Bagnoli's Penn Quakers have shot to make Ivy history

THE FIRST Ivy League football champion (Yale) was officially crowned in 1956. Since then only one team has won three consecutive solo titles. That was Penn, from 1984-86 (after the Quakers also had shared the top spot in both 1982 and '83). But the 1985 team lost once (at Harvard) in league play.

Now, Al Bagnoli's guys are in position to either match or surpass that.

The Quakers have gone unbeaten in the Ivies the last 2 years. And with a lot back, they've been picked to finish first once again. Which, of course, means nothing once you start lining up for keeps.

Anyway, this is the third time Bagnoli has gone back-to-back. But he's never threepeated. In 1995 and 2004, his team came in second. So . . .

"It is historic," said Bagnoli, whose club opens tomorrow night at home against Lafayette. "If you can go three in a row outright, I think that separates us."

Especially if you can go 7-0, which would extend the Ivy winning steak to 22. The record is 20, set by Penn in 2001-04.

"It's something that motivates you and challenges you," he said. "And it's something that very few teams have a chance to do. It'll be fun. We're kind of embracing it more than afraid of it. And I think if you have that attitude, you give yourself a reasonable chance to pull it off."

The Quakers have experience on both sides of the ball. And in the backfield, they're still all underclassmen. The biggest area of concern is probably the offensive line. Unlike last year, when the unit returned intact, there will be new faces. But they were recruited for a reason. There's also a need to fill at kicker, where Andrew Samson spent the last 4 years becoming the program's all-time scoring leader. Bagnoli still has nightmares about 2006, when the Quakers lost several games because they couldn't convert placements. He's got incumbent backup Dan Lipshutz and two promising newcomers, Connor Loftus and Michael Rasmussen. He just needs one to take the job. Because you never known when a three-pointer can make all the difference, particularly when the stakes are this high.

"Sometimes you lose appreciation of what you've accomplished," Bagnoli ackowledged. "At the same time, the challenges are in front of you. I think everyone wants to be where we are rather than the guy who was picked eighth, shooting for a .500 season. So it's a great place to be.

"The goals are inherent. We talk about the moment."

The schedule includes four on the road in the Ivies, notably at Brown and Harvard late. Two years ago they dealt with the same obstacle.

"I think it's a good pressure to have," said third-year sophomore quarterback Billy Ragone, a returning all-leaguer. "It's where you want to be at, to have everyone gunning for you. We have to replace some good players, but we've still got a lot of people who contributed last year. We're confident, and hungry to get going.

"We want to show what this group can do. We're just keeping the same mentality, forgetting about our success and trying to make our own identity."

Knowing that losing even once could be considered disappointing, especially for a team that can't go to the FCS playoffs because the Ivy League, for whatever reasons, doesn't allow postseason participation.

"We know what it feels like to win," said Lyle Marsh, a second-team all-Ivy running back in 2009 as a freshman who missed most of last season with an injury. "We don't want to lose that feeling.

"We don't talk about the historical aspect of it much. At the same time, the goal is to be champions and run the table. We know the bull's-eye's on our backs. We have to play our best, because we're going to get everyone's best.

"We come in every day with a focus in mind. We really just want to go out and compete."

Good thing, since it's what they seem to do best.