think I'm free to make judgements based on it. I have to write a paper for my class with the Guv, so I'll make it quick.
The Red and Blue scrimmage certainly was a sloppy one, but with 10 days before the season starts and months until the Ivy League, the team has some time to iron out the kinks.
Other than Harrison Gaines, who sat with a sprained ankle, we also got a first look at the freshman class.
Tyler Bernardini seemed like he was always in the game, hitting some mid-range jumpers early on, but cooling off later. Jack Eggleston, a 6-foot-8 forward, could provide some size down low for this team. He may not have a developed post-up game, but he played solid interior defense, getting a few nice blocks on guys that thought they had an open layup.
The most interesting player to watch was Remy Cofield, not the female rapper Remy Ma, but an athletic 6-foot-4 guard. In warmups he was dunking with ease -- he could probably jump high enough to dunk a beach ball if he had to.
In the game he made a couple mistakes -- he may not fully understand the offense and didn't seem as comfortable with the ball as the other guards. But he may have been the most tenacious player out there. He drove at least five times, sometimes getting blocked, but more often fouled. He may be a slight project, but he seems to have to tools to be a good player at some point.
It's hard to pick out an MVP of the scrimmage, but if I had to give one out, I'd hand it to Cameron Lewis. We know the big man is a threat on the defensive end with his shot-blocking abilities, but he showed some nice post moves yesterday, often yielding him wide open layups.
Other notes:
Glen Miller challenged Justin Reilly for what might have been his shot selection on one play. Seems perfectly normal, but Reilly was on the other team.
The Quaker mascot was there, wearing a Penn jersey. Not sure how Nike feels about that, he was donning one of the old And 1 unis.
The three point shooting was dreadful. If I had to guess I'd say five-to-10 players attempted threes but Darren Smith was the only guy to hit half of his. But even Smith had one glance off the far side of the backboard without touching rim or net.
I try to resist the urge to link to ESPN.com articles just for the heck of it, but a gem like this deserves mention.
After that terrible loss at Brown on Saturday, Penn is playing Princeton this week, a team it hasn't beaten in its last two tries. I wouldn't mind a 15-yard penalty after Penn scores its first touchdown. Any excuse to celebrate these days.
He's No. 4.
Mike Howlett officially became the fourth member of Glen Miller's Class of 2012 at Penn, according to his father, Jay.
Howlett committed to Lehigh last year, but made the "difficult decision" to take a prep year and re-do the process after Mountain Hawks coach Billy Taylor left unexpectedly for Ball State just before school started.
Howlett, whose father said he is "between 6-9 and 6-10," narrowed his list down to Davidson, Bucknell, Holy Cross and Penn, before finally deciding between Penn and Holy Cross. He attends the New Hampton School in New Hampshire and joins Zack Rosen, Rob Belcore and Garvin Hunt in Miller's second recruiting class.
I'll have a full story on this in tomorrow's DP.
Now that the Penn football team's season is over, there are a ton of things to point to that sparked the team's downfall. A couple of under-the-radar failures are interesting to look at. Let's just say the word "third" hasn't been a good one for the Red and Blue in 2007.
You probably heard that Penn has lost its third Ivy League game, and is out of title contention. Or that the Quakers lost their third game of this season to Dartmouth, something they hadn't done in 10 years. Or that quarterback Robert Irvin's third year on the team would turn out so bad -- throwing seven interceptions, one touchdown and getting medically redshirted because of a re-injured shoulder.
But you may not have recognized how bad the Quakers have been on third down this year. Overall they are 40 for 114, or 35 percent, but that's even worse than it looks. If you take out blowouts over cake teams in Georgetown and Columbia (a combined 2-14 this year), the Quakers are 25 for 86 on third down for a grand total of 29 percent. In this weekend's loss they went a dreadful 3 for 15 on third down.
Even more shocking is Penn's job in the third quarter this year -- it has been outscored 37-3. Kicker Andrew Samson ended the 78-plus-minute drought in the third quarter this season with a 43-yard field goal against Yale. The Quakers have scored 0.02857 points per minute in the third quarter this year, as opposed to 0.6952 p/m in the opening quarter.
I guess Al Bagnoli had better pass those halftime speeches on to Ray Priore...
If Josh Hirsch was still here we'd probably have written about this a whole lot sooner, but the Penn football team's home and away uniforms don't match, or even come close to doing so.
I had thought maybe the change was made as a superstitious thing after a few losses, but for the whole season, the Quakers have worn this
on the road, while donning these
new ones at home.
"We'll order new away jerseys next year," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "We just went with the home set this year which we needed more, that was the last to be replaced.
"We looked at what we needed, and what we wanted to spend, and instead of getting 300 jerseys, we only got 150, and next year we'll get the other 150 and they'll match"
Whenever I interview an opposing coach leading up to the game against the Penn football team, I ask the question "what scares you the most about Penn." I've interviewed a bunch in the last couple years, and nearly every single one answers "Joe Sandberg."
The fifth-year senior is the center of every gameplan, and will be again this week coming up against Brown. Bears coach Phil Estes gave Sandberg a lot of love, even more than the usual coach.
"Sandberg is as good as [Yale's Mike] McLeod," Estes said. "He has some skills in catching the football, but once the ball's in his hands, he's elusive, fast, he can cut on a dime and he can make people look silly. He's a hell of a football player."
It has become almost commonplace to consider McLeod the far-and-away number one back and Sandberg the clear second-best. Next to McLeod's numbers -- 1,142 yards and 18 touchdowns in six games -- Sandberg's 589 yards, seven touchdowns in five games don't exactly stand out.
