Penn picked to finish second in Ivy League

-Courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania

Penn has been picked to finish second in the Ivy League's preseason football poll, it was announced at Ivy League Media Day at Yale Golf Course Monday. The poll was voted on by media members who cover Ancient Eight football.

The Quakers received 110 votes overall and one first place vote, behind frontrunner Yale, which received 125 votes. Harvard, with 95 votes, was picked third.

Penn returns 16 starters and 36 letterwinners from a team that went 5-5 last year and finished fourth in the Ancient Eight. The Quakers also bring back their leading passer (Robert Irvin), rusher (Joe Sandberg), and tackler (Joe Anastasio).

2007 Ivy League Football Preseason Media Poll
Team (First Place) Points
1. Yale (14) 125
2. Penn (1) 110
3. Harvard (1) 95
4. Princeton 87
5. Cornell 62
6. Columbia 44
7. Brown 33
8. Dartmouth 28

Penn coach Al Bagnoli at Media Day...

On the season outlook:
"We're actually cautiously optimistic. We're predicated on having a talented quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, and we have all three."

On Yale being the preseason favorite:
"I think Yale is everyone's pick. They're the defending champions and have a lot of kids back. They're the champs until someone knocks them off. They're like us. There were four dominant tailbacks last year, and Yale has one back, we have one back, and Cornell has one back.

"When you're the defending champion and you've got a lot of kids returning, you deserve to be there. Princeton as co-champ, they ought to be there too."

On who's returning:
"We've got a nice foundation returning. We had a good offseason, and the kids are hungry. We have enough in place to be a pretty good team."

On parity in the Ivy League:
"Everybody's got a chance. That's the beauty of the League. If you look at, since 2003, we were champions, then Harvard, Brown, Princeton and Yale. That's five of the eight. That doesn't happen anywhere else."

On the kicking game:
"We'll have a wide-open competition. There's a good chance there'll be a freshman starting for us."

On the defense:
"We seem to have good balance on all three levels. You always want to improve your run defense, though. If we stay healthy, we have a pretty good foundation to build on."