NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Both the University of Pennsylvania and Yale put on an offensive show at the Yale Bowl, but it was the Quakers (2-4, 0-3 Ivy) who were one score short in a 46-41 loss to the Bulldogs (5-1, 2-1 Ivy).
 
Senior Nick Robinson threw for a career-high 395 yards while sophomore Ryan Cragun had career-highs in catches (13) and receiving yards (208) to lead the offense while senior Abe Willows added 106 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns.
 
The Red and Blue fought back from four deficits to finally take a lead late in the third quarter when a six-yard scoring rush from Willows gave Penn a 27-26 lead. Yale answered with two touchdowns in the span of 3:09 to take a 39-27 lead. First, Kurt Rawlings threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Reed Klubnik. Then, the Bulldogs picked off a Nick Robinson pass on the first play of the next possession to set Yale up at the Penn 40. Six plays later, Zane Dudek rushed in from eight yards out and Penn was down by a dozen with 10:02 remaining.
 
The Quakers showed resiliency, answering with another Willows touchdown – this time a one-yard leap over the pile with 7:59 left to close the deficit to 39-34.
 
Yale went on a methodical 10-play, 65-yard drive which ate up 5:43 and most importantly added an insurance score in the form of a six-yard Dudek rush with 2:11 remaining to again put Yale ahead by 12.
 
That Dudek score proved vital as Penn buckled up and crashed down the field in six plays over 1:12 to find the end zone via a 20-yard Robinson pass to Willows with 0:59 left to once more move Penn within one score. The ensuing onside kick from Drew Brennan was there for the taking, but Reed Klubnik outjumped everyone and sealed the final score.
 
Notes To Know

• Nick Robinson's 395 yards passing are No. 4 in a game all-time by a Quaker and most since Mike Mitchell had 428 against Dartmouth in 2002.
• Ryan Cragun's 208 receiving yards are No. 5 in a game all-time by a Quaker and most since Justin Watson had 210 against Brown in 2016.
• Cragun's 13 receptions are tied for No. 5 in a game all-time by a Quaker and most since Watson had 13 against Cornell in 2017.
• Robinson now ranks No. 17 all-time at Penn with 2,373 career passing yards.
• Robinson now ranks No. 14 all-time at Penn with 19 career passing touchdowns.
• Karekin Brooks continues to rank No. 4 all-time at Penn in career rushing yards and is now up to 2,605.
• Brooks now ranks No. 9 all-time at Penn in career rushes with 452.
• Sire Woods caught his first career touchdown pass.
• Robinson completed passes to eight different receivers.
• Abe Willows entered the day with three career touchdowns over his previous 23 games. He had three in the final 15:47 of play today.
• 41 points scored are the most in a loss by a Penn team since scoring 45 in a 48-45 loss to No. 13 Fordham in 2015.

 
How It Happened
After the teams traded punts to open the game, Yale quarterback Kurt Rawlings brought his team down the field with a 4-for-4 passing performance for 63 yards before he capped the drive with a seven-yard keeper to give Yale a 7-0 lead with 5:33 remaining in the first quarter.
 
The Red and Blue answered with a 14-play, 78-yard drive that took 6:53 and was finished by an athletic touchdown catch by Sire Woods on 4th-and-1. The Quakers sent everyone right, and Woods slipped out left and was wide open to dive under Nick Robinson's pass and get his fingers underneath to secure his first career touchdown. The Quakers were resilient on the drive, twice converting third and long and benefiting from a Yale penalty on another third and long.
 
Rawlings again called his own number for a touchdown as he pulled back a read option run and scampered 37 yards with 4:14 remaining in the second quarter. Matthew McElroy got his hand on the PAT, blocking the extra point and holding Yale to just a 13-7 lead.
 
Karekin Brooks would tie the game, 13-13, with 0:58 left in the first half off a two-yard rush from the wildcat formation. A 37-yard completion from Robinson to Cragun set the Quakers up on the doorstep and two plays later Brooks plowed in for his 26th career rushing touchdown. Yale would block a PAT of its own to keep the game at 13-13.
 
The Bulldogs then made quick work of their next drive, marching 75 yards in five plays to take a lead with 0:02 left in the first half. Rawlings was 3-for-3 for 66 yards on the drive – all the yardage in the direction of Reed Klubnik who scored on a 33-yard completion.
 
Penn tied the game to start the second half, Robinson finding Rory Starkey, Jr. from seven yards out on the Red and Blue's first drive of the half. The Quakers converted two third and longs on the drive, including a 21-yard Cragun catch on third-and-18 which brought Penn down to the Yale 6.
 
After the two teams traded punts, Yale put together a quick 74-yard drive which needed just four plays and 1:14 to find the end zone. A 49-yard pass from Rawlings to Klubnik set the Bulldogs up at the two, and Dudek would then plow in for the lead. Yale went for two and did not connect which led to a 26-20 Yale lead.
 
The Red and Blue would take a 27-26 lead with 0:47 left in the third quarter when Abe Willows rushed in from seven yards out to cap an 11-play, 75-yard drive which took 5:13. Willows had 45 yards rushing and 14 receiving on the drive which gave Penn its first lead of the day.
 
Rawlings and Klubnik again connected for a touchdown, this one a 16-yard pass with 13:11 remaining in the game to cap an 8-play, 70-yard drive which needed just 2:36. Yale again went for a two-point conversion, and the Quakers swarmed to a shovel pass to keep Yale's lead at 32-27.
 
The first big play on defense went Yale's way as Kyle Ellis stepped in front of Penn's first play of the ensuing drive and picked off Robinson. Six plays later, Dudek rushed in from eight yards out and Yale held a 39-27 lead.
 
Penn did not go away, and Abe Willows tacked on his second rushing TD of the game with a one-yard leap to cut the deficit to 39-34 with 7:59 to play. Robinson completed three passes to Ryan Cragun on the drive, totaling 53 yards. Yale had blocked the PAT attempt following the touchdown, but a penalty call on the return negated the block and allowed Penn a chance to retry and Karrash was good.
 
The two teams would trade scores to close the game, Dudek adding his third rushing TD of the day with 2:11 remaining before Willows caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to set the final score.
 
The Quakers return to Franklin Field on November 2 to host Brown at 1 p.m.