Clearly McLeod's amazing durability is a virtue, but Sandberg doesn't come close to the Elis' number of carries. With 204 carries, Sanbderg would be on pace for 1,133 yards and 13.5 touchdowns. And he hasn't even been healthy this season. I'd still say McLeod is the better running back, but it's closer than it seems.
And even if he is the second banana, Sandberg still puts fear in the hearts of anyone on the Penn schedule.
Scout.com is reporting today that center Garvin Hunt, a Bahamian native and 6-9 center who attends Sagemont (Fla.) finally committed to Penn, becoming the third member of the Class of 2012 and the first over 6-5.
More on this in tomorrow's DP (depending on who we can get on the phone this afternoon), but this is certainly good news for the Quakers and might mean that this year's recruiting effort is complete.
All sorts of coverage of Saturday's game in today's DP, but here are a few notes that didn't make it into the paper.
Long snapper Ted Rosenbaum left the game with a separated shoulder, coach Al Bagnoli said afterwards. Linebacker Jake Lewko, the backup, did well on the white-knucklers late in the game, but I believe he was the one who missed holder Braden Lepisto on that 42-yard attempt in the second quarter.
Matt Belasco took the first punt of the game, but then regular Anthony Melillo did the honors the rest of the way. Not sure exactly what happened there, but since it seemed a trivial matter and didn't come up at the press conference we won't know until practice is open tomorrow.
Freshman Mike DiMaggio continued to show talent out of the tailback spot, rushing seven times for nearly five yards a carry. Granted, he didn't get the ball 34 times like Sandberg, but that's still a nice little boost.
Two of Yale's starters on defense -- junior linebacker Jay Pilkerton and junior safety Steven Santoro -- got knocked out of the game by injuries, according to the Bulldogs' sports info office.
Basketball practice was open for the first time yesterday, and coach Glen Miller was around to chat for the first time a few hours ago.
See Monday's DP for a full notebook, but there was confirmation that junior wing Tommy McMahon will sit out the year with an eye towards returning for a fifth season of hoops.
McMahon underwent surgery to his left hip over the summer, and a recovery time of seven months will keep him off the court as his teammates look to make it four league titles in a row.
"It's a blow in the sense that Tommy's a talented player," Miller said. "But at the same time, he battled through injuries last year, persevered, but he couldn't practice every day and it held him back from being the player that he's capable of being."
Last year, McMahon started 11 of 30 games for the Red and Blue and averaged 5.0 points per game, but his production waned as the season progressed.
He plans to stay at Penn for an extra year, and will apply for the additional season of eligibility when the time comes.
"I haven't been healthy since the middle of freshman year, so if I can be healthy for two full years, that would just be optimal," he said.
Good afternoon from Franklin Field. It's a bit windy up here the press box, but the sun is out and it looks to be a great day for football.
Yale 26, Penn 20 FINAL
That had to have been one of the craziest games I've seen at Franklin Field. Penn got it to the three, but was stuffed at the goal line three times. On fourth down, Sandberg took a reverse and, seeing nothing but white in front of him, had to pass. He found Nick Cisler in the endzone, but the play was called back -- ineligible receiver. Walker's endzone bullet on the next play skipped out of Lepisto's hands; game over. What a heartbreaking loss.
Check back with us for much more on the game later on dailypennsylvanian.com.
Good afternoon from The Buzz.
Third overtime, Yale 26, Penn 20
Yale finally kicked it up on offense, completing a short screen pass to get Yale close. McLeod took care of business from there, using two punishing running plays to get the touchdown.
Yale had to go for two because it's the third overtime, and they didn't even come close. Polhemus was sacked behind the line of scrimmage, so if Penn can score a touchdown, a conversion will win the game.
Second overtime, Penn 20, Yale 20
Once again, the game was over, and then it wasn't. Penn stopped Yale at the 4, but Yale's unit came incredibly close to botching the kick. The snap bounced twice before reaching the holder, and Kimball did a great job of letting his man get the ball down. Yet another OT coming up.
Second overtime, Penn 20, Yale 17
It's all in the hands of the defense now. Penn did a good job to get the ball down to the 4 on a pass to Cisler, and Samson banged the kick through.
A big break for Penn before the second OT even starts -- an illegal procedure penalty on Yale that pushed them back to the 30. So many flags!
First overtime, Penn 17, Yale 17
Amazing! The game was over, then it wasn't. Walker's pass to Braden Lepisto fell incomplete on fourth down. But a questionable pass interference call gave them a first down, and after Walker rushed down to the 4 to shake off a holding call, Marcus Lawrence pulled down an amazing running catch for the touchdown. Off to double OT.
First overtime, Yale 17, Penn 10
Terrible sequence. Polhemus found Chris Denny-Brown on the first play from scrimmage, bringing Yale down to the 4. The teams traded dumb penalties -- a false start and pass interference in the endzone -- before McLeod rumbled in for the score. Kimball nailed the PAT. Slipping away.
End of Fourth quarter, Penn 10, Yale 10
Amazing. Penn cornerback Tyson Maugle went up and picked off a jump-ball thrown down to the 15 on second down. Walker came out and took a knee with 11 seconds left. Off to overtime we go. What a game.
One note: Long snapper Ted Rosenbaum is out of the game for some reason, forcing backup Jake Lewko to step in. If that's a factor in overtime, the special-teams gods definitely have it in for Penn.
0:20, Fourth quarter, Penn 10, Yale 10
Polhemus unloaded a great, scrambling pass to get Yale a first down at the 50, and they called timeout. Polhemus spiked the ball on the next play.
1:06, Fourth quarter, Penn 10, Yale 10
Walker handed off to Sandberg on that play, and he only got about five yards. Penn punted to the Yale 38, but now the Bulldogs have plenty of time -- and a timeout -- to get within field-goal range. Otherwise, we're going to overtime.
