PHILADELPHIA – In the 2023 season finale, the University of Pennsylvania football team was done in by seven turnovers as the Quakers fell to archrival Princeton Saturday at Franklin Field, 31-24.
 
Penn's season ends at 6-4 overall, 3-4 in Ivy League play. Princeton, meanwhile, finishes the season at .500 overall (5-5) and finishes 4-3 in Ivy play.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Princeton improves to 70-43-1 in the all-time series following the 114th meeting between the programs.
 
*The Tigers have now won three consecutive games at Franklin Field dating back to 2019.
 
*Jared Richardson caught six passes for 138 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. It's his fourth 100+ yard receiving game of the year. Richardson finishes his breakout sophomore campaign with 67 receptions for 788 yards and eight touchdowns.
 
*Bisi Owens had a career day for the Quakers, bringing in a team-high 11 catches for 123 yards, both career-high totals.
 
*Freshman Malachi Hosley tallied his third consecutive 100+ rushing yard game with 21 carries for 119 yards. He also added two catches for 19 receiving yards. Hosley closes his rookie campaign with 121 rushes for 723 yards and seven TDs.
 
*Senior Isaiah Jordan led the defense with 10 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks (for a loss of four yards). Jack Fairman added eight tackles, while Logan Nash had six tackles and a pass breakup.
 
*Penn recovered its first onside kick since October 23, 2021, doing so late in the fourth quarter.
 
How It Happened
After Princeton opened Saturday's game with a three-and-out on offense, Penn's opening drive showed promise as the Quakers drove from their 40 to the Tigers' 21. However, it was there that Hosley fumbled when he was hit and the ball was recovered by Princeton's Nasir Hill. The Tigers were unable to make the turnover pay.
 
Penn put up the game's first points late in the opening period when Sayin found Richardson up the middle and hit him in stride for a 37-yard strike. The four-play scoring drive covered 57 yards.
 
Penn looked like it might double its advantage midway through the second, but on second down in the red zone Sayin's pass went through Richardson's hands, bounced off a Princeton defender and was caught by Tahj Owens. The Tigers defender took the interception out of the shadow of his goalpost out to the 28, where Princeton took over.
 
Bolstered by the turnover, Princeton's offense came to life. The Tigers drove all the way to Penn's 21-yard line—converting a third-and-16 to get there—before the Penn defense stiffened and pushed their guests back to the 28. However, Jeffrey Sexton was true on the 45-yard field goal and Princeton was on the board, down 7-3.
 
Penn went three-and-out on its next drive and punted, and Princeton's offense kept moving. This time the Tigers needed just six plays to cover 59 yards, getting first downs on each of the first three and then scoring on third and 5 from the Penn 11 when Stenstrom hit Connor Hulstein toward the left sideline. Hulstein was tackled by Kendren Smith but had enough length to hit the pylon with the ball for the score.
 
Penn went back in front on its first drive of the second half, thanks to two big plays from Sayin to Jared Richardson. The first came on third and 24 from the Quakers' 11 and got them right to the first down sticks. The second came on third and four at Penn's 41, as Sayin beat a blitz by finding Richardson on the right sideline and he followed a convoy into open space for a 59-yard score.
 
A huge momentum swing came late in the third when Sayin was picked off on consecutive drives and the Tigers turned them into 14 points. Nasir Hill had the first INT near midfield, and just four plays later the Tigers were in the end zone and up, 17-14. Two plays after that, Collin Taylor picked off the Quakers' junior QB, and just two plays after that the Tigers were scoring again for a 10-point lead. It was still 24-14 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Penn got three of the points back on a sustained, 17-play drive that took more than seven minutes and the game into the fourth quarter. Sayin was unable to hit Richardson in the end zone after a rollout to the left on third and 12, so Penn settled for a 29-yard field goal that Gotlieb hit to make this a one-score game, 24-17.
 
Penn's defense held, but on the first play of the Quakers' next possession, the snap bounced through Sayin's legs and Princeton's Ryan Savage wrestled the ball away from the Penn QB at the 7-yard line. The Tigers needed two plays to hit paydirt, Dareion Murphy rushing it up the gut to extend their lead back to 14, 31-17.
 
Penn took its next drive to midfield, but Sayin was stripped as he looked for an open receiver and lost the ball on the strip-sack. It was recovered by Ozzie Nicholas, giving Princeton the ball again in Penn territory. The Tigers drove deep into Penn territory and chose to go for it on a fourth-and-2 which would have effectively ended the game. Penn stuffed Jiggie Carr on the rush, though, giving Penn the ball with 2:06 left on its own 12.
 
After a first-down sack and an incompletion left the Quakers with third-and-18 at their 4, they certainly made it interesting. Sayin got 15 of those yards back on a completion to Bisi Owens, then hit Joshua Casilli for a first down. From there the two-minute offense went into effect, and it was a one-score game when Sayin hit Richardson for a 2-yard score with 44 seconds left.
 
Things got real interesting when Richardson recovered the onside kick for Penn, giving the Quakers the ball at Princeton's 48 with a chance to tie.
 
However, after the Red and Blue got a first down at the 36, Sayin went down the right sideline and was picked off by Hill again to put the game to bed.
 


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