PHILADELPHIA – The RV/RV University of Pennsylvania football team is well-prepared to run the remaining gauntlet of the Ivy League schedule on Saturday, hosting Columbia at Franklin Field, presented by Coca-Cola.
 
The Quakers (4-0, 1-0 Ivy), led by head coach Ray Priore, aim for their fifth straight win to open the 2022 season. They'll lobby to continue their best start since 2003 against former Penn head coach Al Bagnoli and the Lions (3-1, 0-1 Ivy), visiting Philly following a dominant 28-7 home win over Wagner last weekend.
 
GAME 5 – RV/RV PENN vs. COLUMBIA
Presented by Coca-Cola
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022 | 1 p.m.
Franklin Field | Philadelphia
Watch Live on ESPN+ ($)  |  Listen Live (QAN)  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets  
Penn Game Notes   |  Columbia Game Notes
 

The Columbia Series
Penn is hoping the 101st meeting of this historic matchup goes a little smoother than the 100th last season in New York, after the Quakers were tripped up at Columbia, 23-14. Penn has predominantly had the Lions' number, claiming seven of the last 10 matchups and leading the all-time series 75-24-1 including a 45-5 record at Franklin Field. Since Bagnoli retired from Penn and subsequently took over at Columbia, Coach Priore is 3-3 against him.
 
One Small Blemish
Aside from a 24-6, Ivy opening loss to Princeton on October 1, Columbia has been outstanding, going 3-1 with three convincing non-league victories. The Lions have outscored their opponents in those games, 108-16, and are coming off a 28-7 home win over Wagner last Saturday. Columbia enters today's game as the third-most efficient offense in the Ivy League at 373.0 yards per game and allows the third-fewest yards per game (305.5).
 
4-0!
From this point forward, everything will direct back to that historic 2003 Penn team. The Quakers are 4-0 for the first time since going 10-0 and earning a 13th Ivy League title in '03. Penn has also swept the non-league portion of the schedule for the first time since 2018. Penn and Princeton are the only two Ivy League teams with an unblemished record through the first four games and just two of eight remaining perfect teams in FCS football.
 
All Eyes On Us
For the second straight week, the Quakers are receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches Poll. This week, Penn clocks in with 16 points in the Week 6 iteration of the poll after breaking in with one vote last week. The Red and Blue are three teams shy of being ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 2011. Princeton got into the Top 25 this week with a No. 23 ranking following a 23-2 victory over Lafayette on Saturday.
 
Putting Up The Points
59. It's a big number, especially when referring to all-time Quaker point totals. Saturday's 59-point performance at Georgetown was tied for the second-most dating back to the start of Ivy League play. The Quakers led Saturday's game 24-14 at the half (after getting out to a first quarter-lead of 17-7) and scored 28 points in the third quarter alone. Penn's highest-scoring game in the Ivy era came at Lehigh on Sept. 23, 2017 when the Quakers notched 65 against the Mountain Hawks at Goodman Stadium.
 
Sayin So Much
Sophomore QB Aidan Sayin has been tremendous under center for the Quakers thus far in 2022, and showcased his talent last Saturday at Georgetown through the air and on the ground. Sayin became the first Penn player to total five touchdowns in a single game since 2010 (Billy Ragone vs. Brown) and just the seventh since 1940 — a whole 82 years! — to accomplish the feat. With his four passing touchdowns against the Hoyas, Sayin heads into the weekend tied for the Ivy lead in TD passes with eight.
 
Flowers Beginning to Bloom
The Quaker run game has been expanding as of late and senior running back Trey Flowers has been a big reason why. At Georgetown, he rushed 17 times for a career-high 149 yards and two touchdowns. Flowers has now rushed for four touchdowns in his last two games with five total on the year. The 149 yards are the most by a Penn running back since Isaiah Malcome finished with 201 almost exactly a year ago (October 9, 2021) against Lehigh. Flowers is tied for second in the Ivy League with his five rushing TDs and fourth in rushing yards per game (84.0).
 
Strong Defense
The Penn defense continues to impress. Last Saturday at Georgetown, junior linebacker Jack Fairman led the Quakers with eight total tackles and added his first career interception on the Hoyas' first drive of the day. Five other players (Micah Morris, Grant Ristoff, Joey Slackman, Jake Heimlicher and Travis McFarling) all recorded sacks for the defense. Senior captain Jonathan Melvin finished second on the team with seven total tackles and a forced fumble.
 
Home Sweet Home
A win today would mark the third straight at Franklin Field for Penn. The Quakers have not started a season 3-0 at home since winning three in a row in 2018, capped off by a 13-10 victory over the Lions.
 
Leading Tacklers
Leading the way by a rather large margin, Heimlicher is still just one of a litany of leading tacklers on the Quaker defense, pacing the way with 30 total tackles (with eight tackles for a loss). Fairman is second with 27 while Shiloh Means and Melvin are tied for third with 24. Penn defenders have a total of 17 sacks for a loss of 110 yards this season.  Heimlicher leads the way in that category with four, while Jack Plank has 2.5 and four players (Melvin, Slackman, Morris, Ristoff) have two apiece.
 
So Many Targets
Sayin has had quite the arsenal of receivers in his back pocket this season so far, throwing to 13 different targets in three games. Of the 13, Casilli leads the way with 19 catches, followed by Malone Howley (15), Rory Starkey, Jr. (13), Flowers (12), Justin Cayenne (10) and Sterling Stokes (10). After his career-high four against the Hoyas, Sayin now has eight TD passes this season to Starkey, Jr. (2), Cayenne (2), Casilli, Howley, Sterling Stokes, and Jonathan Mulatu.
 
Quakers On Air
There will be multiple ways to catch Penn's important Ivy matchup against Columbia on Saturday. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required) with Joe Tordy (PxP) and Coffee Jones (Color) on the call. Matt Leon (PxP) and Hench Murray (Color) will have the radio call of the game through the Quaker Audio Network.