1:21, Fourth quarter, Penn 10, Yale 10
No, no, no! At this spot in the game, HOW can you call Nick Cisler for a deadball foul on a marginal push after the play? Obviously I wasn't on the field, but it looked like he was just blocking his man and wasn't sure if the play was over. Let the kids decide the game.
In any case, Penn now faces third-and-11, which we'll see as soon as injured Penn lineman Jesse Rigler is helped off the field.
1:53, Fourth quarter, Penn 10, Yale 10
Looks like Penn is going to have a chance to run a two-minute drill. Penn stopped McLeod -- yet again -- on a crucial thrd-and-2, forcing Yale to punt. Penn has just under two minutes to get into field-goal range. What a game.
7:44, Fourth quarter, Penn 10, Yale 10
Again, a great stand by the Penn defense. Yale actually drove to within field-goal range, but a holding penalty and a one-yard tackle for loss by Naheem Harris pushed them back past the 40. Yale punted down to the Penn 1, but it could have been much worse.
10:16, Fourth quarter, Penn 10, Yale 10
Walker's play is seriously hurting the Quakers. Another overthrown pass leads to another interception -- this one by Yale's Matt Coombs -- and Yale now has the ball just outside midfield.
13:02, Fourth quarter, Penn 10, Yale 10
Kimball connected from short range to tie things up. Good job by the Quakers to limit the damage there. Both of Yale's scoring drives have come off of Penn turnovers; that tells you a lot about how much its offense is underperforming.
And McLeod is not his usual self. He carried five times in the third quarter for a net of 10 yards.
14:41, Fourth quarter, Penn 10, Yale 7
Oh boy. Things were looking like a stalemate, but Walker fumbled after he had been flushed out of the pocket. Yale will get the ball just outside the red zone. That's a killer.
2:39, Third quarter, Penn 10, Yale 7
Neither team has gone anywhere recently, but Melillo just opened up the door a bit by shanking a punt, giving the Bulldogs the ball just inside their own half of the field.
8:55, Third quarter, Penn 10, Yale 7
I have to wonder where Jack Siedlecki's confidence in McLeod is after he just punted on fourth-and-1 from just outside midfield. You have one of the best running backs in the FCS and your defense just stuffed Penn outside the red zone. In any case, Penn starts its drive on its own 23.
11:07, Third quarter, Penn 10, Yale 7
Sandberg went nowhere on a couple of running plays, but Andrew Samson kicked a 43-yarder to give Penn the lead. Momentum still on Penn's side, even though that drive last drive could have been a lot better.
14:00 Third quarter, Yale 7, Penn 7
Penn just got a huge break; Matt Polhemus overthrew his receiver but found Penn cornerback Chris Wynn, who now has four interceptions on the year. The Quakers will start a drive on the Yale 33.
I have to call out the officials on that last play. Wynn was dealt a hard hit clearly out of bounds. Why there was no late hit call is absolutely beyond me.
Halftime, Yale 7, Penn 7
We've got some halftime stats. Mike McLeod has 115 rushing yards and a TD, while Yale's Matt Polhemus is only 3-of-8 for 21 yards. Bryan Walker has two picks and 53 yards passing on 14 attempts; Joe Sandberg has 39 yards on the ground plus his passing TD.
Yale's Brady Hart leads all defenders with 7 tackles.
Not good execution on that final two-minute drill. A false start and a couple of hastily-called plays force Penn to punt. It was downed at the 7, where Yale took a knee. Game is tied at the half, and I'll have stats for you shortly.
1:41, Second quarter, Yale 7, Penn 7
Once again, Yale failed to advance the ball in its own territory. Penn will get the ball at the Yale 46. McLeod looked to be in some pain and was getting some kind of treatment on the sidelines.
2:02, Second quarter, Yale 7, Penn 7
An illegal block from behind pushes Yale back to its own 8 on the next kickoff. Kudos to kicker Dave Kuncio for delivering the first hit on that play.
2:13, Second quarter, Yale 7, Penn 7
Walker connected with Sandberg a short slant route for the first down, then on first-and-goal Penn ran a trick play -- Sandberg took the handoff and passed to peeling tight end Josh Koontz for an easy touchdown. Finally, some imagination. More importantly, the game is tied.
2:25, Second quarter, Yale 7, Penn 0
Facing third-and-8 at the 17, Bagnoli took a timeout to regroup. Big play coming up when we come back.
3:03, Second quarter, Yale 7, Penn 0
Another break for Penn, an easy pass interference call that brought them to the 19.
3:15, Second quarter, Yale 7, Penn 0
Walker threw an incomplete pass and Sandberg was dropped for a loss on the first two plays. Lepisto caught a pass on third down to set up a fourth-and-one. Sandberg took the handoff, ran for a yard, and after a close measurement, the verdict is in -- first down. Huge call for Penn, and the drive continues.
5:00, Second quarter, Yale 7, Penn 0
Great job on defense by Penn on that drive. Yale went three and out and punted from the endzone, where Marcus Lawrence caught it at the 44. The Quakers are really starting to lay some good hits on McLeod, but it needs to score and will have a good chance to do so on this next drive.
6:32, Second quarter, Yale 7, Penn 0
Freshman running back Mike DiMaggio continues to impress. He took the second of two handoffs down the sidelines for a double-digit gain, helping bring Penn do the Yale 41. But he was dropped in the backfield on the next series, and facing fourth-and-2 from the 40, Penn coach Al Bagnoli elected to punt. This time, Anthony Melillo did the honors. What the heck? Regardless, another good job on special teams, as Greg Ambrogi downs the ball at the Yale one.
9:15, Second quarter, Yale 7, Penn 0
Defense much improved on that last drive, and it managed to wrap McLeod up in the backfield twice. A fine punt by Yale gives the Quakers the ball at the 24.
