University of Pennsylvania Athletics

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The University of Pennsylvania football team was victimized by a play made famous by the local pro football team, Harvard dialing up the "Philly Special" to score on its third-overtime 2-point conversion to knock off the Quakers, 25-23.
 
With the loss, Penn's game next Saturday with Princeton will be only for pride as the Quakers fall to 6-3 overall, 3-3 in Ivy play. Harvard, meanwhile, has clinched at least a share of the Ivy title at 5-1 and can win it outright with a win over Yale next Saturday in New Haven.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn sees its road win streak of six in a row come to an end, finishing out the road slate 4-1 in 2023.
 
*The Quakers went to an overtime period for the third time this season, the most in a single campaign since 2006. It's the third time Penn has gone to at least three OTs and the most since beating Dartmouth, 37-31, in four overtimes on Oct. 5, 2013.
 
*Freshman running back Malachi Hosley picked right up where he left off from his historic 261-yard performance vs. Cornell last weekend, rushing 22 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns. He has scored two TDs in back-to-back games and had three games of two touchdowns this year.
 
*The Quakers failed to register a passing touchdown for a second straight game, though Aidan Sayin was crucial in getting the game to overtime with a fantastic fourth-quarter drive. He finished with 215 yards on 21 completions.
 
*Junior tight end Bryce Myers caught a team-high eight passes for 66 yards, while Alex Haight had three catches for 54 yards, a long of 28.
 
*The Quakers' defense totaled six sacks with 1.5 for Logan Nash and one each for Joey Slackman and Will Seiler. Isaiah Jordan led the way with 12 total tackles (seven solos), while Kendren Smith finished with 10 stops and eight solos.
 
*Penn blocked its first punt of the season and first since the finale at Princeton last season. The beneficiary of both? Jordan Niles found himself on the receiving end of the play, recovering yet another punt block for the Quakers.
 
*Senior kicker Graham Gotlieb (3-for-4) became the first Penn kicker to boot three field goals in a game since Daniel Karrash had three at Bucknell on Sept. 18, 2021.
 
How It Happened
Penn took the opening kickoff and wasted no time getting on the board. The Quakers needed just four plays to go 75 yards, Malachi Hosley starting the drive with a 13-yard rush and ending it with a 29-yarder down the right sideline for the score.
 
Harvard leveled things on its first offensive possession. The Crimson started on its 32 and marched down the field in six plays, Jaden Craig eating up the final three as he shook off a tackler in the backfield and beat a pair of defenders to the end zone around the left side of the line.
 
Penn regained the lead on a drive that bridged into the second quarter. The Quakers advanced to Harvard's 26-yard line but no further, settling for a 43-yard field goal that Graham Gotlieb nailed right down the middle.
 
Harvard responded with a touchdown drive to take its first lead of the day. The Crimson needed 13 plays to go 80 yards, converting a pair of third-down plays along the way, and scoring when Craig found Cooper Barkate on an out root to the front right corner of the end zone for an eight-yard strike. The extra point was no good, leaving the score at 13-10.
 
The Crimson doubled Penn in the final minute of the half, using nine play to cover 70 yards. Craig again took the honors himself, scoring from two yards out to make the score 20-10. Penn looked like it might be able to get some points before the half, but at Harvard's 34-yard line Sayin through into traffic and Harvard's Damien Henderson stepped up with the interception inside the 10-yard line to keep the margin at 10 as the teams went to the locker room.
 
The third quarter started slowly on both sides, but Penn caught a break when Harvard muffed a punt attempt in its own territory and Jordan Niles recovered the ball on the Crimson's 29. The Quakers drove to the 6-yard line, but on third and 1 they tried some trickery that the Harvard D sniffed out to force an incomplete pass. As a result, the Red and Blue settled for a 23-yard Gotlieb field goal to make it a one-score game at 20-13.
 
The defense forced a Harvard punt on the Crimson's next possession, and the offense kept its momentum going as the game moved into the fourth quarter. The Quakers drove 69 yards in 10 plays, converting a pair of third-and-1 plays along the way. It looked like they had scored when Sayin found Myers on a crossing route from the Harvard 16, but the referees ruled him down just shy of the goal line and a review confirmed the call. No matter, on first down the ball was handed to Hosley and he barreled through the right side for his second TD of the day. After the PAT, the score was tied, 20-20.
 
Harvard used a methodical drive after that, taking nearly 10 minutes off the fourth-quarter clock. The Crimson converted five straight third-down conversions, all the while chewing time off the clock, and eventually got first and goal on Penn's 5. However, the defense stiffened, forcing Harvard to kick a 30-yard field goal that never had a chance, Cali Canaval pushing it wide right.
 
Given life and 2:15 of game time, Penn worked quickly and got to Harvard territory that brought Albert Jang out for a potential game-winning 59-yard field goal, but Kaleb Moody came off the right side and cleanly blocked it to send this game to overtime.
 
Penn started with the ball and could only muster eight yards before settling for a 36-yard Gotlieb field goal to go in front, 23-20. Harvard started with a pass play that went for 12 yards and a first down, and then on third-and-3 Shane McLaughlin barreled through the middle for a first down to the 2-yard line. The defense stiffened, however, stopping the Crimson attack on three consecutive plays to force fourth down at the 1. After a Harvard timeout, the Crimson opted to kick and Canaval converted the 18-yard field goal to force a second OT.
 
Harvard started with the ball in the second OT, and on second down Craig lofted a pass to the right sideline that Logan Nash wrestled away from the Harvard receiver. Needing only a field goal, the Quakers were content to hand the ball to Hosley three times, but on fourth down Gotlieb hooked his 36-yard field goal attempt left and the teams went to 2-point conversions.
 
Penn went first, and Sayin kept the play alive in the pocket but his pass to Jared Richardson was knocked away by a Crimson defender. That gave Harvard the chance to win and they converted, dialing up the Philly Special to clinch a share of the Ivy title.
 
Up Next
Penn closes out the 2023 season next Saturday, hosting archrival Princeton at Franklin Field. The Quakers and Tigers are scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m.
 
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