It's a spectacular day to be outdoors, isn't it? I figure most of you are at the Linc, Villanova Stadium or here with me at Franklin Field.

If I had the choice, I think I'd most like to be at the Temple game. But I'm covering Cornell-Penn for the Inquirer, so at least I get to hear the bands play.

I'll be chatting for a few hours this afternoon. We can talk about today's football, yesterday's hoops action - how about St. Joe's beating Boston College? - or whatever else is on your mind.

WASHINGTON - I have definitely noticed an increase in traffic on the blog on days when I've written about Temple football. Were I not going to be at Franklin Field this Saturday to cover Cornell-Penn for the Inquirer, I would be at the Linc for the Owls' last home game of the season against Kent State.

Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw told me yesterday that he expects around 20,000 fans to be in attendance. I'll be interested to see what the final number is, because it's a pretty big deal for Bradshaw's program.

But since I won't be there, I'll make it up to you with two more interviews with AP football poll voters: Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News and Barker Davis of the Washington Times.

Wolf has the Owls ranked 20th in his latest ballot. He told me by email that he thinks "they deserve respect after winning eight straight games and for the fact they have come so far as a program. They also beat Navy, a team that almost beat Ohio State, and Notre Dame."

While Wolf said that "the MAC receives little or no coverage in Southern California," he added that he has no problem "ranking a MAC team with an 8-2 record."

Davis does not have the Owls on his ballot, but as he was at yesterday's Temple-Georgetown game (he also covers the Hoyas), I was able to get his view.

He showed me the raw form of the ballot he sent in, which included a "Next 5" with his Top 15. The Owls were fourth in that "Next 5."

Davis had plenty of praise for the Owls' success this season, noting that "they had never even been on my radar before." But his main reason for not ranking them is the loss to Villanova.

"The 'Nova loss is a bad one," he said, because the Wildcats are in I-AA. "A loss to 'Nova is equivalent to two [I-A] losses."

Davis is certainly aware of the Wildcats' success this season. But he noted that he would have also held Michigan accountable for their famous loss to Appalachian State a few years back.

Like Wolf, Davis also gave Temple full credit for the win over Navy, even though the Midshipmen's starting quarterback, Ricky Dobbs, wasn't playing. But beyond that, Davis asked, "who are Temple's other quality wins?"

It is worth noting that Temple has not played Central Michigan, the only team in the MAC ranked higher in Sagarin than the Owls. But if Temple beats Kent State, the two teams will meet in the MAC title game.

That brings us us to this week's Crunchy Numbers.

Since I missed today's coaches luncheon, all the divisions together in this roundup. Most of the Division II and Division III seasons are over at this point anyway, with the notable exception of Delaware Valley.

Division I

21. Penn State (19)
Last week: Home win vs. No. 91/91 Indiana, 31-20
This week: 11/21 at No. 45 Michigan State, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
Sagarin predicts: Penn State by 3 (81.01 to 74.70 and 3.06)

34. Rutgers (53)
Last week: Home win vs. No. 22/38 South Florida, 31-0
This week: 11/21 at No. 95 Syracuse, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN360.com)
Sagarin predicts: Rutgers by 11 (78.06 to 64.35 and 3)

43. Villanova (46)
Last week: Road win vs. No. 195/193 Towson, 49-7
This week: 11/21 vs. No. 116 Delaware, 3:30 p.m. (Comcast Network)
Sagarin predicts: Villanova by 19 (76.60 and 3.06 to 60.41)

61. Temple (65)
Last week: Road win vs. No. 134/138 Akron, 56-17
This week: 12/21 vs. No. 108 Kent State, 1:00 p.m.
Sagarin predicts: Temple by 13 (71.94 and 3.06 to 61.83)

116. Delaware (116)
Last week: Road loss vs. No. 41/40 Navy, 35-18
This week: 11/21 at No. 43 Villanova, 3:30 p.m. (Comcast Network)
Sagarin predicts: Villanova by 19 (76.60 and 3.06 to 60.41)

122. Penn (137)
Last week: Road win vs. No. 157/150 Harvard, 17-7
This week: 11/21 vs. No. 220 Cornell, 1:00 p.m.
Sagarin predicts: Penn by 27 (59.19 and 3 to 35.53)

131. Lafayette (141)
Last week: Road loss vs. No. 150/135 Holy Cross, 28-26
This week: 11/21 at No. 198 Lehigh, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN360.com, RCN-4 or RCN-8, WPBPH-60, WFMZ-69)
Sagarin predicts: Lafayette by 13 (56.68 to 40.63 and 3.06)

It's the 145th meeting of the Leopards and the Mountain Hawks/Engineers, which I believe is a record of some kind.