11:33, Second quarter, Yale 7, Penn 0
Ugh. The Quakers nearly just gave the game away. After Walker threw an incomplete pass on third down, Penn's field goal unit came out for a long attempt, but the snap went behind holder Braden Lepisto. Worse, Lepisto unwisely tried to pitch the ball forward, but threw it right into a Yale D-lineman. If he hadn't dropped it, he would have had a wide-open 60 yards to the endzone. Yale will now try to make it a two-possession game, again with good field position.
13:53, Second quarter Yale 7, Penn 0
Walker converted a big third-and-3 to get Penn to the Yale 28. The student section is chanting "Bry-an-Wal-ker," and Penn is at least in field goal range.
End of first quarter, Yale 7, Penn 0
Sandberg broke off a shifty run to the outside to get Penn past its own 40, where it will start when play resumes.
1:22, First quarter, Yale 7, Penn 0
Yale ate up just about all of the quarter after McLeod converted a big third down in Quakers territory, but Kimball pushed a 39-yard field goal attempt just wide right.
Yale has only thrown a handful of passes so far. When McLeod doesn't get the ball, it's generally been a running play for quarterback Matt Polhemus. But Penn's pass defense has showed signs of life -- Mike Marinelli, a defensive end, chased down McLeod and forced a fumble (it went out of bounds). Let's see if the offense can finally give that unit a breather.
7:25, First quarter, Yale 7, Penn 0
You're not going to believe this. Penn turned the ball over again before it could even get a first down.
Can't come down too hard on Walker for this one, though. He threw pretty much a perfect pass to Marcus Lawrence, but one Yale defender miraculously tipped it to another as they both tumbled to the ground. Terrible stroke of luck for Penn; the Bulldogs have the ball again with good field position.
8:17, First quarter, Yale 7, Penn 0
That was fast. As soon as Penn got the ball back, Bryan Walker threw a terrible pass into Yale's Paul Rice. On the next play Mike McLeod went up the middle for 46 yards untouched. Alan Kimball tacked on the PAT.
12:05, First quarter, Penn 0, Yale 0
Penn only got about 15 yards on its first drive after a short return. Penn gets the punt inside the 10. I can't tell you why Matt Belasco, who is listed on the roster as a RB?WR, punted, rather than Anthony Melillo. Yale starts its first drive in a moment.
In order to figure out a way Penn could possibly stop Mike McLeod and beat Yale, it might be a good idea to take something from the Elis' 28-14 win over Georgetown.
Yes, it was Yale's first game of the year, but the 5-0 powerhouse was in a one-score game with minutes to go against the hapless (now 0-7) Hoyas. Georgetown running back Kyle Van Fleet, whose team lost 42-13 to Penn, actually told The Hoya "this week we were the better team."
But a few missed opportunities -- including letting the first-half clock run out while at the Yale one-yard-line -- sealed the deal.
McLeod rushed for 157 yards and four touchdowns, but they really didn't do a bad job stopping him -- on the season he averages 199 yards, three touchdowns and 5.9 yards per rush.. Two of McLeod's scores were one-yarders, and the prolific back averaged 5.1 yards per carry.
Perhaps more importantly, the defense (one that is allowing 38.8 points per game) did a fantastic job containing McLeod. The Yale back had no runs longer than 14 yards against Georgetown, but none of the last four team's McLeod's faced has been able to hold him to a long of less than 35.
Also, Yale has had more than double the amount of rushing first downs as passing ones (71-35). But against Georgetown, quarterback Matt Polhemus moved the chains 11 times, while McLeod and the running game did it only 10 times.
The Quakers have a good run defense, but they'll need all the linebackers set back that they can get. I'd send a Tyson Maugle or a Pat Kimener a few times, but this is not a good game to bring the house, especially in the form of a run blitz.
Rant of the week: These college football stats that count sack yards as negative rushing yards are absurd. Anyone that boasts that Penn held Columbia to eight yards rushing is crazy - the Lions' running backs had 13 carries for 33 yards. A solid effort, but not eight yards.
A sack is a passing play, and it should be counted as negative passing yards for the quarterback.
You can find stories in today's Daily Pennsylvanian on the following topics:
Men's basketball: What has 2007 graduate and three-time All-Ivy forward Mark Zoller been up to lately?
Football: In short, Yale's story doesn't start and end with Mike McLeod. Also, I give some items to watch
for the other Ivy three games tomorrow. In case you missed it, yesterday we looked at Penn's focuses in practice this week, newly anointed backup QB Brendan McNally, Larry and Bobby Abare of Yale and notebook items from the League.The seeds of Saturday's showdown at Franklin Field were sown in 2005, writes Dave Solomon of the New Haven Register. Tommy Hine of the Courant gives a look at Bobby Abare as well.
Since he's the hot topic of the hour, let's talk about Mike McLeod. Do you think Penn has to stop him from getting his usual 160 yards in order to win? How should Penn defend against him?
Throw your thoughts in the comments section.
Congratulations to Columbia, which took the big step of moving its men's and women's squash teams to eventual varsity status, a transition it says will be complete by 2011.
Harvard women's golf lost a captain but gained a coach, The Crimson reports.
The Princetonian reports on a rivalry with Harvard that hits close to home and on a tennis player before and after Katrina.
Change is continuity for Yale's signature gymnasium, writes the Yale Daily News.
The recently resurgent Quakers hit a bump in the road this weekend and dropped a 2-0 decision to Dartmouth. But tonight's match at Rutgers provides a good opportunity for the Red and Blue to bounce back and regain their footing, which they'll have to do, because it's all Ivy from there on to the playoffs.
