Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - It's probably expected to seem like the Ivy League will be turned upside down on Oct. 17, when Penn visits Columbia.

Coach Al Bagnoli, who guided Penn to nine Ivy championships and the second- highest win total in league history over the last 23 seasons, will be on the sideline of the home team, guiding a Columbia program that has been downtrodden and has captured only one Ivy title - in 1961.

But by midseason, Bagnoli hopes to have ended what is a 21-game Columbia losing streak entering the campaign and that all will have moved on from the surprising appointment of one of the league's iconic coaches at another league school.

Ray Priore, who was with Bagnoli every step of the way at Penn as an assistant coach, will guide the Quakers in a season of change.

Well, the big picture may not be changing too much. Harvard, coming off an unbeaten season as the Ivy champion, and Dartmouth, last year's league runner- up, remain the teams to beat this year.

Here's a look across the Ivy League with spring practices getting underway around the nation:

STORY LINES

Harvard always reloads and not rebuilds, but coach Tim Murphy lost plenty of key seniors, including quarterback Conner Hempel, center Nick Easton, defensive end Zack Hodges, defensive tackle Obum Obukwelu and safety Norman Heyes. The Crimson generally attract top Ivy recruits.

Bagnoli got a late start on trying to rebuild Columbia's program and the recruiting class was small. But there's a renewed sense of optimism surrounding the program and the perception is the Lions should take immediate steps toward improvement, perhaps with a couple wins mixed in.

For a team that didn't return any starters on offense last season, Brown likely was pleased with a 5-5 record. This year, the Bears return an experienced team, including quarterback Marcus Fuller benefiting from veteran linemen and wide receivers.

Princeton has the most unique spring game in the FCS. Coach Bob Surace and the Tigers will wrap up spring practices in Osaka, Japan, playing a national college champion in a March 21 matchup dubbed the Legacy Bowl.

At Penn, Priore actually had one more Ivy League title than Bagnoli, having predated his former boss in the program. Priore built dominant defenses through the years, although the Quakers are a mere 6-14 over the last two seasons. Priore named former Georgetown head coach Bob Benson as the new defensive coordinator.

Yale will find it impossible to replace not only running back Tyler Varga, the 2014 Ivy League offensive player of the year, but a pair of wide receivers, Grant Wallace and Deon Randall, who combined on over 2,000 receiving yards last season.

Cornell had perhaps the youngest team in the league last year and will still rely on underclassmen in coach David Archer's third season. An offensive lineman when he played with the Big Red, Archer has all five of his starters returning up front, and the Big Red will try to pound away with running back Luke Hagy.

Dartmouth coach Buddy Tevens had been building toward last year's 8-2 season and second-place finish. With quarterback Dalyn Williams primed for a big senior campaign, the Big Green will challenge Harvard for their first title since 1996.

THEY'RE BACK

Nobody would have guessed entering last season that Yale quarterback Morgan Roberts, who was up and down previously, would finish second in the FCS in passing yards per game (323) and total offense per game (342.7).

Having made a successful move from inside linebacker to defensive end, Brown's Chad Berry could be one of the league's more dominant defenders.

Dartmouth will be glad to welcome back fifth-year seniors in wide receiver Ryan McManus (68 receptions for 879 yards and eight touchdowns) and safety Troy Donahue (46 tackles, four interceptions).

Princeton keeps losing top-notch players off its defense, but the young duo of Ty Desire and Kurt Holuba provide two physically imposing ends.

The young difference makers on Cornell's defense include linebacker Miles Norris and strong safety Nick Gesualdi, last year's Ivy rookie of the year.

Harvard's Andrew Fischer can hurt opponents on receptions, runs and kickoff and punt returns. He averaged nearly 130 all-purpose yards per game.

Not to be lost in Columbia's struggles is the continued development of senior Cam Molina, who gave the Lions their only rushing threat (460 yards, three touchdowns) and led the team in receptions (44) last season.

POSITION BATTLES

Princeton is the only Ivy team not bringing back an experienced quarterback. Sophomore Chad Kanoff and junior Kedric Bostic appear to be the front-runners for the top job.

Dartmouth's top running back, Kyle Bramble, will miss spring practices after suffering a late-season injury, so sophomore Ryder Stone, senior Brian Grove and junior Abrm McQuarters hope to impress in the meantime.

Columbia has had injuries and inconsistency at quarterback in recent seasons. The Lions' competition is fronted by senior Trevor McDonagh and sophomore Anders Hill.

As Yale searches for new receiving threats, Robert Clemons, Ross Drawl, Michael Siragusa and Chris Williams-Lopez are in the mix.

Four different Cornell quarterbacks made starts last season. Although all four are back, the No. 1 job will likely go to junior Robert Somborn or promising sophomore Jake Jatis.

FIVE BREAKOUT PERFORMERS

Dartmouth's title bid hinges a lot on the Big Green replacing three starters on the offensive line. Junior tackle Dave Morrison (6-foot-5, 300 pounds) is ready to put his apprenticeship to good use.

Yale is pleased by the return of running back Candler Rich (502 yards, 7.5 per carry), but sophomore Deshawn Salter will steal away carries.

Brown didn't get enough production from its running backs a year ago, so coach Phil Estes has converted quarterback Seth Rosenbauer, who rushed for 206 yards against Penn, to tailback.

Harvard's Paul Stanton Jr. was only 10 rushing yards shy of 1,000 last season, but sophomore Semar Smith proved last season he is deserving of carries as well.

After the loss of wide receivers Spencer Kulcsar and Conner Scott, Penn sophomore Justin Watson will be the go-to target.

NUMBERS NEVER LIE

Harvard allowed 12.3 points per game a year ago, ranking first in the FCS.

Conversely, Yale had one of the most explosive offenses in the nation, ranking first in total offense (571.5 ypg) and third in scoring offense (41.1 ppg).

Cornell has more experience on the offensive line. The Big Red will need it to cut down on the 33 sacks allowed in 10 games a year ago.

Interceptions plagued Columbia while it posted a minus-14 turnover margin.

Penn surrendered 25 touchdowns through the air with only six interceptions, while ranking 113th in the FCS in pass defense (272.8 ypg).

Even worse on pass defense, Princeton. The Tigers surrendered 341.4 yards per game through the air. Yes, that ranked dead last in the FCS.

SPRING PRACTICE DATES

With 2014 records in parentheses

Brown (5-5, 3-4): March 16-April 25

Columbia (0-10, 0-7): April 1-29

Cornell (1-9, 1-6): TBA

Dartmouth (8-2, 6-1): April 7-May 2

Harvard (10-0, 7-0): April 1-25

Penn (2-8, 2-5): March 16-April 11

Princeton (5-5, 4-3): Feb. 27-March 21

Yale (8-2, 5-2): March 25-April 18