205. Delaware State (189)
Last week: Home loss vs. No. 169/174 Norfolk State, 21-16
This week: 11/21 vs. No. 238 Howard, 1:00 p.m.
Sagarin predicts: Delaware State by 15 (39.76 and 3 to 27.30)

198. Lehigh (214)
Last week: Road win vs. No. 199/196 Fordham, 35-28
This week: 11/21 vs. No. 131. Lafayette, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN360.com, RCN-4 or RCN-8, WBPH-60, WFMZ-69)
Sagarin predicts: Lafayette by 13 (56.68 to 40.63 and 3.06)

219. Princeton (228)
Last week: Home win vs. No. 190/188 Yale, 24-17
This week: 11/21 at No. 203 Dartmouth, 12:30 p.m.
Sagarin predicts: Dartmouth by 8 (40.09 and 3 to 35.99)

230. Bucknell (237)
Last week: Road loss vs. No. 160/158 Colgate, 29-14
This week: 11/21 vs. No. 135 Holy Cross, 1:00 p.m.
Sagarin predicts: Holy Cross by 22 (56.18 to 31.46 and 3)

Divisions II and III

West Chester
Season over

Delaware Valley
Last week: Road win vs. Widener, 28-16
This week: 11/21 vs. Susquehanna, 12:00 p.m. (NCAA Division III playoffs first round)

The winner gets Albright or Alfred in the second round. Not sure where the game would be played, but that first-round game is at Alfred. Delaware Valley beat Albright to win the MAC's automatic playoff bid.

Rowan
Last week: Home win vs. The College of New Jersey, 39-0
This week: Season over

Sometimes, karma can be a good thing. Congrats to the Profs for winning without Mike Hoffman and their other injured starters.

Ursinus
Last week: Road win vs. Dickinson, 35-32
This week: Season over

Widener
Last week: Home loss vs. Delaware Valley, 28-16
This week: Season over

Lincoln
Season over

Cheyney
Season over

With a correction from the orginal version, couresty of longtime Penn statistician Stu Stuss.

Well, that was pretty gruesome, wasn't it.

If you're a Villanova fan, you have to be quite pleased with Maalik Wayns' team-high 16 points and the extended floor time given to the freshman trio of Wayns, Dominic Cheek and Mouphtaou Yarou.

But if you're neutral, you were either asleep five minutes in or scrambling to find an online feed somewhere of the Miami (Ohio)-Kentucky game.

(If you did find it, you saw John Wall hit the game-winner with half a second left. Anyone want some spare hype?)

The 38-point margin was among Penn's worst in program history.

(I had originally written that it was Penn's worst regular-season defeat in program history and its worst overall since Villanova's famous 90-47 win in the 1971 NCAA Tournament, citing a story in the Daily Pennsylvanian. Stu informed me that there have been worse regular-season defeats.)

But it was not the largest margin in Big 5 history. As Joe Juliano notes in his game recap, that honor belogs to Villanova's 98-57 win over La Salle in 2005.

(Which says at least a little something about how dominant the Wildcats have been for a while now.)

Villanova shot 58.7 percent from the field for the game, making 37 of 63 attempts. The Wildcats were 11-for-21 from three-point range (52.4%), 26-for-42 from two-point range (61.9%), and 18-for-23 from the free throw line (78.3%).

They pulled down 13 offensive rebounds and 33 defensive rebounds, and tallied 19 assists, 15 turnovers, four blocks and eight steals. Eleven of those turnovers came in the second half.

It adds up to 74 possessions and a whopping 1.380 points per possession. The breakdown by half was 1.515 points per possession in the first half and 1.251 in the second.