On paper, this match is usually no walkover, but things might be different tonight. The Scarlet Knights will be missing three of their seniors, including starting keeper Matt VanOekel. And Rutgers head coach Bob Reasso can't turn to backup goalie Amir Haghshenas, either -- he'll also be out. The four players "were in violation of the team's code of conduct," Reasso said on Rutgers' athletics website, and they are suspended for the game.
See Thursday's DP for coverage of the game from New Brunswick.
If you were looking for a repeat, don't get excited. Norries Wilson's press conference was without incident this year.
Well, almost.
I wasn't at Baker Field, but DP football reporter Andrew Todres was, and here's how he described the post-game chat to me:
No real memorable quotes, but he [Wilson] did bring his infant into the press conference, presumably to keep reporters from asking any provocative questions. Midway [through], Trinity (the name of the baby), broke down crying after one reporter asked a question. For the next 30 seconds, Norries tried to console the baby, but she was crying uncontrollably. Finally, the Columbia SID or someone came to the table and had to take the baby out of Norries' hands and bring it to his wife. Norries was literally talking baby-talk to the baby to try to get it to stop crying.
In other Columbia news, you can see Patriots owner Robert Kraft talk about his $5 million gift to Columbia football here (scoll down on the video list). The Spec chimes in as well.
From the Inquirer comes news of D.J. Rivera's upcoming hiatus and Frank Fitzpatrick's series (Parts One and Two) on alumni giving in college athletics.
Unlike in the NFL, college football halftime is long enough to shuffle through the restroom procession, grab a drink and be back with time to spare. That's more than long enough to sift through the top and bottom of both Penn and the Ivy League this year.
Good surprises of the half-season:
Penn: Georgetown is who we thought they were. Columbia too.
Ivy League: Patriot League respect. The Ivies shook off a rough couple of weeks to go 3-1 on Saturday.
Bad surprise of the half-season:
Penn and the Ivy League: Quarterback problems. Injuries to Penn's Robert Irvin and Harvard's Liam O'Hagan threw a wrench into those teams, and Craig Hormann (Columbia) and Bill Foran (Princeton) have not taken the steps forward they needed this year. Chris Pizotti seems to have righted Harvard's ship; who knows on the other three.
Offensive player of the half-season:
Penn: Joe Sandberg. Just like he was last year. The senior is making his ninth semester count, bouncing back from hamstring and back injuries to put up triple-digit yardage again and lead Penn to two easy wins. Honorable mention: The entire offensive line. (Two sacks allowed.)
Ivy League: Mike McLeod. Hands down. The junior has become the nation's fourth-leading rusher on a team that loses about as often as the Colorado Rockies. Honorable mention: Brown quarterback Matt Dougherty.
Defensive player of the half-season:
Penn: Chris Wynn. Hard to argue against linebacker Joe Anastasio's 40 tackles, but I'm a sucker for interceptions. Wynn is one of 55 players in the FCS with three and the only player for Penn with more than one.
Ivy League: Tim Bax. He's been the big playmaker for a Cornell pass defense ranked second in the league, leading the conference with 30 solo tackles. Honorable mention: Yale's entire defense, for grabbing a league-high eight INTs.
Unresolved issue of the half-season:
Penn: The red zone. Converting at just 59 percent outside of Columbia won't get it done. Honorable mention: Bryan Walker's passing game.
Ivy League: Running games. As in, will they show up at Columbia, Harvard and Brown.
Quote of the half-season:
Penn: Wideout Braden Lepisto before the Georgetown game: "I don't even remember what it feels like to win."
Ivy League: Columbia coach Norries Wilson (surprise) after losing 29-0 to Lafayette: "We stink"
It was Columbia, but the Quakers certainly put up a surprisingly dominant performance up against the Lions, throwing up 59 points on the scoreboard. Here are a few random notes about what I saw.
This is hardly an insight, anyone could figure this out, but the defense, (particularly the front seven) was dominant all day long.
As Columbia coach Norries Wilson warned his team, Naheem Harris and Jay Colabella gave his unit fits all day. But it wasn't just the regulars -- cornerback Greg Ambrogi had three tackles for loss and 11 in total, Josh Neubert had a big hit that forced an interception that ended up in the hands of Mark Washington.
The Quakers, in all, had three sacks, 10 tackles for loss in all, forced three turnovers and allowed the Columbia running backs to take 13 carries for only 33 yards.
Even on the early 90-yard pass to set up Columbia's lone first half score, Craig Hormann was lit up as he threw it, and it took a perfect throw and a basket catch to bring it in. Stopping Austin Knowlin, who caught that pass, was the only real weakness. He seemed like he was generally left in single-coverage (often ending up against safety Jordan Manning) and last year's Rookie of the Year burned Penn for 10 receptions, 188 yards and two touchdowns.
It was good to see the old Joe Sandberg back. He was patient, shifty, fast and powerful. I don't really need to say much more.
Bryan Walker played his role -- he was a fantastic 16-for-21 for two touchdowns and no interceptions. He didn't try to do too much, spread the ball around and let Sandberg do his thing.
It was also good to see Scott Graham in the CN8 booth, gotta miss him since he's left the Phillies' radio broadcast. He was paired with former Eagles and Raiders fullback Jon Ritchie, and he certainly wasn't bad.
My favorite part of the telecast came when Graham laughed, and then explained that in between plays he was watching Lions kicker Jon Rocholl warming up, when he went to kick a ball and fell flat on his ass. Rocholl then went on to get his terrible field goal attempt blocked and returned for a touchdown.
And seriously, how can anyone argue Bagnoli should have pulled back on the reins at the end of the first half? While I admit I stopped watching at halftime, it would have been just as disrespectful for Bagnoli to give up the Lions for dead in the first half. This is Division I football, it's the Ivy League, go play intramurals brother.
