It is all Ivy League the rest of the way. The Quakers have non-conference competition squarely in the rear-view mirror and have sights now set on returning to the top of the Ivy table. The Red and Blue have a hill to climb after a loss in their Ivy opener, but can jump right back into contention with a win over an upstart Columbia squad in the Big Apple.
 
The Penn-Columbia Series — 97th Meeting
Penn enters today's game with a 74-21-1 record all-time against Columbia and as owners of a 20-game winning streak in the series. Penn's run of 20 consecutive wins over the Lions is the second-longest active winning streak in FCS (William & Mary has defeated VMI the last 25 times the two teams have met) and ninth-longest in FCS history. The Red and Blue have won its last 10 trips to New York City, last losing in the Big Apple, 24-14, on Oct. 7, 1995.
 
Penn Looking To Snap The Skid
The Quakers have lost their last two games, dropping consecutive contests for the first time since Week 1-2 of last season. The Red and Blue have not lost three games in a row since a four-game skid from 10/25-11/15 in 2014. That four-game losing streak was also the last time Penn lost back-to-back Ivy League games.
 
Penn Leaves Scoreboard Quaking
Despite the two recent losses, the Quakers have been scoring points at a rate not seen since 2004. Bolstered by a 65-point effort at Lehigh, the Quakers have scored 141 points through four games. That is the most since the '04 team also scored 141 points over its first four games. The Quaker rank No. 2 in the Ivy League and No. 18 in the FCS in Scoring Offense, averaging 35.3 points-per-game.
 
Protect The Quarterback
Penn's quarterbacks have been sacked the second-fewest times of any group in FCS as the Quakers are allowing 0.5 sacks-per-game. Along with that, the Red and Blue's team completion percentage of 65.5% is No. 13 in all of FCS football. Penn's quarterbacks are 71-for-109 with just four interceptions — three of which came last week at CCSU.
 
A Look at Columbia
There's a bit more bite to the roar of the Lions this season as Columbia is 4-0 for the first time since 1996. Columbia picked up a win in its first Ivy League game, knocking off 2016 co-champion Princeton, 28-24, in New Jersey. Last week, Columbia jumped all over Marist, leading 38-0 at halftime en route to a 41-17 win. The Lions have won five games in a row dating back to the 2016 season finale, and a win today would ensure the Lions of their first .500 season since 2006.

Runnin' Down A Dream
Sophomore running back Karekin Brooks leads the Ivy League in rushing with 543 yards. His 135.8 yards-per-game are the most in the League by 35 yards, and only one other Ivy Leaguer has surpassed the 400-yard mark over four weeks of play. Brooks burst onto the scene with a 268-yard, three touchdown day at Lehigh two weeks ago — just five yards from setting a new school record. As a team. Penn ranks No. 22 in FCS in rushing offense, averaging 204.5 yards-per-game.
 
You Got Lucky
Junior Christian Pearson had some luck on his side to reel in his 43-yard touchdown pass at Lehigh in Week 2. Will Fischer-Colbrie's pass bounced off the hands of a would-be Lehigh interceptor and into the hands of Pearson who caught the ball in stride before scampering into the endzone.
 
Learning To Fly
Senior quarterback Will Fischer-Colbrie has completed 64.6% of his passes over his first four career appearances for the Quakers, ranking No. 15 among FCS signal-callers.
 
Don't Do Me Like That
Penn's last-second loss to Dartmouth on Sept. 29 was the first time since a 2009 overtime loss at Lafayette that the Quakers were defeated on the last play of a game. Since that loss to the Leopards, the latest a Penn team was edged in a game came in 2015 when Fordham kicked a game-winning FG with 0:08 to play to win a wild 48-45 game at Franklin Field.
 
The Waiting
Penn had to wait almost longer than any FCS team to get its season started. As usual, the Ivy League was the last conference to kick off play and the Quakers were 121st out of 123 FCS teams to play an official snap this season.
 
Time To Move On
The Red and Blue found some extra time to deal with the stunning result at the final whistle to the Big Green with the Friday game. Under head coach Ray Priore, Penn is 4-1 in games following a Friday night contest.
 
You Wreck Me
Junior linebacker Nick Miller has been wrecking offensive game plans through three games. He leads the Ivy League and ranks No. 4 in FCS football in solo tackles-per game, averaging 8.0 over four contests. He also leads the Ivy League in solo tackles (32), total tackles (45) and total tackles-per-game (11.2). For good measure, Miller's two fumble recoveries are fourth among all FCS players.
 
Breakdown
Penn's scoring tendencies break down to 12 passing touchdowns (63%) compared to seven rushing scores (37%). The Quakers have scored a touchdown on all five of their scoring drives which have covered 70+ yards this season and have touchdowns on all five scoring drives that have taken less than a minute. The Quakers had three scoring drives of under 1:00 in all of 2016.
 