Penn, by contrast, shot 34.5 percent from the field (20-for-58). The Quakers were 9-for-32 (28.1%) from outside the arc and 11-for-26 inside it (42.3%), and 16-for-27 from the free throw line (59.3%).

Yes, they really took 32 three-point attempts.

The Quakers pulled down 10 offensive and 16 defensive rebounds and tallied 13 assists, 14 turnovers, no blocks and 10 steals. Darren Smith led all scorers with 21 points on 6-for-15 shooting, including 4-for-9 from three-point range. Rob Belcore added 16 points.

From where I sat, there wasn't much defense played on either end. And Penn only took five fewer shots while committing one fewer turnover in 40 minutes.

But it was never going to be close, especially with Penn center Andreas Schreiber making only one of six field goal attempts and four of seven free throws. That does not bode well going forward.

Villanova, on the other hand, can take a lot from having given 10 players 13 or more minutes on the floor tonight. And there wasn't much of a difference between the starters and the bench, though the opposition certainly had something to do with that. With three games in four days coming up in Puerto Rico, having this kind of depth is going to serve the Wildcats very well.

Postgame audio is below, as is Antonio Pena's Line of the Game. Before you get there, I wrote a nice little riff before the game that I hope you like. Even if you don't want to re-live the game, at least read on a little bit.

I meant to write this before the Drexel-St. Joe's game, but I didn't have the time, so here goes.

We had a heck of a summer. The Phillies took us on another joyride, going so deep into November that we barely had a week to prepare for the college basketball season.

But I've noticed since the beginning of the month that a lot of people are looking for something else in sports to latch on to now. The Eagles' inconsistency isn't helping with that, and the Michael Vick saga burned bridges with some fans that no amount of winning will repair anytime soon.

The 76ers are mediocre at best, and the Flyers have a long way to go before their games get meaningful. So what should fans do?

Well, we're here. In truth, we know we've been here all along. But with Villanova, La Salle and Temple all primed for big seasons, it might be college basketball's turn to step up into the local spotlight.

I know that not everyone has their own affiliation. But there's nothing wrong with embracing the game itself. Every team has a student section with atmosphere, a coach in front of the microphone, a senior leader, and a talented freshman who will evolve over the season. Some, like the Wildcats, have more than just one.

Our local teams compete in four different conferences, all of which stand at different levels of the game. But they share so many things in common that we know that to follow one means we should follow them all.

And so tonight we come upon the strongest of those bonds: the Big 5. Penn and Villanova christen the 55th season of City Series basketball tonight at the Pavilion. It is a lopsided matchup on paper, to be sure. But it is a game nonetheless.

The students are here, the coaches are here, the players are here. The lights are up, the bands are playing, and the stage is set.

And since we're at Brian Westbrook's alma mater, let's take the advice of his coach (just this once).

Tonight, the time is indeed ours.

[ Listen with own player ]

Penn 17, Harvard 7: My Inquirer recap | New York Times | Boston Globe

Postgame reactions from players and coaches on both teams are in the audio player below.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - I've only covered two funerals in my life, and both were just a few months apart.

I forget the exact date, but it was somewhere in the middle of 2005 that John McAdams was laid to rest. I stood in the back of the room watching everyone you've ever seen at the Palestra, Citizens Bank Park and countless other places pass by the casket to pay respects.

The second time came a few months later, after Kyle Ambrogi committed suicide. There were so many people in attendance that afternoon that I couldn't get into the church, and had to stand next to a window to try to hear the eulogies.

I will never forget seeing Penn's coaches and players carrying Ambrogi's casket out to the hearse, an incredibly moving act of symbolism for the late fullback.

I bring this up because of the one thing I didn't mention in my recap of yesterday's Penn-Harvard game: the effect Ambrogi's suicide had on the Penn football program.

Al Bagnoli made a somewhat off-hand reference to it at this past Wednesday's local coaches luncheon, and the New York Times' Dave Caldwell explored the matter in some depth yesterday.

We will never truly know how much Ambrogi's suicide affected the Penn football program. Almost all of what little evidence we have took place on the field. The Quakers routed Columbia in their frst game after Ambrogi died, then laid him to rest two days later. The following Saturday, they thumped Yale at Franklin Field.

