Penn Spoils Columbia’s Al Bagnoli’s Homecoming

Sometimes going home isn’t always a good thing. Columbia head coach Al Bagnoli’s return to Penn ended with a 35-10 loss on Saturday.

Al Bagnoli spent 23 years (1992-2014) as the head football coach at Penn and guided the Quakers to nine Ivy League Championships, a 140-89 overall record and 112-49 Ivy League record. Ironically, Al Bagnoli last game at Franklin Field seem to be very similar  to this one. Columbia hasn’t won a game at Franklin Field since Oct 12, 1996. Overall, this is Penn’s 2oth straight win versus Columbia.

Penn (3-2, 2-0 Ivy) dominated the second half after a slow start to pick up its eighth straight Ivy League victory dating back to last season. The Lions (1-4, 0-2) struggled again on offense as they have all season, and their strong first-half defense was nowhere to be found after the (very eventful)halftime break. The Lions only gave up one touchdown in the first half.

Penn quarterback Alek Torgersen sparked a 28-point second half as he passed for 241 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Quakers to an impressive win at home versus Columbia.

The Good Half 

Columbia trailed just 7-0 at halftime after a stellar first half performance from its defense, which entered the game ranked No. 21 nationally in total defense. In the first half, the Lions limited Penn to just six first downs, 72 rushing yards and 78 passing yards. Junior Landon Baty intercepted his first career pass and senior Gianmarco Rea registered a key sack in the Lions’ effort. Penn’s lone touchdown came just six minutes into the game when the Quakers took advantage of a Columbia turnover to take a 7-0 lead on a one-yard run by Solomon. The touchdown was setup by a Nick Miller interception off a deflected Columbia pass, which put Penn at Columbia’s 10-yard line.

By The Numbers 

Columbia junior quarterback Anders Hill completed 17 of 34 passes for 179 yards, senior Cameron Dunn led Columbia with five catches for 56 yards, senior tight end John Hunton caught four passes for 51 yards and senior running back Alan Watson rushed for 49 yards on 18 carries. Senior Brock Kenyon led the Lions’ defense with nine tackles and senior Keith Brady added eight.

Columbia Lions are back home on Saturday afternoon to play Dartmouth at 1:30 pm.