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(STATS) -- Despite an encouraging end to last season with the prospect of returning many veteran players this year, the Cornell football staff opened the offseason by posting a blank depth chart in the teams locker room.At Columbia, the coaching staff has been busy changing the approach of its players as much as making adjustments in the two-deep.Neither Ivy League program has enjoyed much recent success, but both began to see light on the horizon last season that perhaps this year they can slip through the door when nobodys looking.Not surprisingly on Tuesday, there was a far drop to last years two cellar-dwellers in the Ivy Leagues preseason poll, which was fronted by the three defending champions -- Harvard picked as the favorite with Penn second and Dartmouth third. Then it was Yale, Princeton and Brown before Columbia was picked seventh and Cornell eighth.Same ol, same ol in the Ancient Eight?Not necessarily.We think we will be much more competitive than weve been, said Columbia second-year coach Al Bagnoli, who previously won eight Ivy titles at Penn. We think were doing all the right things. We have kids who are buying in.Its just a matter of showing them, Cornell fourth-year coach David Archer said, that the difference on a Saturday afternoon isnt as big as they really think.Cornell and Columbia received a much-needed bump in publicity last week with their inclusion in the top 100 of a list ranking all-time college football programs. But when you factor in what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, your fathers Ivy League, even your older brothers, is not your great-grandfathers Ivy League.The two New York state rivals found a lot of their historical success before there even was an Ivy League. Columbias Ivy title in 1961 is the only one in program history, and the Lions havent had a winning season since 1996. Cornell has the second-fewest Ivy titles with three -- most recently in 1990 -- and the Big Red are seeking their first winning record since 2005.But being that its August, there is optimism. Maybe its not unfounded, either.Columbia (2-8, 1-6 Ivy) lost six times by eight points or less in Bagnolis first season in New York. Meanwhile, Cornell (1-9, 1-6) let three potential wins slip away, and after beating Columbia by a rather fitting 3-0 score, the Big Red were competitive in a season-ending loss at Penn.We had to have buy-in, we had to have trust, in addition to us being able to evaluate our kids ability level of what they could and couldnt do, Bagnoli said. You fast-forward a year and I think weve tried to do a good job in addressing all those issues. I think theres been a change in the culture here. I think we have a little bit more confidence and a little bit more exuberance and a little bit more swagger than what we had when we took over the program.Were entering Monday (the opening of preseason camp) with 124 guys on roster, Archer said. Now league rules (say) you can only have 110 to camp, which is what well have. But having the ability to say to the guys in January, Hey, youre going to have to compete just to get a spot in camp, really drove up (competition). And we had our best offseason, best spring practice to date so far.For Columbia, its important for quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg, in his second year after transferring from Florida, to avoid similar injuries of a year ago. Five of last years six leading tacklers, including co-leaders linebacker Keith Brady and safety Christian Conway, return on defense.Up in Ithaca, Cornell brings back 15 starters, although it will have a change at quarterback if sophomore Dalton Banks unseats senior Robert Somborn. The Big Red feature one of the better defenders in the league in safety Nick Gesualdi and perhaps the best punter in the FCS in Chris Fraser.Neither team is ready to challenge for the league title considering more incremental steps are necessary. But the league could take on a different complexion after last years finish marked the first three-way share of the title since 1982. On graduation day, Penn lost 10 starters, Harvard saw 12 depart and Dartmouth lost 17.The trust testament is, who is the next man up? said Penn coach Ray Priore, who succeeded Bagnoli last season. The key to success … is dont forget how you won previous years.You just hope the kids develop and rise to the occasion, are opportunistic when given the opportunity to make their imprint in the program.---=IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL=1. Harvard (7 first-place votes), 126 points2. Penn (9), 1193. Dartmouth, 834. Yale, 815. Princeton, 796. Brown (1), 617. Columbia, 438. Cornell, 20 New York Mets Store . 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LONDON -- For the first time in his 11 Grand Slam finals, Andy Murray will be the heavy favorite to win -- and why not?Murray, seeded No. 2, might be 2-8 in major championship matches, but hes super-saturated with big-match experience. The 29-year-old Scot reached the Australian and French Open title matches earlier this season but lost to top-ranked Novak Djokovic in both.But Djokovic and fellow Murray nemesis Roger Federer are out of Wimbledon. Murray will play No. 6 seed and first-time Grand Slam finalist Milos Raonic on Sunday at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN. Theyll meet before a passionate, partisan British crowd.For British players growing up, Wimbledon is the biggest competition, Murray said after his semifinal win. To get to play in front of a home crowd in a Grand Slam final is very, very rare.However, Murray has never really known the kind of pressure hes going to be facing. Every other final hes played has been against either Federer or Djokovic, both of whom were strong favorites. The stress will be different. While Murray has had a great year and leads his head-to-head series against Raonic 6-3, the Canadian, at just 25, is teetering on the brink of a career-shaping breakthrough.The men met just a few weeks ago on a similar grass court in the Queens final. Murray came back to win in three sets after Raonic led 7-6 (5), 3-1. Naturally, each man put a different, self-promoting spin on that high-quality clash.Murray reminded anyone listening of his reputation as the best serve returner in the game.The thing that stands out for me [about the Queens final] was the return winner I hit on the break point at 3-1 to get back into the match, Murray said. That was the turning point, really. He hadnt lost serve the whole week. Came up with that return, the match changed from there.Raonic, who came back to oust Federer in Fridays semis, had this take:Im up there 7-6, and I have a point for 4-1 and end up getting broken by a close miss, he said. I wasnt disappointed with that point. That can happen. I was disappointed with how I dealt with things after that. I sort of went into my shell, didnt put myself out there enough. I think thats the thing I want to avoid the most.The confession illustrates why Raonic, despite his 6-foot-5 frame and a 140 mph serve, has upp to now been considered an underachiever.dddddddddddd He has failed to assert himself at key moments. That powerful engine stalled in three previous Grand Slam semifinals. But not this time.On Friday, Raonic seemed headed for a four-set loss to Federer, the man who has clearly been the second-best grass-court player (behind Djokovic) for a number of years. Maybe 12 additional months in 34-year-old Federers life made a difference. But more likely, the enormous evolution Raonic has undergone in recent years, and the advice hes gotten from new coach and head cheerleader John McEnroe, enabled him to flip a familiar Wimbledon plot.Theres been a lot of hype about the coaches in this one. Murray is back together with Ivan Lendl, while McEnroe has been working with Raonic. The enmity between Lendl and McEnroe goes back a long, long way, and its unlikely its fervor has dimmed.The players have had to remind the media more than once that the matches arent really about the guys in the track suits or commentary boxes; theyre about the guys out there in short pants, whacking the ball.As Murray said, Im playing against Milos. Im not playing against John, and Milos isnt playing against Ivan.Federer said hes been impressed by the changes the past four or five years have wrought in Raonics game. The days when Raonic played from way, way back on the baseline are long gone, Federer observed.That big serve is still the anchor of Raonics game. As a matter of fact, Murray said he believes Raonic serves even harder than noted ace makers John Isner and Ivo Karlovic.But Milos is better off the ground than both of those guys, Murray added, and he has a better return game, as well.Murray wont be worrying much about Raonics return game, and hell be more than happy to take his chances in rallies with Raonic.If Murray can handle Raonics serve, the Scot should win his second Wimbledon title -- and avoid becoming the first man in the Open era to lose in the final of the first three Grand Slam events of the year.These tournaments are why Im still playing and why Im training hard and trying to win these events, Murray said. Thats what really motivates me. ' ' '