I covered that Columbia game for the Inquirer, and still remember seeing Dan "Coach Lake" Staffieri on the Penn sideline in a blue cheesehead-style hat adorned with Ambrogi's number, 31.

"There was a lot of frustration, a lot of sadness," running back Sam Mathews said at hte time. "For three hours today we were able to forget about everything and work on getting this game for Kyle. "

Al Bagnoli was even more forceful.

"That was my hope. That once the game started, we were going to be an angry team," he said. "Angry at everything that happened, the lack of rationale for how something like this could happen, and play angry and play emotional, and I think we did that."

So was linebacker Ric San Doval.

"This isn't going to stop. It's going to continue on week to week," he said. "Everyone tries to play with a purpose. But when something like this occurs, this is the purpose... We have someone up there watching over us."

But instead of moving forward, the wheels came off. Penn lost its last four games of the season, and finished 3-4 in Ivy League play. It was their first finish below .500 in a decade.

The end of that season brought some catharsis, but the 2006 season was another roller-coaster ride. With their kicking game a shambles, Penn became the first NCAA team to ever lose three straight games in overtime en route to another 3-4 finish.

The Quakers finished 3-4 again in 2007, including losses early at Dartmouth and in three overtimes at Yale.

Penn started last year 4-0, then lost at home to Brown. They had a chance to win a share of the title at home against Harvard, but Keiffer Garton was intercepted in the end zone with 20 seconds left in the game.

This year, though, there have been no almosts or nearlies. The defense has been exceptional, allowing only two offensive touchdowns since halftime of the Columbia game a month ago.

And I really don't think you can overstate the importance of Penn's win in overtime at Brown on Halloween. Whether or not it should have been, the circumstance was clearly in the heads of Penn's players. Their reactions after the game left no doubt.

The Quakers' offense finally came to life last week, even if it was against a really bad Princeton team. So the stage was set for yesterday's championship showdown.

What transpired was a first half that even Manny Pacquiao would have appreciated. Penn outgained Harvard 105 yards to 19 in the first quarter and 175 to 57 in the first half, and never looked back after that.

Harvard woke up in the second half, and had a chance to make things really interesting when it got to the goal line with just under three minutes in the game.

But Penn's defense stood up on fourth down, and the emotional release on their sideline was clear for all to see. Even though Harvard got one more possession before time ran out, Crimson coach Tim Murphy knew what he had just seen.

"They were the better team today, and they deserved to win," Murphy said of Penn.

Technically, the title race isn't over yet. If Cornell beats Penn and Harvard beats Yale, the Quakers and Crimson will split the championship. But just like only one Big Ten team goes to the Rose Bowl, only one Ivy League team knows that it came out on top.

I suppose I wouldn't have brought any of this up if Bagnoli hadn't first. But it's hard to not see yesterday's win as Penn slamming the door shut on everything that has gone wrong over the last four years.

It might not mean anything next season, but shedding the burdens of history is always of consequence.

Though their respective contexts are completely different, how do the Temple football fans among you feel about being bowl-eligible for the first time in 30 years? And how do the La Salle basketball fans among you feel about being an NCAA Tournament darkhorse? Wouldn't that put to rest the ghosts of the scandals that rocked Olney Ave. earlier this decade?

This has been quite a college football season so far. Now we're at the point where our local teams and fans are getting ready to celebrate.

Not a bad way to get ready for basketball season, is it?

[ Listen with own player ]

It's over. Penn has its first Ivy League football championship in six years.

BOSTON - Let's get this out of the way first: it's absolutely pouring here at Harvard Stadium. It has been all day, and it's not going to let up at all from the forecasts I've seen.

If you were picking blind between the Ivy League's best defense and its best offense in conditions like this, you'd probably pick the defense. But as stout as Penn is, Harvard has the psychological edge of having won the last two Ivy League championships. And they're playing at home, on a field where the Quakers haven't won since 2003.

Which, not coincidentally, was the last year that Penn won the championship. Will this be the day Penn's wait finally ends?

