Penn Travels To Harvard Saturday
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Penn Quakers have two games left in the season, and despite two-straight losses, they are still alive for a piece of the Ivy League title.
Penn is 4-4 (3-2 in the Ivy) and last week they lost 38-26 at Franklin Field to an outstanding Princeton team that is now 5-0 in the league.
"I thought our kids played really hard," Penn head coach Al Bagnoli tells KYW Newsradio. "They really were running all over the place, really gave great effort. So I had no issue with that. We made a few too many mistakes. We ended up with turnovers, and not only turnovers, but we turned the ball over on the six (yard line) going in, we turned over one that resulted in a touchdown return. So they were major turnovers that tilted the game a little bit more. But I can't fault our kids effort, I can't fault our kids heart. I thought they played about as hard as we are capable of playing."
In order to grab a piece of the Ivy title, Penn has to win out and Princeton has to lose both its remaining games. The first step in winning out would be Saturday against a very good Harvard team that sits at 7-1 (4-1 in the Ivy). Bagnoli says the Crimson defense really stands out on film.
Al Bagnoli Interview
"They are scary on defense with their front four and with their third-level defenders," Bagnoli says.
"They don't have to blitz to really get the pocket collapsed. And I think that's really allowed them to really stay back and really maximize the coverages with the second and third level.
"So we'll have our hands full. It's been traditionally a real big game, so our kids will get excited to play. But in this league, it's tough to win and it's tough to win on the road."
Last year it was Penn beating the Crimson at Franklin Field, 30-21.
Saturday's game in Cambridge will kick-off at noon.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
