HANOVER, N.H. – An entertaining night under the lights on national television ended with senior captain Trey Flowers diving his way into the end zone, giving the University of Pennsylvania football team a dramatic, 23-17 win over defending Ivy League co-champion and preseason co-favorite Dartmouth in the Ivy opener for both teams.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*The overtime game was the first for the Quakers since 2017, a 34-31 loss at Columbia. Penn is now 1-1 in OT games under head coach Ray Priore.

*Friday was the first multi-overtime for Penn since 2013; that game was also the third of the season, also against Dartmouth, the Quakers winning that time 37-31 in a game that, until last year, stood as the longest game in Ivy League history.
 
*The last time the Quakers went 3-0 to start the season was 2003, a year Penn went 10-0 and earned its 13th Ivy League title.
 
*The win snaps a four-game skid against the Big Green and moves the all-time series to 44-33 in favor of the Quakers. It moves Penn in the lead on Dartmouth's turf, 17-16.
 
*Senior captain Jake Heimlicher led the defense with 13 total tackles including eight solos. It's his second-straight game with double-digit tackles.
 
*The backfield committee saw rushing from five different players led by Flowers with 15 attempts for 51 yards and two touchdowns. Flowers also led the receiving game, catching five passes for 43 yards.
 
*Sophomore quarterback Aidan Sayin put up an impressive 119.6 QBR, going 25-38 for 204 yards and a touchdown.
 
How It Happened
Penn ate up nearly eight minutes on the opening drive of the game, using 14 plays over 75 yards to put up seven points on the scoreboard. Much of that success came by a committee in the backfield, seeing rushes by Julien Stokes, Tysen Comizio, Jonathan Mulatu, and Flowers.
 
Ultimately, it came down to some key connections by Sayin and Flowers. On 3rd-and-17, a quick screenpass to Flowers was transitioned into 17 yards for a first down. As the drive continued, the Quakers got to the Dartmouth 14-yard line where Sayin found Malone Howley to set up a 1st-and-goal on the three-yard line. Needing just one more play, a handoff to Flowers up the middle for the touchdown put Penn up 7-0 in the first quarter.

7:15 Q1 | TOUCHDOWN PENN! ??

Quakers take an early 7-0 lead off Trey Flowers' three-yard run into the end zone.#FightOnPenn x #BEGREAT pic.twitter.com/tSYYCgpNEz

— Penn Football (@PENNfb) September 30, 2022

The Penn defense, which hadn't given up a touchdown this season entering the matchup, continued that trend through the first three quarters, holding the Big Green to a field goal in the second quarter and forcing them into seven punts. However, the TD drought came to an end in the fourth quarter when Dartmouth found the end zone on an 11-yard rush around the left side. That gave the Big Green its first lead of the game, 10-7.
 
Penn went 3-and-out on the next drive, and the Big Green ate up much of the clock on their next possession. However, with 2:11 left Dartmouth was forced to attempt a field goal from 48 yards out after a third-down tackle by Logan Nash and Heimlicher. The attempt sailed left, keeping it a three-point game.
 
Starting on their own 30-yard line, the Quakers drove the ball 52 yards on 14 plays to set up Graham Gotlieb for a 35-yard field goal attempt. As time expired, Gotlieb drilled the kick right down the middle to send the game to overtime.

End Q4 | Penn 10, Dartmouth 10

IT'S GOOOOOOOOD!!!! Graham Gotlieb converts on the 35 yarder and we go to OT in Hanover! ????#FightOnPenn x #BEGREAT pic.twitter.com/xDsxaBHPGc

— Penn Football (@PENNfb) October 1, 2022

Penn received the ball first in overtime, starting on Dartmouth's 25. The Quakers needed seven plays, but they found paydirt on a five-yard reception by Joshua Casilli for the touchdown and a 17-10 lead.

OT1 | Penn 17, Dartmouth 10

Sayin finds Casilli for the touchdown and the Quakers jump ahead by seven!#FightOnPenn x #BEGREAT pic.twitter.com/etvCQ1i8hu

— Penn Football (@PENNfb) October 1, 2022

Dartmouth also scored in the first overtime, but the PAT had the officials and Penn thinking the game was over after a miskick barely scooted over the crossbar. The officials waved it off, the Quakers celebrated, but a review showed the ball slipping through to send the game to a second overtime.
 
Forced to reset, the defense stepped up once again, this time forcing the Big Green into a 28-yard field goal attempt that was blocked by Grant Ristoff.
 
Penn had different plans on its offensive possession. Flowers rushed the ball four times, the crucial one coming on second down when he found a hole and popped off a 24-yard gain to Dartmouth's 2. Two players later, he called game with a one-yard push up the middle for the winning touchdown.
 
Up Next
The Quakers remain on the road next Saturday, making a trip to the nation's capital for a bout with Georgetown. Penn has only played the Hoyas twice in program history, winning both matchups by a combined 69-20. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.