It's time to find out.

This isn't really a preseason version of the poll, because the season is already underway. And it's not really fair to call it a Week 1 poll, because there hasn't been a full week of games yet for all the teams.

So we're going to call this the Opening Week edition of the Schuylkill 16. The next edition of the rankings will appear here on Wednesday, Nov. 25. We'll call that Week 3, and go from there.

It's not easy to do a ranking at this point in the season because we have so little information to work from. But we have plenty of comments to make up for it.

We also have what I will politely call an outlier in the first-place voting. Make fun of him as you wish.

On a less light note, I've added a new feature this year that I'm calling the Progression. It's a bit math-heavy, but I think it's sort of interesting. It works something like this.

Theoretically, if every voter cast the exact same ballot, the progression of points (thus the title) would be a straight line. Multiply the number of voters times one for the first place team, times two for the second place team, and so forth.

The chart that you'll displays the progression of points from the ballots that were cast compared to that straight line. I think it's got some kind of official name, but I haven't taken a math class in a really long time. If you know, post something in the comments.

Finally, a special thanks to the many new voters out there. Tf you want to join the party, just email me. The more the merrier.

I'll be back at around 6:45 for live coverage of Drexel at St. Joe's from courtside at Hagan Arena. See you then.

1. Villanova, 29 points (26 first-place votes)
- "You can pencil in #1 for 'Nova all season long. There is no team in the area better than the Wildcats." (Mike Birnbaum)
- "Has a lot of pressure on them with the pre-season No. 1 pick in the Big East." (Ryan Wixted)
- "A lot of expectations this year, but they won't need another Final Four run to stay #1 in this poll.  This could be the only team in the S16 to make the tournament." (Nick Catrambone)

Agree or disagree?

- "If Villanova legitimately drops out of the top spot in this poll, I'll jump in the Schuylkill." (Neil Fanaroff)

And there's your pith of the week.

2. Temple, 84 points
- "Really curious to see how they handle the first couple of weeks. Ryan Brooks and Lavoy Allen are going to have to step up the scoring with the loss of Dionte Christmas." (Ryan Wixted)
- "Depending on how well Brooks and Allen take the lead Temple's season could go south. (Max Wheeling)
- "It's going to be fun getting to watch Juan Fernandez for a full season. Might be the most exciting player in the area." (Mike Birnbaum)

Shall we start handicapping the Geasey Award now?

- "Unfortunately for Fran and gang, Christmas only came for 4 years." (Fred David)

3. La Salle, 110 points
- "Aaric Murray could put La Salle back into the post-season this year." (Mike Birnbaum)
- "In my mind, the Explorers have the best shot at finishing second in the S-16 this year." (Josh Wheeling)
- "Dr. John has his best team yet at La Salle.  An at-large bid in the tourney is a stretch but it's a step in the right direction for the program." (Nick Catrambone)
- "Giannini's fingerprints are all over this team and he finally has the right pieces in place to make a run in the A-10." (Ryan Wixted)
- "La Salle will beat Villanova and return to the NCAA tournament." (Charlie Wohlrab)

That would be quite a result, wouldn't it? The teams meet Nov. 28 at the Pavilion.

4. Penn State, 112 points
- "Penn State could be a real sleeper in the Big Ten this year." (Terrence D.)
- "Wins in the Big Ten will be hard to come by this year, so a lot will have to go right for another 10-8 conference record." (Nick Catrambone)

5. Saint Joseph's, 154 points
- "It's going to be a rough year in a tough A-10 for the Hawks.  Govens and Williamson are a nice backcourt, but they'll need others to step up for St. Joe's to have a respectable season." (Nick Catrambone)
- "The loss of Nivins and Carr will lead to a significant drop off for St. Joseph's and lead to a fairly one-sided Holy War." (Max Wheeling)
- " I think they can make a run late and hang in a competitive A-10." (Ryan Wixted)

6. Rutgers, 185 points
- "I think they're trying to hide something from us: 10 straight home games against cupcakes to open the year.  Whatever success they have early will end in January, another year at the bottom of the Big East for the Scarlet Knights." (Nick Catrambone)

7. Drexel, 187 points

8. Penn, 235 points
- "Penn's margin of defeat for their two games this weekend might be 70. Just once I'd like to be the big dog opening the season against a cupcake." (Neil Fanaroff)
- "I can feel it in the air; this is the year for the Quakers!" (Fred David)

In basketball or women's lacrosse?

