Gridders Take On Penn Today

Two standards of success will play in The Stadium this afternoon.

On one side of the field is Pennsylvania, undefeated and ranked 12th in the nation. Second-year Coach Al Bagnoli has an 83-13 record in six years of coaching at the Division III and I-AA levels. He has the Quakers--who finished sixth in the Ivies not three years ago--up to powerhouse status.

On the other side is Harvard Coach Joe Restic, the old mentor to Bagnoli's young hotshot. It will be Restic's last home game today after 23 years of devotion to the Crimson and a record of just above .500.

The old vs. The new. The difference in college football has never been seen in this much relief.

Penn (8-0 overall, 5-0 Ivy), by the way, is heavily favored to knock off Harvard (3-5 overall, 1-4 in the league), although the conventional wisdom thinks an upset is not out of reach.

Harvard is coming off three straight losses which Restic has called some of the toughest in his career and could be waiting to explode. Pennsylvania, fresh off its big 30-14 win over Princeton last weekend, just might be looking too far ahead.

While Harvard is out of title contention, it hasn't lost to Penn at home since 1972. Penn also has pressure to stay on top, while the Crimson will have the emotional lift of trying to end Restic's home career with a triumph.

Restic will be going for his school record 118th victory against unbeaten Pennsylvania, which leads Princeton and Dartmouth by one game with two left in the lvy League race.

"I have no emotional feeling about it," Restic said of his final home game. "I don't think I'll think about my situation until next week" in the traditional finale at Yale.

He's more focused on knocking off Penn which can clinch the title with wins over Harvard and, the following Saturday, over Cornell.

"We don't have any pressure. They have the pressure," Restic said. "I believe in history and tradition. Sometimes your people rise to the occasion."

Around the Ivy League

Dartmouth, home against Brown, and Princeton, which plays host to Yale, are 4-1 in the Ivy League.

After a 1-3 start, Dartmouth has won four straight games to stay in the running for a fourth straight Ivy championship. SPORTS CUBE PREDICTS

John B. Trainer, Sports Editor Pennsylvania  26 Harvard  25

Ivan Oransky, Science Editor Pennslvania  1740 Harvard  1636

Marion B. Gammill, Staff Writer Harvard  24 Pennsylvania  21

Nan Zheng, Staff Writer Pennsylvania  30 Harvard  14