August 16, 2010

Penn Ranked 23rd in The Sports Network Preseason Poll

Courtesy of Penn Athletic Communications

PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania football team will start the 2010 campaign in the Top 25. In the preseason Top 25 media poll presented by The Sports Network (TSN) and Fathead.com released Monday, Penn is ranked No. 23 in the nation. The Quakers are the only Ivy League team in the Top 25.

This is the first time the Quakers are ranked in the preseason poll since they opened the 2004 season with the same ranking. That was also the last time the Red and Blue entered a season as the defending Ivy League champions. The Quakers currently hold the nation's second-longest active winning streak (eight), only behind defending FCS champion Villanova (nine), who was voted the preseason No. 1. The Wildcats received 104 of the 126 first-place votes for 3,112 points. Penn, who received 593 points, will take on Villanova on Sept. 25 at Villanova Stadium.
Six of Penn's 10 opponents are listed in the media poll. In addition to facing the No. 1 team in the nation, Penn will take on five teams who are among those receiving votes - Lafayette (Sept. 18 at Franklin Field), Brown (Oct. 30 homecoming at Franklin Field), Princeton (Nov. 6 on VERSUS at Princeton Stadium), Harvard (Nov. 13 at Franklin Field) and Cornell (Nov. 20 at Schoellkopf Field). This means each of the first two games and each of the last four games will be against teams with preseason Top 25 votes.

The Quakers were ranked No. 20 by the TSN media poll at the conclusion of last season when they finished with the nation's top-ranked defense, had 18 players named to the All-Ivy teams, won the last eight games and claimed the program's 14th Ivy title. It was the program's highest ranking since they were No. 12 at the end of 2003.

Penn returns 42 letterwinners for 2010, including 15 starters and 10 All-Ivy honorees. Eight starters will return on offense, five starters are back from the nation's top-ranked defense, and both specialists will return. The home and season opener is against the Leopards at 7 p.m.

About the TSN/Fathead.com Top 25 Media Poll: During the regular season, the Top 25 media poll will be released every Monday afternoon, except for on the final weekend when it will be released on Sunday morning, Nov. 21, due to its use as an official tool by the NCAA Division I Football Committee in selecting the 20-team playoff field.