9. Rider, 248 points
- "I probably have Rider way too high, but I like that first place vote they got in the MAAC preseason poll." (Brian O'Neill)
- "Great non-conference challenges for Rider in November with trips to Mississippi State, Virginia, Kentucky, and Cancun. Talk about scheduling tough. I can't wait to work on my tan in Cancun!" (Steve Rudenstein)

A special welcome to Steve, who is the Broncs' radio broadcaster.

10. Princeton, 276 points

11. Delaware, 297 points

12. Lehigh, 299 points
- "Can someone explain the difference to me between Lehigh and Lafayette?  Is it the same school?  I've always been confused by this." (Terrence D.)

The one hosts Eagles training camp and the other hosts Crayola. Right?

13. Bucknell, 303 points
- "They might be the biggest team in the Patriot League, but I'm not sure if there's enough talent." (Nick Catrambone, who has clearly done his homework)

14. Lafayette, 369 points
- "The biggest question mark in the S16." (Nick Catrambone, again)

15. Monmouth, 389 points

16. Delaware State, 399 points

You knew Villanova coach Andy Talley would talk about the Wildcats' win at Richmond during this afternoon's local college football coaches luncheon.

But as happens every once in a while, Talley took a moment to step away from the football field. You may recall that a few weeks ago, I noted that Talley is very involved with raising awareness about bone marrow transplants, and works with many of his fellow coaches in the region to find donors.

Well, we learned today that Rowan defensive lineman Mike Hoffman has been called to be a donor. According to Talley and Profs coach Jay Accorsi, the 6-3 junior from Burlington Township will be donating next week to perhaps help save someone's life.

The donor is a 52-year-old male with lymphoma, Accorsi said.

This would be noteworthy under any circumstance, but it is made even more so because Hoffman will be missing his team's final game of the season. Rowan faces the College of New Jersey on Saturday in what is a rivalry game.

"He's a spectacular young man," Accorsi said of Hoffman. "He's given up the last game of his junior year to try to save an individual."

Accorsi added that when the donation was set up, he and his team figured that the game wouldn't have any stakes relative to the postseason. Hoffman tried to reschedule the transplant, but there isn't much room to be flexible when you're dealing with a real life-or-death situation.

"We thought we would have more games, and that obviously didn't happen. "I've left it up to [Matt] the whole time, [and] the bone marrow people told him that the individual is just too ill, and we've got to try to get this done as soon as possible."

After his remarks about Hoffman, Talley changed the subject to the "minor stuff" that happened last Saturday. It was certainly a back-and-forth game, and Villanova was quite fortunate that Richmond kicker Andrew Howard hooked that last-second field goal attempt wide left.

"Sometimes you'd rather be lucky than good, and I think right now we were just flat-out lucky," Talley said.

When I heard that, I couldn't help thinking about Mike Hoffman and whoever really is lucky enough to be getting that bone-marrow transplant. I know I shouldn't be doing too much non-sports stuff on here, but it's important to remember that there are more important things in the world.

You can hear from Talley, Penn coach Al Bagnoli, and others in the audio player below. West Chester coach Bill Zwaan came by for the first time this season, and took a look back at the year after the Golden Rams' last game this past Saturday.

Delaware Valley coach Jim Clements and Widener defensive coordinator Mike Guille were also in the spotlight, as their teams will play for the Keystone Cup this coming Saturday in Chester.

A reminder that I'll be blogging live from Harvard Stadium this Saturday as Penn and Harvard play for the Ivy League championship. I talked with the Harvard athletic department this afternoon and was told that there is still no deal for a television broadcast, so my blog will be the best way to get live updates on the game.

Here's the full slate of Division II and Division III action:

West Chester
Last week: Home win vs. Mercyhurst, 45-13
This week: Season over

Delaware Valley
Last week: Home win vs. Albright, 45-16
This week: 11/14 at Widener, 1:00 p.m.

