Kern: Bagnoli returns to Franklin Field with Columbia

LAST YEAR was one thing. This week promises to be much different.

Al Bagnoli is making his first trip back to the place where he made a historic impact for almost a quarter-century.

"I don't know if I could go back to Villanova Stadium and coach against my old team," said longtime Wildcat head man Andy Talley, who's retiring at the end of this season. "I don't think that happens a lot."

He's probably right. But Bagnoli knew this moment would be coming when he decided to take over the Columbia program in February 2015, three months after he had coached the Quakers for the last time, in a move that just kind of came out of nowhere. And Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., the guy who won nine titles in 23 seasons in West Philly will return to Franklin Field.

As the visitor.

"I've had nothing but great memories and great experiences there, but obviously it's going to be something completely new," Bagnoli said. "I'm thrilled about going back. Hopefully, it's a chance to see some people I haven't seen in a while. But it shouldn't be about me or Ray (Priore, his successor). It should be about them trying to win a championship, and us trying to compete and eventually win a championship. That's really what's important. But it has a story line because I worked there. I understand that. I just don't want it to become all that people focus on."

Good luck with that.

"I know it's not common," he went on. "And the fact that Ray was on my staff for the whole time. So it's certainly got all the sidebars, if you want to call them that. And they become the biggest part of it, not just a part of it. So the story line gets skewered. At the end of the day, we're trying to accomplish some things and so are they."

Right now, they're not remotely close to being the same things. Of course, everyone knew that. The Quakers are 2-2, 1-0 in the Ivy League, coming off a season in which they got a share of the title after being picked to finish sixth. This time, they came in second in the preseason media poll, just behind Harvard, although they received two more first-place votes.

Columbia (1-3) won twice last year, which was two more than it won in either of the two seasons before that. The Lions, who were picked seventh (ahead of Cornell, which is 3-1 following a loss at Harvard), just got their first victory, 15-13 at 3-2 Wagner. It might not seem like much, but at Columbia no positive can ever be considered minor.

"We knew this was going to be a challenge, and it has been," Bagnoli said. "There's still a long way to go, but we feel like we're making progress. We're trying to set a foundation that can solidify the program over the long haul. As a coach, you have to constantly remind yourself not to just look at things in the present. But that's how we're wired.

"Like any other job, once you get there, you realize your perceptions were probably accurate. Then you kind of stumble onto other things that you didn't even think about that are also issues. The craters become a little more prevalent, and a little deeper. We know what we inherited. The one thing we don't have is tradition. At Penn, it was a whole other culture. The bar was a championship. So I've been in both scenarios. It's just worked out this way. And it would be nowhere near the story if Ray had left to be the Columbia coach."

True enough. Penn has won 19 straight over the Lions. The last time Columbia won, Marcellus Wiley (NFL, ESPN) was a senior on an 8-2 team. The final was 20-19, here. The Lions had also won the previous year, by 10 in New York. In Bagnoli's fourth season at Penn.

"That was so long ago," Priore said. "I was a young pup. In those days, I think (Wiley) played both ways. And (coach) Ray Tellier was doing that Tim Tebow stuff with his offense. Yeah, it is hard to believe it's been that many years.

"It's all good. I really think it's more on Al's side. I'm still on the Penn sideline. I've got to believe it'll feel a little strange for him when he runs on the field. But from my standpoint it's business as usual, except that I worked for him for 23 years. But it's more for others (to talk about) than the actual teams."

Last year, the score was 42-7 up there. The last time Bagnoli coached against Columbia, it was 31-7.

"What gets a little crazy is you look out there and it's kids you recruited on the other team," Bagnoli said. "Usually when you watch film you'll go, 'Boy, that No. 5 is really good.' Now it's, 'That (Justin) Watson's really good.' And he is. And he was when he was playing for me.

"A lot of people told me, 'With that quarterback (Alek Torgersen) and wide receiver, why did you pick then to retire?' Maybe they're right. But Ray and his staff did a great job making the most out of that talent. It wasn't a fluke. They won at Harvard. I have so much respect for that program. I think the change has been good for them. Hopefully, we can start earning some respect for our program."

Maybe even beginning this weekend.

"They might have to point me in the right direction," he joked. "Again, it's going to be different. It has to be, because I haven't been through it. Hopefully, I get to the right sideline and don't end up standing next to Ray."

Now that might make news.

@mikekerndn