Cornell, Penn meet for pride again

For the second straight year, Penn is 5-4 entering week 10. Last weekend, the Penn football team took to the gridiron to fight for a piece of the Ivy league championship. Tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. on Franklin Field, the Quakers will be playing for pride alone against Cornell. In seven days, the Quakers (5-4 overall, 4-2 Ivy) have gone from being a team with title aspirations to a squad that wants to finish the season above the .500 level. That was a feat Penn was not able to accomplish last fall when it traveled to Ithaca, N.Y., and was dropped by the Big Red, 24-21. Until last season, the Quakers had stomped on Cornell (5-4, 3-3) for five straight years. Dismantling Penn's winning streak was yet another indication the days of Red and Blue domination were slowly coming to an end. This season, what was hinted at last fall has become reality. Both clubs have struggled as they enter Franklin Field tomorrow with identical records. For Penn and Cornell, picking up the pieces from sub-par seasons and avoiding further disappointment will be the task at hand. "While this game doesn't have any title implications, it means a lot in terms of pride," Quakers captain and safety John Bishop said. "I would be really surprised and disappointed if we didn't come out Saturday and play well." Penn coach Al Bagnoli commented that the Quakers' offense will not revert to anything radical to get the team jumpstarted after being shut out by Harvard, 33-0, last weekend. This is the final game of the season, and Bagnoli indicated he intends to go back to what had worked for the previous four victories. What this means is a plethora of handoffs to junior running back James Finn -- the second-leading rusher in the Ivies with 701 yards, not to mention his nine touchdowns. When the ball isn't being given to Finn, Quakers quarterback Matt Rader will take to the air in search of young receivers who continue to take small steps towards becoming big-time playmakers. Despite the threat Penn's receiving corps poses, Cornell coach Jim Hofher believes Penn's biggest asset on offense is Finn. "Finn is a heck of a runner," Hofher said. "If we allow him to get loose it will be very tough to contain Rader and we already have seen plenty of tape on how good his arm is. But for us, the key will be shutting down Penn's running attack." It would be fair to assume from the tone in Hofher's voice that his fear of the Quakers' receivers is slight. From Penn's point of view, this could be a chance to catch Hofher and his Big Red players off-guard. "We are going to continue to work on the passing game," Bagnoli said earlier in the week. "But obviously we are not going to abandon the run. It will be important to get everyone involved offensively. I can only hope we are more successful than last weekend." As for the Penn players, especially the seniors, whether they catch Cornell by surprise or run the ball down its throat does not matter, as long as victory ensues. Bishop, along with fellow defensive standouts Mitch Marrow and Tim Gage, will put on the Penn jersey for the last time tomorrow. According to Bishop, putting the Harvard game behind them will not be easy, but the seniors want to make sure Penn goes out a winner in '97. It has been tough for the fifth-year senior, who is only days away from graduating and moving on to the real world. "I can't speak for everyone, but we've got a job to do this weekend, and my focus is on that," Bishop said. "However, there is a part of me that has been trying to put a perspective on this week. "There's definitely a sadness associated with this being the last chance to participate in football, but for the most part I just feel lucky to have gotten the chance to be around such a great group of people, teammates and coaches."

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