Rowan
Last week: Home loss vs. Montclair State, 14-7
This week: 11/14 vs. The College of New Jersey, 1:00 p.m.

Ursinus
Last week: Home win vs. Muhlenberg, 24-10
This week: 11/14 at Dickinson, 1:00 p.m.

Widener
Last week: Road loss vs. Wilkes, 29-24
This week: 11/14 vs. Delaware Valley, 1:00 p.m.

Lincoln
Season over

Cheyney
Last week: Home loss vs. Clarion, 32-12
This week: Season over

[ Listen with own player ]

Let's start tonight by setting out the agenda for the rest of the week. After going to the football coaches' luncheon tomorrow, and I'll post the Spectacle of the Week poll and Top 10 chart on Thursday this week.

On Friday, you'll get the season's first edition of the Schuylkill 16 rankings. Then I'll head out to City Avenue for Drexel-St. Joe's, as the Hawks christen Hagan Arena with a good matchup.

I was at Hagan Arena this afternoon for St. Joe's media day, and you'll get that blog post later tonight. There will be a lengthy audio track of Phil Martelli talking to reporters and a photo gallery of the new gym.

After Friday night's game, I will head straight to 30th Street Station and get on a train bound for Boston. A few hours of sleep later, I'll head to Harvard Stadium to cover Penn's Ivy League football title showdown against the Crimson for the Inquirer.

I know that a couple of you have gotten on my case for writing about Penn a lot, but it's what I do and I've said that many times before. This game is particularly important, as a win would give the Quakers their first championship since 2003.

If that happens, we could be on course for the most successful season in local college football history. I can't remember ever seeing or reading about a year in which Penn, Villanova and Temple all won conference championships. That is a real possibility. I'd love to hear from the historians among you about whether anything like this has happened before.

It's important to note that the Penn-Harvard game will not be on television anywhere. So I will be liveblogging from the press box, and I would strongly encourage you to join me starting just before noon. I know a lot of Penn fans read this blog, so hopefully the word will get out.

Next Monday, I'll be courtside at the Pavilion as Penn and Villanova meet in the first Big 5 game of the season. Then on Tuesday, I'll be live-blogging from Washington as Temple faces Georgetown as part of ESPN's 24-hour college basketball marathon.

That game will start at 4 p.m., so be sure to check out the blog if you're stuck at your desk and can't get to a television.

I'll probably go dark for a few days after that. I might put up a post on Thursday or Friday, but the next live events will be on the 21st. I'll be covering the Penn-Cornell football game and the Penn-Delaware basketball game for the Inquirer, and there will be live coverage from Franklin Field.

I would do something for the basketball game, but since that's a 7 p.m. tipoff I'll have print deadlines to deal with. So there probably won't be a liveblog for that game.

That's the agenda for the next few weeks. The intersection of college football and basketball is always a crazy time, but it's also a lot of fun. And as you know, this blog is the best place to take it all in.

Now we get to the latest edition of Football Crunchy Numbers. This week's home advantage factor is 3.11 points.

19. Penn State (12)
Last week: Home loss vs. No. 19/12 Ohio State, 24-7
This week: 11/14 vs. No. 91 Indiana, 12:00 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Sagarin predicts: Penn State by 20 (82.01 and 3.11 to 65.60)

46. Villanova (49)
Last week: Road win vs. No. 53/57 Richmond, 21-20
This week: 11/14 at No. 195 Towson, 1:00 p.m.
Sagarin predicts: Villanova by 31 (76.13 to 41.80 and 3.11)

53. Rutgers (55)
Last week: No game
This week: 11/12 vs. No. 22 South Florida, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Sagarin predicts: South Florida by 3 (79.97 to 74.08 and 3.11)

65. Temple (61)
Last week: Home win vs. No. 145/140 Miami (Ohio), 34-32
This week: 11/13 at No. 134 Akron, 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Sagarin predicts: Temple by 10 (70.94 to 57.36 and 3.11)

116. Delaware (114)
Last week: Home win vs. No. 151/154 Hofstra, 28-24
This week: 11/14 at No. 41 Navy, 3:30 p.m. (CBS College Sports)
Sagarin predicts: Delaware by 20 (77.21 and 3.11 to to 60.35)

