Penn Welcomes Columbia To Franklin Field Saturday
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It is all Ivy League play from here on out for the University of Pennsylvania Quakers, starting on Saturday as they welcome the Columbia Lions to Franklin Field.
Penn improved to 2-2 on the season this past weekend, with a 28-16 win over Central Connecticut State in their final non-league game of the campaign.
"I thought our kids played very business-like," Penn head coach Ray Priore tells KYW Newsradio. "We came in, we understood what he had to get done. Would've liked to have seen a little bit better tackling on defense, finishing and execution on offense, but, all in all, you never complain about getting a good 'W' at home."
Listen to the entire interview with Penn head coach Ray Priore:
Senior quarterback Alek Torgersen led the way for Penn in the win over the Blue Devils, throwing for a pair of touchdowns and also running for a score.
Columbia is coached by former Penn head man Al Bagnoli. He retired as coach of the Quakers following the 2014 season. But after a brief stint in the athletic administration at Penn, he took over the program at Columbia. The Lions went 2-8 in Bagnoli's first season in 2015 and this year they are 1-3. That win came last week over Wagner, 15-13.
Columbia has been tough on defense for the most part. They allowed 48 points in a loss to Princeton, but in their other three games they have given up a total of just 43 points.
"They really load up the box (on defense)," Priore says. "Force you to throw the ball to beat them. They have some good kids inside."
Priore breaks down what the Lions are about on offense.
"They are a little bit like us," he says. "A little run-pass option, quarterback will give the read fake, see if the run is there, throw the bubble screen and the ball down the field."
Penn has won 19 straight games against Columbia and the Quakers lead the all-time series between the two programs, 73-21-1. Last year, these two teams met in New York City with the Quakers winning easily, 42-7.
Saturday's game will kickoff at 3:00pm.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
