ITHACA, N.Y. – In Coach Bill Wagner's final game against Ivy League rival Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania sprint football team dominated the Big Red with a 61-7 win in Ithaca.
 
The game was the 100th matchup between Penn and Cornell with the Quakers earning their 43rd victory in the series and seventh consecutive win on the trot.
 
NOTES
*Penn's 61 points are the most points scored since a 69-6 victory over Caldwell in 2017.
 
*The Quakers gained 502 total yards from scrimmage on offense. It is the highest total since Penn's season-opening victory over Mansfield in 2018.
 
*Nine of Penn's 13 drives resulted in a touchdown, including the Quakers' first seven drives. Penn only punted the ball once, turned the ball over on downs once, and ended both halves with possession of the ball, accounting for the remaining four drives.
 
*Quarterback Eddie Jenkins had a career day under center. The senior captain was 11-for-12 with 221 yards and four touchdowns. He added another 34 yards and three touchdowns on five carries. His seven total touchdowns in today's game are a career high and after a three-touchdown performance against Army, he now leads the CSFL with ten total touchdowns.
 
*Running back Laquan McKever totaled a career high 149 yards from 24 carries against the Big Red. He shimmied past a defender to score his first collegiate touchdown to give Penn a 47-0 lead near the end of the second quarter.
 
*Each of Jenkins' four touchdown passes found a different Penn wide out. Among the receivers were Barry Klein, Ben Klaus, Sam Mintz, and Billy Murphy.
 
* Klein was Jenkins' favorite target on the evening, reeling in five receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown.
 
*The Quakers' defense held Cornell to 179 yards, its lowest amount allowed since holding Cornell to 108 yards last season.
 
*Joshua Trybus had a solid day on defense, snagging his first career interception and recovering a fumble—amounting for half of Penn's forced turnovers.
 
*Josh McBriar set the tone for the Penn defense, grabbing his first career interception on Cornell's opening drive.
 
*Aaron Johnson wreaked havoc on the Big Red today, totaling nine tackles—all solo tackles. Three of his tackles were tackles for loss. He now leads the Quakers with six tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Quakers had a red-hot start to the game, forcing a turnover less than a minute after the opening kickoff. Following McBriar's interception, Penn drove 43 yards in three plays and took the lead through Jenkins' first touchdown of the game. Cornell blocked the point after attempt, holding Penn to a 6-0 lead.
 
The Penn defense forced a three-and-out on Cornell's next possession and again quickly drove down the field to increase its lead. Jenkins this time took to the air, connecting with Murphy on an 18-yard pass into the end zone to make it 13-0.
 
The trend continued during the first quarter, with Penn forcing Cornell to punt after a five-play drive. The Quakers once again drove down the field, taking the ball 69 yards in five plays with Jenkins punching it in for his second rushing touchdown of the day to make it 19-0.
 
Penn's defense continued to stunt the Cornell offense, this time forcing a fumble to end the Big Red's drive. On the Quakers' first and only play of the drive, Jenkins found a wide-open Klein for a 45-yard touchdown pass to increase Penn's lead to 26 points with time still on the clock in the first quarter.
 
Penn's Davis Buchanan forced a fumble on Cornell's next drive, with Jack Hennigan recovering to regain possession for the visiting Quakers.  Working with a short field, McKever worked to push Penn into the red zone and Jenkins finished the drive off with his third rushing touchdown of the game.
 
Yet another three-and-out forced by the Penn defense provided a short field to work with. After connecting on a 30-yard pass to Klein, Jenkins again capped off a drive with a touchdown, connecting with Mintz on a screen pass which was tiptoed into the endzone to put Penn up 40-0.
 
Penn shut down the Cornell offense again and closed out the half with one final score. This time, McKever juked a defender from two yards out to score his first career touchdown to give Penn a 47-0 lead heading into halftime.
 
The Quakers took a more methodical approach after taking the second half's opening kickoff. Penn ate up 8:57 minutes off the clock, taking the ball 69 yards in 15 plays to extend its lead to 54-0. Jenkins was the man again for Penn, finding Klaus in the back of the endzone for his seventh total touchdown of the night.
 
Penn capped off its scoring, as Mintz burst into the open field for 17-yard rushing touchdown to give the Quakers a 61-0 lead. Cornell finally got on the board with under a minute to go in the game, with Jacob Wynkoop punching the ball in from four yards out to make it 61-7.
 
UP NEXT
The Quakers hit the road to Waterbury, Conn. next weekend for the season's final non-divisional matchup as Penn lines up against Post on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 11 a.m.