CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The University of Pennsylvania football team was able to gut out a 24-20 win at Harvard on Saturday afternoon, setting program history in the process.
The win was Penn's third in a row at Harvard Stadium, after a 35-25 win here in 2015 and a 23-6 victory in 2017. Amazing, it is the first time in the Ivy League era of college football that the Quakers have won three consecutive games at Harvard Stadium.
Penn has now won three games in a row overall and is 5-4 overall, 3-3 in the Ivy League with rival Princeton set to come to Franklin Field next Saturday. Harvard, meanwhile, lost its fourth in a row and fell to 4-5 overall, 2-4 in Ivy play.
Karekin Brooks returned to form with 102 rushing yards, while
Nick Robinson threw for 209 and two touchdowns. Rory Starkey caught only three passes on the day, but two of them were for touchdowns as he racked up 96 yards.
Defensively,
Taheeb Sonekan had 10 tackles to lead the team.
Zach Evans added nine tackles, while
Jason McCleod, Jr. had seven tackles, a sack and two pass breakups.
Notes To Know
- Senior running back Karekin Brooks now ranks No. 3 all-time in rushing yardage by a Quaker with 2,752. He is also No. 9 all-time in carries with 495.
- Brooks' 100+ yard game was his fourth of the season and 10th of his career.
- Senior quarterback Nick Robinson moved into No. 9 spot all-time in passing touchdowns by a Quaker with 24. His 241 career completions rank No. 11 and his 2,888 yards rank No. 14 all-time by a Penn player.
- Robinson has 15 passing touchdowns this season, which rank No. 10 in a single season all-time by a Quaker. His 166 completions this year rank No. 11 all-time by a Quaker, while his 284 attempts (No. 12) and 1,977 yards (No. 14) are also climbing the single-season records for a Penn quarterback.
- Sophomore wide receiver Ryan Cragun now ranks No. 12 in single-season receiving yards by a Quaker with 806.
- Sophomore wide receiver Rory Starkey, Jr. now ranks No. 12 in single-season receiving touchdowns by a Quaker with 6.
- Penn's first quarter touchdown via a 3-yard Robinson scramble were the first points scored in the first quarter by Penn in an Ivy League game since the 2017 season finale against Cornell -- a span of 12 games.
- The Quakers improve to 12-3 in November under head coach Ray Priore.
- Priore is now 4-1 against Harvard as head coach and is now 3-0 at Harvard Stadium as head coach.
- The Crimson entered the game No. 1 in the nation in sacks-per-game (4.6) but the Quakers allowed only two in the game.
- Taheeb Sonekan's 10 tackles doubled his previous career high of five set last week against Cornell.
Harvard started with the ball, went three-and-out, and then the Crimson's punt only went to midfield and was returned 11 yards by
Sam Philippi to Harvard's 40. Gifted a short field, the Quakers marched right down for the game's opening score,
Nick Robinson taking it up the middle on a QB sneak from three yards out.
Penn was then presented with another great chance to put points on the board when Harvard was stopped in its own territory, then muffed the punt with
Austin Cooper recovering a mishandled snap at the Crimson's 28-yard line. The Quakers had first and goal after a Brooks 20-yard rush but were stymied from there and then missed a 29-yard field goal.
Given new life, Harvard immediately tied things up. The Crimson needed just seven plays to go 89 yards, the final 47 coming when Jack Smith found B.J. Watson along the right sideline and the receiver beat the Penn defense to the right pylon. The score was 7-7 after one.
Both teams took advantage of miscues for their second-quarter points.
First it was Penn that took advantage. The Quakers were punting near midfield when
Jake Haggard was upended by a Harvard defender after his punt. Roughing the kicker was called, giving the Red and Blue first down and new life. They took advantage, ultimately driving all the way to Harvard's 6-yard line and going up 10-7 on
Daniel Karrash's 24-yard field goal.
Harvard drew level when Penn started a drive deep in its own territory and threw a bomb down the middle of the field on its first play. The ball got caught up by the wind and was intercepted by the Crimson's Max Jones near midfield, and the hosts used the short field to get close enough for Jake McIntyre to kick a 28-yard field goal.
The Crimson then took their first lead of the day just before halftime after Haggard's punt deep in Penn territory hit a teammate's back and was spotted at the Quakers' 25-yard line. The defense stood tall, though, and the hosts had to settle for a 42-yard McIntyre field goal. It was 13-10 as the teams went to the locker rooms.
Penn received the kick to start the second half, and the Quakers needed just three plays to go back in front. On third-and-6 at his own 29, Robinson rolled to his right and hit Rory Starkey Jr. in stride for a 71-yard touchdown and a 17-13 lead.
Harvard used a trick play to go up 20-17 with 7:37 left in the third. On first down at Penn's 18, the Crimson used a reverse and Penn was caught completely off-guard. Cody Chrest took the ball around the right side and had nothing but teammates in front of him as he jogged it into the right corner of the end zone for the score.
Both teams left points on the board on the next drives.
Owen Goldsberry gave Penn great field position on the ensuing kickoff, returning it all the way to Penn's 45-yard line. The Quakers then drove well into Harvard territory, but were forced to take a 40-yard field goal and it went well left. The Crimson then drove just into the red zone but came away empty-handed when McIntyre was wide right on a 36-yard field goal try.
Penn gambled on a fourth-and-1 play early in the fourth quarter at Harvard's 16-yard line and was rewarded when Robinson's pass to Starkey near the end zone was tipped and then caught by the fully extended sophomore for the score. The kick was good and the Quakers' lead was 24-20 with 7:15 left.
Harvard immediately drove down to Penn's 10-yard line and had first and goal. However, the Quakers held fast, especially on second down when
Tayte Doddy batted away a pass ticketed for the Crimson's Ryan Reagan at the goal line. On fourth down, Harvard missed on a pass to the back of the end zone, and the Red and Blue took over on offense with just under three minutes to play.
The Quakers went up the gut three straight times which, combined with Harvard taking all three of its timeouts, took only 15 seconds off the clock. The punt was fair caught by Harvard at Penn's 40-yard line, and the Crimson went to work with 2:27 still to go.
It looked like Harvard would have a fresh set of downs at Penn's 30 with 1:53 left when Devin Darrington was judged to have reached the first-down marker on a third-and-2 run. However, a review of the play reversed the call, and on fourth-and-1 Darrington was again stopped short. That gave the ball to Penn with 1:45 left, and the Quakers were able to take a knee three times to run out the clock.
The Quakers and Tigers—who have lost two in a row after dropping a 51-14 decision at home to Yale on Saturday—will kick off next Saturday at 1 p.m.
#UPRising
#FightOnPenn