Yale showed why it's looking just about unstoppable.
Dartmouth again fell bigtime to Holy Cross, but luckily there was no repeat of last year.
Lafayette, which had the No. 1 scoring defense in the FCS coming in, saw Harvard's defense steal the spotlight.
Brown put itself back on the map with a big and surprisingly easy win over Princeton.
Cornell coach Jim Knowles told his team the oddest inspirational story I've ever heard, but apparently it worked.
NEW YORK -- It's a windy day in the Big Apple, as the Quakers -- coming off of their first win of the season -- get set to do battle with the struggling Columbia Lions. The weather conditions here are eerily similar to what they were in Dartmouth a few weeks ago, where Penn dropped its first game to the Big Green in 10 years. At 0-1 in the Ivy League, the Quakers -- who have won 10 games in a row against the Lions -- can ill-afford to snap this streak today. Stay tuned throughout the game for live updates.
Final: Penn 59, Columbia 28
After the 90-yard completion to Knowlin, it looked like this game might be a close one. But Penn responded ferociously, scoring 38 unanswered points in the first half to put this game out of reach. Check out www.dailypennsylvanian.com in a little while for a full recap.
2:27 to go in the 4th quarter, Penn 59, Columbia 28
Tony Moses just put the exclamation point on this game for the Quakers. He absolutely annihilated a Columbia receiver and forced a fumble, which was recovered by the Quakers. This is Moses' second "jacked-up" tackle in as many weeks. Also a member of Penn's baseball team, Moses got a good lick on a Georgetown player last week.
3:58 to go in the 4th quarter, Penn 59, Columbia 28
David Wurst couldn't hang on to a bullet from McNally, and Columbia picked off the deflection. The Lions will take over on their own 45. It won't matter, though. Penn has this one in the bag. Sandberg will wind up just short of the 200-yard mark. He still had a heck of a day -- 197 yards and four touchdowns.
5:12 to go in the 4th quarter, Penn 59, Columbia 28
With the game pretty much over, Brendan McNally is now in at quarterback for the Quakers and just picked up a 1st down on a 6-yard run. Penn has the ball at its own 45. Kelms Amoo-Achampong and all of the backups are also in the game.
9:04 to go in the 4th quarter, Penn 59, Columbia 28
On 4th down from the 9, Hormann tried to throw for the first down, but Joey Brown did a nice job of breaking of the play. Penn now takes over on downs.
10:39 to go in the 4th quarter, Penn 59, Columbia 28
A long completion to Knowlin moves Columbia down to Penn's 31. Knowlin is approaching a single-game career record himself, with 176 yards receiving on the day.
11:43 to go in the 4th quarter, Penn 59, Columbia 28
Well, as quickly as Penn is giving up touchdowns, its getting them back. Tyler Fisher just returned the kickoff 96 yards to paydirt. I believe that's Tyler Fisher's first kickoff return for a touchdown in his career. The Quakers have had some good returns this season, and it was only a matter of time before they got one in. 59 points is the most that Penn has scored in a Ivy League game during Bagnoli's tenure. Over on the other end of the press box, the Columbia writers are trying to figure out when they last gave up this many points. I just heard the words "Yale" and "1883."
11:55 to go in the 4th quarter, Penn 52, Columbia 28
Another 19-yard strike from Hormann to Knowlin gives Columbia a touchdown. Again, poor coverage on Penn's part, and a missed tackle near the goal line allowed Knowlin to sneak in for 6. Penn still has most of its defensive starters in the game. Hormann has been very erratic today. On some throws he looks great, on others he looks terrible. Penn also bailed Columbia out on that drive with a pass interference after Ambrogi's sack.
12:39 to go in the 4th quarter, Penn 52, Columbia 21
On 4th and 12, Columbia managed to move the chains on a 19-yard pass from Hormann to Knowlin, moving the ball to Penn's 23. Ambrogi just picked up another sack on 1st and 10, pushing Columbia back to the 30.
14:54 to go in the 4th quarter, Penn 52, Columbia 21
On 4th and 1, Sandberg checked back in and took it right up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown run. Sandberg is getting awfully close the 200-yard mark himself, and this touchdown is his fourth. With all of the touchdowns, this might actually be a better fantasy day than McLeod's. Take that, Tannenwald. More importantly, after opening the door just a bit in the 3rd quarter for Columbia, the Quakers seem to have just slammed it shut.
End of the 3rd quarter, Penn 45, Columbia 21
Mike DiMaggio just took over for Sandberg in the red zone and got stuffed on 3rd and 2, bringing up a 4th and 1 from Columbia's 13. It looks like Bagnoli's going to go for it on fourth down.
1:34 to go in the 3rd quarter, Penn 45, Columbia 21
Just like that, Sandberg responds with a 15-yard pick up and a 45-yard run, and Penn has worked its way into the red zone.
2:15 to go in the 3rd quarter, Penn 45, Columbia 21
Wynn returned the kickoff to the 23, where he was leveled by a Columbia special-teamer. Even though Columbia's still down by a bunch, they have the momentum right now. Penn's starters remain in the game on offense, and on 1st and 10, they just got called for a false start.
2:19 to go in the 3rd quarter, Penn 45, Columbia 21
Out of the shotgun, Hormann rolled right and threw an 11-yard pass right on the money to Knowlin for the touchdown. As good as Penn's run defense has been today, it's secondary has left something to be desired. Bagnoli is not happy right now, in part because of the officiating, and in part because Penn has not picked up from where it left off at the end of the first half.
