Penn hopes to turn things around as it begins Ivy schedule

PENN HAS BEEN in this spot before. That's what can happen when you open up at least 2 weeks after everyone else each year and Villanova is your annual second obstacle.

So the Quakers have good reason why they haven't started 2-0 since 2003, when they put together their third unbeaten season under Al Bagnoli. It's not an excuse, merely reality.

Now, for the third time in 4 years and sixth in the last 8, they are 0-2. Even though they did lead by 12 points in the fourth quarter in their opener at Jacksonville, which had already played twice.

Dropping their first two didn't keep the Quakers from winning the Ivy League in 2009 and 2012. They also got a ring in 2010 after opening 1-1.

Tomorrow, Penn visits Dartmouth for its traditional Ivy opener. The Quakers have owned this series for a decade-and-a-half, yet they were picked to finish fourth in the preseason Ivy poll, right behind the Big Green.

"You want to win them all, but every league game is a league game," said senior running back Kyle Wilcox, who scored the team's lone touchdown in Saturday's 41-7 Franklin Field loss to Villanova (3-1), which is ranked fifth in FCS. "I don't know how else to describe it.

"We're still confident. What happened is in the past. In the league, every game's a playoff. A lot of us have been together through everything. We have a special bond. We want to go out on top. This is what you remember most. It's what drives us.

"You don't want to have to be fighting uphill the rest of the way."

The Quakers have lost to Dartmouth once since 1997, in 2007, which also was the only time they ever lost their first three under Bagnoli. That year, they finished 4-6, 3-4 Ivy, which was their record last season when they dropped their last four.

"We knew all along that we were going to have a challenging early schedule," said Bagnoli, whose team visits Fordham (4-1) next week. "For us, it's hard to measure where we are. You're trying to make an assessment of how much better you've gotten between Week 1 and 2, which incrementally is the week you're supposed to make progress, and we're always playing Villanova. So it puts us in a very precarious situation. We have a few more question marks coming out of that game than I would have liked. It really puts you in harm's way.

"Hopefully, getting into league play will get our kids a little more revved up. But the cast is always different. Every team has a different set of resiliency. Every team you kind of have to gauge. Is this team going to have a psychological scar, an emotional scar, a confidence scar? Some teams can shake it off, and some you don't know. I'm not sure where we are. We're still in the evaluation phase. If we're going to play Villanova, I'd rather do it in Week 1. Then you can show some improvement heading into the league. But that's not how it works."

One thing's for sure: Bagnoli, who is retiring after this season, his 23rd at Penn, won't miss the 7-hour bus ride to Hew Hampshire. By contrast, Villanova will take a charter flight to Maine for its game tomorrow.

"I don't think we're on equal footing in the misery index in terms of travel, if there is such a thing," Bagnoli said. "I wish there was an easier way to get to Hanover. Unfortunately, there isn't. It's right up there with not playing Villanova anymore. If I had a Letterman Top 10, those might be 1 and 2."

Fortunately, the ride home has mostly been all good.

"It's pretty grueling," Wilcox said. "You feel like you're on the bus forever. I've taken planes to China before. That's, like, 17 hours, so I know. At least on a plane, you feel like you're going fast.

"I just know we don't want it to feel that long coming back."

Not if they want to finally get the season going once again.