The More Things Change...

Rain or shine, it's always Harvard and Penn in the Ivies


The 2010 season began with what looked like a lot of signs of sea-change in the Ivy League.

Defending champ Penn came into the season banged up and got more banged up with serious injuries in the first three weeks.

Preseason favorite Harvard lost to Brown badly in week two, and then lost quarterback after quarterback to what looked like season-ending injuries.

Then darkhorse favorites Brown also fell victim to the QB injury bug, losing its starting signal caller for the year.

About three weeks ago it looked like some new teams might be poised to crash the party at the top of the league.

But now it’s “Back to the Future” time again:

Penn is undefeated and atop the league.

Harvard is tied for second and has a great shot to come all the way back with both of its top QB’s back and the Crimson face Penn at Franklin Field in just two weeks.

So much for “change we can believe in.”

But instead of being bitter about the “haves” remaining the “haves,” I’d like to focus on the positives here and try to learn something from the successful programs.

Penn and Harvard have two of the best head coaches the Ivy League has ever seen. Al Bagnoli and Tim Murphy have longevity, wisdom, and instill a great deal of patience in their players when it comes to waiting their turn to shine.

Both teams play great defense, but you have to give the overall defensive edge most of the time to the Quakers. Penn sticks with its 5-2 front seven alignment and nobody seems to have much of an answer for it.

Both teams often score points in bunches, but Harvard is the better offensive team most years including this season. Murphy cranks out great QB after great QB and the competition for that starting slot most be fierce from year to year.

As for their rivals, there was a time when Harvard had a tough battle each year to out-recruit Yale and Penn would tangle with close neighbor Princeton for the best of New Jersey/Northern PA.

Not anymore.

Penn’s dominance over Princeton on the field over the decades has helped it own the region when it comes to recruiting.

Same goes for Harvard as it has made “The Game,” it’s property for years now.

I know a lot of Columbia fans don’t care for Bagnoli, and some dislike Murphy. But the success at these two programs comes from superior coaching. And it’s the kind of superior coaching that doesn’t come overnight. They’ve both been at their jobs for more than 15 years.

And for those who say that Murphy has an unfair advantage because he can dangle the magic word, “Harvard” in front of any recruit, think again.

His predecessor, Joe Restic, had the same advantage, but he rarely produced the kind of results Murphy has year in and year out. In fact, any residual respect any Harvard alums have for Restic erodes every year as Murphy outdoes his record by leaps and bounds.

There are those who say Bagnoli is just cashing in on the big turnaround the Penn program underwent a full 10 years before he took the helm in 1992.

But those critics forget that Bagnoli actually took over from the disastrous Gary Steele, who oversaw three straight losing seasons before he was finally fired. Bagnoli got the job and immediately had the Quakers back in the title race in year one.

How do the rest of the teams in the league catch up?

Well, the one program that has crashed the Harvard-Penn party the most over the last 10 years is Brown. And it’s no coincidence that Brown’s Head Coach Phil Estes is the THIRD longest-serving skipper in the Ivies behind Bagnoli and Murphy.

The problem with going for longevity for longevity’s sake is that sometimes that means retaining people who are just not the best fit for the job in the first place.

That includes athletic directors. Just ask the folks at Princeton, almost all of whom believe their A.D. has outstayed his welcome by 5, 10, 15 years or more, (it depends who you ask).

Another ingredient seems to be quick and strong reactions to bumps in the road. When Penn went through a bit of a swoon from 2005-2007, Bagnoli and crew changed strategies on offense, toughened up on defense, and have been on a upswing since 2008.

When Harvard stumbled in 1998 and 1999, Murphy changed course radically and instituted a more pro-style offense, starting grabbing big talent transfers, and made sure all his players knew the goal every season was winning the Ivy title, not just beating Yale. The Crimson have rarely stumbled since.



Jake’s Week Seven Ivy Power Rankings


1. Penn (#1 last week)

Looking better and better each week as the defense is simply not letting anyone move the ball. The game against Princeton this Saturday could be quite ugly.


2. Harvard (3)

They’re baaaack! The Crimson just dominated an emotionally charged Dartmouth team on the Big Green’s field on their Homecoming. And unlike Harvard’s win over Princeton the previous week, both the offense and the defense were stellar.


3. Brown (2)

The Bears were stuffed at Franklin Field, but still have the tools to be considered a top three team.


4. Yale (4)

The Elis didn’t look very disciplined as they almost blew a 31-7 halftime lead to the Lions. That’s troubling leading into a tough game at Brown this coming weekend.


5. Dartmouth (5)

The Big Green were basically shamed by the Crimson. But a visit to Cornell this Saturday should be just what the doctor ordered.


6. Columbia (6)

Despite the strong second half at Yale, the Lions are just not the same team they were in the first four weeks of the season


7. Cornell (7)

The Big Red did what they had to do with a close win over Princeton at home. But no one is THAT impressed.


8. Princeton (8)

Who will the Tigers beat this season? Their best chance to get an Ivy win went out the window this past Saturday.