For Penn, Bagnoli's final home game

BEFORE THE SEASON, Penn's Al Bagnoli said he didn't want to talk about this being his last until it actually got to that point.

Well, it's here.

Tomorrow afternoon, the second-winningest coach in Ivy League history will take his Quakers onto the field for the final time at Franklin Field. They'll be playing Harvard, in the game that so often in the recent past has determined the title. That's not the case this time. The unbeaten Crimson are ranked 17th in FCS. Penn (1-7, 1-4) is going through its worst season since 1991, the year before Bagnoli arrived. So it hasn't been the kind of farewell tour that was hoped for in West Philly. He still has handled it about as well as possible. Nobody would have expected anything less.

"I'm telling the seniors, 'We're all part of the Class of 2014,' " he said. "I commend our kids for hanging in there and giving the effort they've been giving."

Bagnoli's home record is 82-34, 62-19 in the Ivies. He's 14-8 anywhere against Harvard, which has lost three of its last four here. The win was by three in 2008, on an end-zone interception at the end.

"I've enjoyed the competition we've had with them," Bagnoli acknowledged. "It's been fun. Hopefully we can make it interesting.

"In prior years it's had an awful lot of implications, which is great. It's developed into a very healthy and respectful rivalry. Again, given our status, the condition we're in, we'll have to play really well."

Injuries have been a big part of the problem. The Quakers are also young. It hasn't made for a conducive combination.

"We've had some critical mistakes," Bagnoli explained. "At one point [last week at Princeton] we were playing four freshmen in our defensive front seven. I'm encouraged by the resolve the kids have had. But we're outmanned right now.

"I'm frustrated by the inconsistency in doing the routine things, which we've never had issues with. That's probably keeping me up at nights more than anything else. Things I call routine we've struggled with, for whatever reason. That's probably been the most disappointing part."

Next week, they'll finish at winless Cornell, where it figures to be even more emotional. But first . . .

"We're just trying to figure out where some of the pieces actually go, because they keep changing all the time," Bagnoli said. "We all have medical issues. Ours have gone above and beyond.

"We've been so preoccupied, with so many moving parts, [and] zero continuity, it seems like every time you turn around there's something different you have to address. Shuffling kids, what you can't do based on who you have available, how you have to go about the game and everything else. That's probably as challenging as anything."

The Wildcats (8-2, 5-1 CAA), ranked sixth in FCS, host Albany (6-4, 2-4) in their final regular-season home game. They'd like to have at least one more in the postseason, should they put themselves there.

"We're playing a dangerous team that has an opportunity to spoil our party," said coach Andy Talley. "That's something we've talked about. They understand this is an extremely important game for us to get where we want to get to, to be a top eight playoff team.

"I think we'll be centered on this game. It's on TV. That helps. I always hype that a little, like this is a chance to show the world who you are and what you have and what the goods are and all that."

They'll close next week at Delaware (6-4, 4-2).

"That's something we never look ahead to," Talley said. "We know it to be World War III, no matter what each of us are producing at that point. It's going to be a rivalry game.

"We've been through the grinder. We know this is a big step in the progression."

Or at least the next one.