3:30 to go in the 3rd quarter, Penn 45, Columbia 14
A 26-yard completion on 3rd and 17 gives Columbia a first down from its own 44 yard-line. On the previous play, Ambrogi came in on a corner blitz and sacked Hormann, and he just made an open-field tackle. Now, however, another completion -- a 22-yard pass -- gives the Lions a first down on Penn's 36. Penn needs to be careful here.
6:46 to go in the 3rd quarter, Penn 45, Columbia 14
As Penn lines up to punt, there's quite a bit of confusion here. The play was stopped, Norries Wilson was out on the field yelling at one of his players, and Bagnoli nearly strangled an official. After all of that, nothing happened, and Melillo punted it to Columbia's 25, where the Lions will take over. Who knows what happened, but Bagnoli is still yelling at the official during the media timeout. He better watch out; he already received a sideline warning in the first quarter, and now he's walking out onto the field to complain to the head referee. We'll find out what this ordeal is about after the game.
8:15 to go in the 3rd quarter, Penn 45, Columbia 14
Columbia just marched down the field with some nice passing plays against weak Penn coverage and scored a touchdown on a short running play. The drive was 10 plays, 74 yards. The Quakers looked flat on that drive, and give credit to Columbia for hanging tough.
11:26 to go in the 3rd quarter, Penn 45, Columbia 7
Columbia just moved down to Penn's 39 on a pass interference call. Most of Penn's starters on defense are still in the game, but everyone is rotating in and out.
13:03 to go in the 3rd quarter, Penn 45, Columbia 7
Columbia just showed a sign of life, sacking Bryan Walker and forcing Penn to punt. The Lions will take over at their own 36.
On a related note, Mike McLeod finished with 276 yards and two touchdowns in Yale's 23-7 win over Lehigh. How does one run for 276 yards in one game? Penn will have that to look forward to next week.
14:11 to go in the 3rd quarter, Penn 45, Columbia 7
Not that the game itself really matters at this point, but Sandberg is still in the game for the Quakers. Cisler, who sat out the 2nd half last week against Georgetown along with Sandberg, is also in. Bagnoli is not letting up yet.
Halftime Stats
Sandberg has 15 carries for 11 yards and 3 touchdowns. Walker is 14-19 for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Coleman leads all receivers with 3 catches for 39 yards. Koontz also has 3 catches for 33 yards, and Cisler has 3 catches for 24 yards. The Quakers had 17 first downs in the first half and 273 yards of total offense.
Meanwhile, Hormann is 12-26 and has thrown 2 interceptions. Jordan Davis has five carries for 5 yards. With the 90-yard completion, Austin Knowlin has 3 catches for 104 yards.
As I type this, some inebriated Columbia students are parading around the field with a banner that says "Quaker oats, go f*** goats." Yes, this game is very out of hand. They were just escorted out by security. So much for Columbia's homecoming festivities.
Columbia also has been penalized 9 times for 78 yards, and Hormann has been sacked three times.
In the second half, Penn will have a chance to score the most points in a single game in the modern era. The record is 61 points against San Diego in 2004. Chances are, Bagnoli will pull his starters, but with the way he chose to end that first half, who knows?
End of 1st half, Penn 45, Columbia 7
After first down passes to Coleman and Cisler, Bagnoli called timeout to set the Quakers up with one last play in the half. Walker dropped back and hit Lepisto for a 3-yard touchdown, capping off a 53-yard drive to end the half. The Lions are getting booed by their fans as they head off the field. The Quakers have officially spoiled the Columbia homecoming. This is the biggest blowout for the Quakers in a while. I'll try to find out just how long it's been since Penn's had this kind of first-half lead, and we'll have the halftime stats for you shortly. Also worth mentioning that by calling timeout and getting that extra touchdown, the Columbia faithful are not too pleased by Penn running up the score.
1:03 to go in the 2nd quarter, Penn 38, Columbia 7
I have to retract my last statement about starting Sandberg. Jon Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer has just informed me that that McLeod has 200+ yards and 2 touchdowns. In the meantime, Hormann is falling apart here. He's overthrowing his receivers, underthrowing them, and missing them altogether. Columbia looks dead. On 4th down from Penn's 47, Hormann just tried to hit Nico Gutierrez in the endzone, but Mark Washington broke it up. Penn will now take over and try to score one more before the end of the half.
3:18 to go in the 2nd quarter, Penn 38, Columbia 7
This is getting out of hand. Sandberg just picked up another touchdown on a 12-yard run. Columbia's just not tackling anyone. This is way too easy for Sandberg. Columbia students are starting to head for the exits, and we're still in the 2nd quarter. There might not be much of a homecoming crowd for the halftime festivities at this point. Sandberg now has 15 carries for 111 yards and three touchdowns. I hope you started him in fantasy; he might have an edge on Mike McLeod this week.
4:20 to go in the 2nd quarter, Penn 31, Columbia 7
Columbia's woes continue, and Penn's secondary has fully recovered from its poor start. After getting backed up to 2nd and 15 after a false start, Hormann threw a bad pass that was tipped by Washington and picked off by Pat Kimener. Penn took over at the 19, and then Columbia just committed a dead-ball personal foul, moving Penn up to Columbia's 8-yard line. Columbia is really playing terribly. This isn't to take anything away from the Quakers. They could have rolled over after that 90-yard Columbia completion and touchdown. But instead, they came back with something to prove and have scored 24 points unanswered. They're knocking on the door again.
5:27 to go in the 2nd quarter, Penn 31, Columbia 7
Penn looks like a true Ivy League title contender right now. After a 13-yard pass to Sandberg for a first down, Sandberg carried the ball 21 yards for the touchdown, deftly changing fields to avoid the Columbia defense and get it into the endzone. Columbia certainly missed its fair share of tackles, and its run defense has been awful. Sandberg is also having an outstanding game. He had 61 yards in the first quarter, and he probably has 100 by now. I wish I could be a fly on the wall in the locker room at halftime to hear what Norries Wilson has to say to his team.
