NEW YORK CITY – Playing through the inclement weather, the University of Pennsylvania football team scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter to come from behind and knock off Columbia, 20-17, Saturday afternoon at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium.
The Quakers earn their first Ivy win of the season and improve to 4-1 overall on the campaign, while the Lions fall to 0-2 in conference play with a 2-3 overall record.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn improves to 3-0 on the road this season, winners of five consecutive road games dating back to last season.
*The Quakers earned their second straight victory over Columbia in the all-time series, but their first win at Wien Stadium since 2015. Penn is now 77-24-1 against the Lions following 102 meetings.
*Saturday marked the first-ever matchup between
Ray Priore and his former pupil, Mark Fabish C'97, who was named interim head coach at Columbia in August following the retirement of Al Bagnoli. Fabish was a four-year letterman at wide receiver for the Quakers from 1993-96 and served as an assistant coach at Penn from 2009 to 2015.
*It was Penn's third straight game decided by three points or less, going 2-1 in those games following Saturday's victory.
*Junior quarterback
Aidan Sayin completed 30 of his 44 pass attempts for 286 yards and a touchdown, He's completed 67 percent of his passes so far this season with nine TDs for 1,417 yards.
*
Jared Richardson returned from injury with a team-high seven catches for 91 yards.
Bisi Owens had himself a career day with six receptions for 63 yards and his first-career touchdown grab.
Alex Haight also had seven catches, totaling 48 yards.
*
Malachi Hosley made his first career start at running back with 15 carries for 58 yards.
*
Joey Slackman and
Jack Iuliano each picked up sacks for the Penn defense, as Slackman now has 7.5 TFLs on the year, ranked second in the Ancient Eight. He also led his teammates with five solo stops.
*
Kadari Machen finished with a team-high eight total tackles, while
Julian Talley added seven, starting in place of
Jaden Key.
*
Logan Nash recorded a team-high two pass breakups.
*Penn outgained Columbia, 358-180, including 286-91 through the air.
*The Quakers dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 36:52, while the Lions were on offense for 23:08.
*Penn went 4-for-4 in red zone opportunities.
How It Happened
Penn received the opening kickoff and immediately drove down the field the first time to collect points.
Aidan Sayin had three consecutive chunk passing plays that led to first downs while a fourth on the drive to
Jonathan Mulatu put the Quakers in opponent territory.
Graham Gotlieb recorded his first field goal of the day—a 36-yarder—to give Penn an early 3-0 lead with 11:28 on the clock.
After Sayin threw an interception in Penn territory, the Lions used the favorable field position to their advantage to cash in a seven play, 35-yard drive with seven points on a four-yard TD run to take a 7-3 lead.
The Quakers took six minutes off the clock bridging the first and second quarters to re-take the lead following 13 plays for 75 yards.
Jared Richardson had two more double-digit yard catches to find themselves in Columbia territory, while
Liam O'Brien punched in his fourth rushing touchdown of the season from the one-yard line, channeling the Philadelphia Eagles' 'Brotherly Shove' play to put the Red and Blue back up, 10-7.
Penn's defense continued to hold the Lions at bay for two consecutive drives before Columbia had one final surge at the end of the half, going 58 yards down the field over nearly three minutes to take a 14-10 advantage into the locker room.
The Lions' first drive of the second half was halted abruptly after just three plays when
Shiloh Means jumped up and grabbed his third interception of the year. But on the very next drive, the Quakers turned the ball over right back to Columbia after
Malachi Hosley fumbled the ball at the Lions' 38. Neither team was able score in the stanza as Columbia maintained a 14-10 edge heading into the final frame.
The Lions continued their drive from the end of the third into the beginning of the fourth, but it was
Grant Parker who made the highlight reel breakup in the end zone to force Columbia to attempt and convert a 40-yard field goal. It remained a one-possession affair with the Lions ahead, 17-10.
With Sayin's leadership under center, offensive coordinator
Dan Swanstrom and the Penn offense orchestrated a solid drive after a pair of 26-yard passing plays—one to Mulatu and the other to Owens—placed the Quakers back in the red zone. Sayin then found Owens on a slant route, hitting him in stride from seven yards out to tie game at 17-17.
The Red and Blue's defense kept Columbia under control yet again on the next drive, as the Lions punted away after another three-and-out.
Sayin took his time and completed six passes—three for first downs—to key up Hosley for six-yard gain to give Gotlieb a 23-yard go-ahead field goal. From there, Penn led, 20-17.
After yet another three-and-out for the Columbia offense, Penn took the ball over with 2:21 remaining, using a seven-yard Hosley rush and a seven-yard pass from Sayin to Owens to get the first down, ultimately draining the clock to pick up a 20-17 road win.
Up Next
Penn continues the road trip with a visit to defending Ivy League champion Yale next Saturday at noon in New Haven. The Quakers gave the Bulldogs their only conference blemish in 2022 after a 20-13 homecoming win at Franklin Field.
#BEGREAT
#FightOnPenn