Into The Great Wide Open
Nick Robinson's first collegiate pass could not have gone any better. The transfer from the University of Georgia launched a 59-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Justin Watson in the second quarter of the 2017 opener on his first career passing attempt.

Rebels
Through four games this season, Penn's tight ends have rebelled against last year's production from the position. Penn's tight ends have caught 12 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns, surpassing the receptions (9), yards (88) and touchdown (1) totals from all of last season.
 
The Best of Everything
As a team, Penn leads the Ivy League in Sacks Allowed (0.5), Tackles For Loss Allowed (3.25) and Team Passing Efficiency (167.1). Individually, Penn has the Ivy League's leader in All Purpose Yards Per Game (Brooks, 148.5), Combined Kick Return Yards (Malcome, 366), Fumbles Recovered (Miller, 2), Receiving TDs (Watson, 6) Rushing Yards (Brooks, 543), Rushing Yards Per Game (Brooks, 135.8), Solo Tackles (Miller, 8.0), and Total Tackles (Miller, 11.3)
 
Saving Grace
The Red and Blue have won Ivy League titles in each of their first two seasons under the direction of Director of Athletics Dr. M. Grace Calhoun.
 
I Won't Back Down
The Red and Blue have not backed down from top teams over the last two seasons and are 3-1 against ranked opponents under head coach Ray Priore. In addition to 2016's 27-14 win over #22/24 Harvard, that record includes a 35-25 win at #12/13 Harvard and a 24-13 win at #5/4 Villanova in 2015.
 
Don't Come Around Here No More
Over his last five games dating back to the 2016 season finale, defensive back Conor O'Brien has two interceptions and three pass breakups.
 
Square One
The Quakers have benefitted from a multitude of first-year players contributing over the first three games of the season. Freshman Isaiah Malcome is averaging 8.2 yards per punt return and 22.6yards per kick return; Cornerback Jared Noble has 14 solo tackles over Penn's last two games, ranking third on the team; David Ryslik has made three solo tackles on the defensive line and added a four-yard receiving touchdown; Sophomore transfer Nick Robinson has thrown for four touchdowns and ran for another.
 
It's Good To Be King
No Ivy League program has won more Ivy League championships than the Quakers (18) who are tied with Dartmouth. Penn's 13 outright Ivy titles are four more than any other Ivy team.
 
Miller Time
Junior linebacker Nick Miller has had 10+ tackles in all four games this season, including a career-high 13 at CCSU. His 13 tackles against the Blue Devils were the most since Colton Moskal also had 13 at Princeton last season.
 
A Noble Effort
Freshman Jared Noble is this year's newcomer who is making noise on defense. After seeing special teams duty in the season opener, Noble has played cornerback ever since and has moved into the starting lineup. He has 21 tackles over his last three games, including 11 at CCSU. Noble also blocked a PAT attempt at Lehigh.
 
Lucky Lukas
Lukas Sontich entered the CCSU game with just six tackles over three games. Against the Blue Devils, he was in on what seemed like every play — finishing the game with 11 assisted tackles, including 0.5 TFLs. His 17 tackles this season are a career-high.
 
Soslow Goes High
Junior kicker Jack Soslow is 2-for-3 on field goals, this season, connecting twice against Dartmouth for the first two makes of his career. He is 19-for-19 on PAT attempts, including a 9-for-9 day at Lehigh which tied the Penn program record for made PATs in a game — last done in 1921.
 
Louis, Louis
Senior defensive lineman Louis Vecchio has batted down three balls at the line of scrimmage this season The one game where he didn't disrupt a pass was against Dartmouth — a game where he had one sack and two quarterback hurries. He leads the Red and Blue with 3.5 TFLs this season.
 
Snap To It
The Quakers have had the benefit of continuity of late at the snapper positions. Senior Zach O'Leary has played in all 34 career games as the snapper on field goals while junior Carson Vey has played all 24 games in the punting game.
 
Rushing Up The Charts
Karekin Brooks' 543 rushing yards through four games is already No. 11 among Penn rushers since 2003. He is averaging 8.23 yards per carry this season. The Penn record among qualifying players is 6.15 yards-per-carry set by Chris Flynn in 1986. The Ivy League record is 7.80 set by Brown's John Spooney in 2013.
 
Hunter The Punter
Senior Hunter Kelley has been the starting punter for all 34 of his career games. He has punted 133 times for 5,317 yards — averaging 40.0 yards per punt which ranks No. 11 all-time among Ivy punters entering today's game.
 
Sharp Is On Point
Tight end Logan Sharp had three catches through three games last season before suffering a season-ending injury. This year, he already has three catches and a career-high 49 yards, including a 26-yards touchdown reception at Lehigh.