Defending champ Penn Ivy favorite in football preseason poll

Penn, the defending Ivy League football champion, is the choice to repeat, according to the league's preseason media poll. The poll had 17 voters consisting of two media members from each school and one national media representative.

The Quakers, who were 6-4 overall, 6-1 in the Ivy League last season, have won three of the last four Ivy League championships.

Penn received 11 of the 17 first-place votes for a total of 129 points.

Harvard (8-2, 5-2) was picked to finish second after receiving five first-place votes and a total of 121 points.

Brown (7-3, 4-3) collected the final first-place vote and was third with 88 points. The remaining order had Dartmouth fourth, followed by Princeton, Cornell, Yale, and Columbia.

"I like it better when we are picked second or third but I understand why we are picked, but it is wide open in the league," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said in an Ivy League football conference call Tuesday. "I think there are multiple teams who have the ability to win the championship."

Penn is led by two-time all-Ivy League quarterback Billy Ragone, who returns after suffering a season-ending dislocated ankle in the ninth game. Bagnoli said that Ragone has been cleared and is doing everything, but that like any player coming off a difficult injury he will have psychological hurdles to clear.

In addition, senior quarterback Ryan Becker, who missed last season with a knee injury, returns to give the Quakers depth at the position.

Junior first-team all-Ivy linebacker Dan Davis is among the key defensive leaders returning.

Penn begins preseason camp Aug. 19 and opens its 137th season on at 6 p.m. Sept. 21, when the Quakers host Lafayette at Franklin Field.