137. Penn (135)
Last week: Home win vs. No. 225/228 Princeton, 42-7
This week: 11/14 at No. 157 Harvard, 12:00 p.m.
Sagarin predicts: Penn by 1 (56.30 to 52.45 and 3.11)

141. Lafayette (141)
Last week: Home win vs. No. 163/160 Colgate, 56-49
This week: 11/14 at No. 150 Holy Cross, 12:30 p.m. (RCN-4 or RCN-8, WPBPH-60)
Sagarin predicts: Holy Cross by 1 (53.80 and 3.11 to 55.97)

189. Delaware State (185)
Last week: Road win vs. No. 227/229 Winston-Salem State, 24-21
This week: 11/14 vs. No. 169 Norfolk State, 1:00 p.m.
Sagarin predicts: Norfolk State by 2 (48.07 to 43.18 and 3.11)

214. Lehigh (214)
Last week: Home loss vs. No. 150/150 Holy Cross, 24-20
This week: 11/14 at No. 199 Fordham, 12:30 p.m.
Sagarin predicts: Fordham by 7 (41.57 and 3.11 to 37.48)

228. Princeton (225)
Last week: Road loss vs. No. 135/137 Penn, 42-7
This week: 11/14 vs. No. 190. Yale, 1:00 p.m. (YES Network)
Sagarin predicts: Yale by 8 (43.12 to 31.88 and 3.11)

237. Bucknell (236)
Last week: Road loss vs. No. 194/199 Fordham, 21-7
This week: 11/14 at No. 160 Colgate, 1:00 p.m.
Sagarin predicts: Colgate by 25 (50.57 and 3.11 to 28.89)

I know a lot of people are still smarting from the Phillies' loss last night. But the great thing about sports is that we can always find something to talk about, so let's give it a try.

Villanova coach Andy Talley led off the list of speakers at yesterday's local college football coaches' luncheon. His Wildcats are preparing to face Richmond this weekend, and the excitement is building.

"It's a very big game in the country, No. 4 versus No. 1," Talley said. He added that the stakes include the CAA title, at least one home game in the playoffs and a potential top-four seed in the playoff bracket.

Talley noted that the two teams are largely the same as they were last year, when the Wildcats beat the Spiders on the Main Line. Then he did something that I don't ever remember him doing: he put himself in the middle of the conversation.

"This game is everything that I would want in a career game," Talley said. "I think it's one of the more important games in my stay at Villanova because of the implications. And last year, when you miss a championship by 4.5 seconds you come back really hungry to see if your program can get what you need to get to win a championship."

There are plenty of football coaches out there who can talk a lot and make any game into a big deal. This game really is one, and it was refreshing to see Talley admit how much it means to him.

You can hear more from Talley in the audio player below. Before that, though, check out what the region's Division II and Division III teams are up to.

And come back later today for my interview with Mike Hlas of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the writer who put Temple on his AP Top 25 ballot. He has an interesting explanation of why he put the Owls on his ballot.

West Chester
Last week: Home win vs. Bloomsburg, 30-14
This week: 11/7 vs. Mercyhurst, 1:00 p.m.

Delaware Valley
Last week: Road win vs. King's College, 47-21
This week: 11/7 vs. Albright, 1:00 p.m.

Rowan
Last week: Road loss vs. Kean, 23-20 (OT)
This week: 11/7 vs. Montclair State, 1:00 p.m.

Yes, it's fair to wonder whether the Profs should have saved up a few points from the last few weeks...

Ursinus
Last week: Home loss vs. Moravian, 20-19
This week: 11/7 vs. Muhlenberg, 1:00 p.m.

Widener
Last week: Home loss vs. Lebanon Valley, 24-0
This week: 11/7 at Wilkes, 1:00 p.m.

Lincoln
Last week: Road loss vs. St. Paul's College, 16-6
This week: Season over

Cheyney
Last week: Home loss vs. Shippensburg, 31-10
This week: 11/7 vs. Clarion, 12:00 p.m.

[ Listen with own player ]