Setbacks pave the way for comebacks... After a gut-wrenching loss at the final whistle last Friday, the Quakers head out on the road for their first trip to Central Connecticut State. A win would give the Quakers a 3-0 record in non-conference play and give the Red and Blue momentum heading into their first road Ivy game next week at Columbia.

The Penn-CCSU Series—Second Meeting
Penn makes its first-ever trip to Arute Field for today's game, looking to stay unbeaten in the young series with Central Connecticut State. Last year, Penn jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. The Blue Devils were held to just one touchdown in Penn's 28-16 victory at Franklin Field. The Quakers were 4-for-4 on fourth down in the game, compared to CCSU's 0-for-4 performance on fourth down.

Non-Conference Perfection At Stake
A Penn win today would secure the program's first undefeated record in non-conference games since the 2003 team which went 10-0 overall. The last time a Penn team won a pair of road non-conference games in a season came in 1993. That Penn team also went 10-0 overall, with road non-conference wins at Bucknell (42-12) and Colgate (30-12).

Piling Up Non-Conference Points
Penn enters today's game with 107 points in its two non-conference games so far. That is already the most points scored in the non-Ivy part of a season since the Quakers scored 118 over their three non-Ivy games in 2005.

Penn Leaves Scoreboard Quaking
Despite just 13 points on Friday night, the Quakers have scored 120 points over their first three games of the season — the most since the Red and Blue scored 125 over three games to open the 2002 season.

A Look at Central Connecticut State
After three consecutive losses to open the season, CCSU has won two in a row — including a 26-15 win over Sacred Heart to open NEC play. The Blue Devils have scored as many points as they have allowed — 130 — and enter with one game scoring 50+ points and another two where they allowed more than 50. CCSU has conceded 485.4 yards of offense per game — an average aided by 586 yards allowed to Syracuse and 630 to Youngstown State. The Blue Devils have struggled in the passing game, throwing for just 163.0 yards per game and completing passes at a 45.6% rate — which is No. 117 out of 123 FCS programs.

Runnin' Down A Dream
Sophomore running back Karekin Brooks leads the Ivy League in rushing with 457 yards over Penn's first two games. His 152.3 yards-per-game are the most in the League by over 30 yards, and no other Ivy Leaguer has surpassed the 400-yard mark over three 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. 17 in FCS in rushing offense, averaging 233.0 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 67.1% of his passes over his first three career appearances for the Quakers, ranking No. 13 among FCS signal-callers. He has gone 47 passing attempts without an interception over his past two games since throwing a pick on his final attempt against Ohio Dominican in the opener.

Don't Do Me Like That
Penn's last-second loss on Friday night 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 4-0 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 FCS football in solo tackles-per game, averaging 8.0 over three contests. He also leads the Ivy League in solo tackles (24), total tackles (32) and total tackles-per-game (10.7). For good measure, Miller's two fumble recoveries are third among all FCS players.

Breakdown
Penn's scoring tendencies break down to nine passing touchdowns (56%) compared to seven rushing scores (44%). The Quakers have scored a touchdown on all five of their 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 two 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 165 yards and three touchdowns, surpassing the receptions (9), yards (88) and touchdown (1) totals from last season.

The Best of Everything
As a team, Penn leads the Ivy League in 4th Down Conversions (100%), Passing Yards Per Completion (13.1), Red Zone Offense (91.7%), Tackles For Loss Allowed (3.3), Turnovers Lost (3), and Turnover Margin (+0.67). Individually, Penn has the Ivy League's leader in All Purpose Yards Per Game (Brooks, 167.0), Fumbles Recovered (Miller, 2), Receiving TDs (Watson, 4) Rushing Yards (Brooks, 457), Rushing Yards Per Game (Brooks, 152.3), Solo Tackles (Miller, 8.0), Total Tackles (Miller, 10.7), and Yards Per Reception (Watson, 23.8).

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 four 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 21.5 yards per kick return; Cornerback Jared Noble has 10 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 a touchdown 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.