6:39 to go in the 2nd quarter, Penn 24, Columbia 7
Columbia just got killed on penalties, backing it all the way up to its own 8. Then, on 2nd and 25, Hormann was hit on the throw and lobbed up a duck that was tipped by Wynn and picked off by Mark Washington. The Quakers take over at Columbia's 35.
7:39 to go in the 2nd quarter, Penn 24, Columbia 7
After Sandberg's run, Walker rolled right and hit Koontz in the back-right corner of the endzone on a beautiful fade route. This is the best the Quakers have looked on a drive all season. In Koontz, Walker might have found a reliable target. Earlier on the drive, after a play-fake, Walker rolled right and hit Koontz for 16 yards and the first down. Penn's offense was also well-rested coming into that possession, as the touchdown return by Manning on the blocked kick kept Penn's defense out on the field for two consecutive possessions. The drive was 79 yards and 10 plays, officially.
7:47 to go in the 2nd quarter, Penn 17, Columbia 7
The Quakers are moving the chains very well right now. It started with a good first down run by Mike DiMaggio, who has taken the bulk of the carries this drive. First down completions to Koontz and Cisler, and then a big first down run by Sandberg, have moved Penn all the way down to Columbia's 12.
11:35 to go in the 2nd quarter, Penn 17, Columbia 7
On 3rd and 17, Hormann had plenty of time, but Penn had all of Columbia's receivers covered. Hormann took it himself for 5 yards, forcing Columbia to punt. After a great punt with a lot of hang time, the ball was fair caught at the 20, where the Quakers will take over. Hormann has either had no time or all kinds of time today, but Columbia simply cannot get anything going on the ground.
12:12 to go in the 2nd quarter, Penn 17, Columbia 7
On 3rd and 2 from Columbia's 32, Columbia picked up 9 yards on a pass play for another big 3rd down conversion. Chris Wynn's coverage has been a bit soft here in the early going. But on the ensuing play, Naheem Harris just sacked Hormann for a loss of 7. 2nd and 17 for Columbia. Now, Wynn just redeemed himself with a good pass break-up on 2nd and 17.
0:01 to go in the 1st quarter, Penn 17, Columbia 7
WOW!!! After a crazy drive, Columbia was forced to kick a field goal. The kick was blocked, and Jordan Manning picked up the loose football and took it back to the house, 63 yards for the touchdown. The kick, which was a 45-yard attempt, barely got off the ground. Earlier, after the Lions had converted their first down, they threw another 1st down pass up to the 26. Then, on 2nd down, Jay Colabella came in tried to sack Hormann, but Hormann threw the ball into the ground, getting flagged for intentional grounding. Columbia couldn't convert the long 3rd down and was forced to kick. Penn really dodged a bullet by forcing Columbia to kick a field goal. The Quakers' secondary has looked pretty weak in the early going. Maybe the touchdown return will give them a boost. It is worth noting that Colabella and Naheem Harris are playing tremendously so far.
2:43 to go in the 1st quarter, Penn 10, Columbia 7
A 21-yard completion for the Lions on 2nd and 22 and a QB sneak gets them the first down on Penn's 40.
5:24 to go in the 1st quarter, Penn 10, Columbia 7
Andrew Samson hit a 33-yard field goal to put the Quakers ahead 10-7. Penn could never recover from the holding penalty, only getting the ball back to Columbia's 17. On 3rd and 12, Walker threw to fullback Nick Cisler, but the pass fell underneath Cisler, who was short of the first down anyway.
6:46 to go in the 1st quarter, Penn 7, Columbia 7
Penn has moved the ball down the field effectively, in large part due to a few good carries from Sandberg and a big 12-yard run by Walker on 3rd down. On the ensuing play, he threw behind Lepisto, but Columbia was called for roughing the passer, moving Penn up to Columbia's 13. Then, on a Sandberg run, Penn was called for a hold, backing them up to the 23. Bagnoli was just called for a sideline warning.
8:13 to go in the 1st quarter, Penn 7, Columbia 7
A good kickoff return by Chris Wynn to Penn's 44 yard-line gives the Quakers good field position to bounce back.
8:22 to go in the 1st quarter, Penn 7, Columbia 7
Unbelievable. After a great run-stop by Naheem Harris, a sack by Jay Colabella, and a false start, Columbia was backed up inside its 10 yard-line with a 3rd and 21. Under pressure, Hormann stepped up in the pocket and aired it out to Austin Knowlin, who reeled in the pass at around Penn's 40 and took it all the way down to the 1 for a 90-yard completion. A play later, Columbia's Ray Rangel ran it into the endzone, and now we're knotted up at 7. A terrible miscue for the Quakers' secondary.
10:44 to go in the 1st quarter, Penn 7, Columbia 0
It is fitting that Joe Sandberg would finish off Penn's 55-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. He absolutely tore apart Columbia's defense on this drive. On 3rd down from midfield, Sandberg ran for 26 yards into Columbia's territory, and followed up that run with another 11-yard, first-down carry. He looks perfectly healthy so far, and if he keeps this up, it will be a long day for Columbia. The drive was seven plays, 55 yards.
13:34 to go in the 1st quarter, Penn 0, Columbia 0
A successful beginning for the Quakers, as they force a three-and-out. On third and four, Jay Colabella came in on the blitz and sacked Craig Hormann for a 13-yard loss, stripping the ball in the process. Columbia was forced to punt, and the Quakers took over at the 45 yard-line.
14:52 to go in the 1st quarter, Penn 0, Columbia 0
Columbia just returned the kickoff to the 30 yard-line, and we are underway.
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