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University of Pennsylvania Athletics

2017 football Seniors
Hunter Martin

Football

Football Battles Cornell For Trustees Cup on Senior Day

The Trustee's Cup is on the line as Penn and Cornell battle for the 124th time! The Red and Blue have righted the ship with three wins in a row and are looking to close a season with a win over Cornell for the fourth consecutive season while sending 19 seniors out on a high note.

The Penn-Cornell Series — 124th Meeting
Penn's longest-running rivalry resumes today as Penn and Cornell meet for the 124th time — the fifth-most played series in Division I football. The Red and Blue have won three in a row in the series, including a 42-20 win in Ithaca last year to secure an Ivy League title. The Quakers are 1-2 in the last three meetings at Franklin Field, though. A win today will give Penn four in a row over Cornell for the first time since 2007-10.

#JWatch
Two-time All-American Justin Watson steps onto Franklin Field for the final time this afternoon with a few more records in reach. With one catch today, Watson will become the first player in Ivy League history to record at least one reception in 40 consecutive games. Watson is also one touchdown reception away from setting a new Penn single-season record of 14 and two away from tying the Ivy record of 15. His 13 touchdowns this season lead FCS football and his 9 consecutive games with a receiving TD is the longest active streak in FCS football. Finally, Watson is 84 yards away from becoming Penn's all-time leader in All-Purpose Yards. 

Sosl-OMG
Junior kicker Jack Soslow enters today's game tops in the Ivy League and ranking No. 10 in FCS football in field goal percentage (10-for-12, 83.3%). If he goes 1-for-1 today on field goal attempts, he would set a new Penn single-season record for field goal percentage at 84.6%, besting Andrew Samson's 84.2% on 16-for-19 kicking in 2008.

A Look at Cornell
After starting 2017 0-3, Cornell has gone 3-3 inside Ivy League play to sit alongside Penn in a three-way tie for fourth entering the final weekend of Ivy action. The Big Red have struggled the last two weeks, losing to Dartmouth and Columbia while scoring just eight total points over those two games and accumulating 507 total yards between the two games. A win today would give Cornell its first winning season in the Ivy League since 2005.

Miller Time
Junior linebacker Nick Miller has had 10+ tackles in 7-of-9 games this season, including a career-high 13 at CCSU. He has recorded 10+ tackles in nine of his last 11 games dating back to last season. His 13 tackles against the Blue Devils were the most since Colton Moskal also had 13 at Princeton last season.

Soslow Goes High
Junior kicker Jack Soslow is 10-for-12 on field goals, this season, connecting twice against Dartmouth for the first two makes of his career. He is 33-for-33 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. Soslow ranks No. 10 in FCS in FG% at 83.3 and is in range of setting Penn's single-season FG% record which is currently 84.2 set by Andrew Samson in 2008. If Soslow is perfect today, he will set  a new record.

Sosl-OMG Part 2
Jack Soslow hammered the third-longest field goal in program history at Brown, booting a 51-yarder as time expired in the first half. It was just the fifth 50+ yard kick in program history and the longest since a 51 yarder in 1979. Overall, Soslow's kick was the 16th-longest ever by an Ivy League kicker and longest since 2009.

Louis, Louis
Senior defensive lineman Louis Vecchio has batted down four balls at the line of scrimmage this season. He leads the Red and Blue with 8.5 TFLs this season and has added three sacks and three QB hurries.

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 39 career games as the snapper on field goals while junior Carson Vey has played all 29 games in the punting game.

Hunter The Punter
Senior Hunter Kelley has been the starting punter for all 39 of his career games. He has punted 157 times for 6,233 yards — he ranks No. 4 all-time in punting yards by a Quaker and is 3 punts away from No. 4 at Penn. He is averaging 39.7 yards per punt which ranks No. 12 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 six catches and a career-high 97 yards, including a 26-yards touchdown reception at Lehigh.

Touching Down On The Touchdown List
Justin Watson has 13 receiving touchdowns through nine games this season — tied for the Penn single season record and two away from tying the Ivy League single season record of 15 set by Brown's Sean Morey in 1997. His 13 receiving TDs this season are the most by any Ivy player since fellow Quaker Dan Castle's had 13 in 2003. 2017 is the third year in a row Watson has scored 7+ receiving touchdowns — something no other player in program history has accomplished.

Watson Climbs All-Time Scoring List
Among players who call wide receiver their primary position, Justin Watson has already set Penn's career scoring record with 200 points on 33 receiving touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and a 2-point conversion. That total is No. 5 all-time by any Penn player and No. 3 among non-kickers. He is 5 points away from moving into No. 4 all-time. FYI, Watson is two touchdowns away from tying Penn's all-time career touchdown record of 35 set by Bryan Keys from 1987-89.

Just Incredible
Watson ranks No. 1 among all FCS wide receivers with 13 receiving touchdowns this season. He is No. 2 among all Division I wide receivers — FBS or FCS — in receiving TDs-per-game at 1.44, trailing only David Sills of West Virginia (1.8).

The Best Around
Among active FCS wide receivers, Justin Watson ranks No.2 in receptions-per-game (7.02), No. 2 in receptions (273), No. 3 in receiving yards (3,585) and No. 3 in receiving yards-per-game (91.9).

1,000-Yard Staredown
Justin Watson already owns two of the 26 1,000-yard seasons in the history of the Ivy League. He is 109 yards away from his third 1,000-yard season and would be the first player in Ancient Eight history with three career 1,000 yard seasons.
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Players Mentioned

Hunter Kelley

#46 Hunter Kelley

P
6' 1"
Senior
Zach O

#37 Zach O'Leary

LB
6' 1"
Senior
Louis Vecchio

#92 Louis Vecchio

DE
6' 5"
Senior
Justin Watson

#5 Justin Watson

WR
6' 3"
Senior
Nick Miller

#47 Nick Miller

LB
5' 11"
Junior
Jack Soslow

#30 Jack Soslow

K/P
6' 3"
Junior
Carson Vey

#82 Carson Vey

LS
6' 4"
Junior
Logan Sharp

#80 Logan Sharp

TE
6' 3"
Junior
Colton Moskal

#44 Colton Moskal

LB
6' 0"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Hunter Kelley

#46 Hunter Kelley

6' 1"
Senior
P
Zach O

#37 Zach O'Leary

6' 1"
Senior
LB
Louis Vecchio

#92 Louis Vecchio

6' 5"
Senior
DE
Justin Watson

#5 Justin Watson

6' 3"
Senior
WR
Nick Miller

#47 Nick Miller

5' 11"
Junior
LB
Jack Soslow

#30 Jack Soslow

6' 3"
Junior
K/P
Carson Vey

#82 Carson Vey

6' 4"
Junior
LS
Logan Sharp

#80 Logan Sharp

6' 3"
Junior
TE
Colton Moskal

#44 Colton Moskal

6' 0"
Senior
LB