Penn Hosts Columbia Saturday In Ivy Action
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- The Penn Quakers will be back home on Saturday as they welcome Columbia to Franklin Field in Ivy League action.
The Quakers are coming off a 60-22 loss to #12/#13 Fordham last weekend in the Bronx. The game actually was more competitive than the final score would indicate. While the defense did really struggle against one of the nation's top offenses, the Quakers also rolled up 510 yards of total offense and picked up 24 first downs.
"Offensively, we did a lot of good things," Penn head coach Al Bagnoli tells KYW Newsradio. "Unfortunately, we had red zone issues, ended up kicking five field goals. Jimmy Gammill, our place kicker, broke the all-time Penn record for field goals in a contest, and that's usually good news. But also, on the flip side, it means that your red zone attack is not scoring touchdowns, which you need against a high-powered offense."
Gammill is in the midst of a fine season for the Quakers. After Saturday's record setting performance, he is now 8 for 9 on field goals this season and one of his five field goals against the Rams was a season long 48-yarder.
Listen to the whole interview with Penn's Al Bagnoli
The Quakers are now 0-4 on the season after that Fordham loss and on Saturday they will face an 0-4 Columbia team. Bagnoli says they really need this game.
"It's real big," Bagnoli says. "I think a 'W' would do a world of good for our confidence. We need something good to happen to us."
Columbia is coming off a 61-28 loss on the road at Monmouth and Penn has really had their way with them for quite some time, winning the last 17 match-ups in this series. But Bagnoli says he expects Columbia to cause them problems on Saturday.
"Schematically, they always give you issues," Bagnoli says. "Pete Mangurian, who is the current head coach, spent a long time in the NFL. I think they do a really good job in a lot of areas. Their kids always play hard, they're always tough kids, they're always really sound. So we'll have to execute well."
Last season, Penn beat the Lions 21-7 in New York City.
Saturday's game will kickoff at 1:00 pm at Franklin Field.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
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