PHILADELPHIA – Searching for a way to come back from a first-half deficit, the University of Pennsylvania football made a late fourth-quarter charge, ultimately falling to Columbia, 23-17, Saturday at Franklin Field.
Penn falls to 0-2 in Ivy League play while the Lions—receiving votes in the latest AFCA coaches poll—improve their conference record to 2-0.
Quaker Notemeal
*Columbia wins its first game against Penn since 2021 and first at Franklin Field since 1996, snapping a 12-game win streak.
*Quarterback
Aidan Sayin targeted 10 different receivers on the afternoon, while
Julien Stokes led the offense with seven catches for 65 yards.
Bisi Owens had six grabs for 78 yards and
Jared Richardson added six receptions for 62 yards.
*Sayin completed 27 of his 48 pass attempts for 241 yards, but was intercepted twice with no touchdowns.
*Columbia's defense held
Malachi Hosley to just 50 yards on 19 carries, while Sayin had 31 yards on six attempts with a rushing touchdown, his second of the season.
*Safety
Julian Talley had a standout day on defense, leading the Quakers with 13 total tackles—with nine solo stops—along with two sacks and three TFLs.
*All four of
Jack Fairman,
Kadari Machen,
Alec Wills, and
John Lista had a pass breakup.
How It Happened
Opening up the first quarter, Penn received the ball and slowly made its way up the field but could not find its way into the endzone. Likewise, Columbia was unsuccessful on its first drive, giving the ball directly back to the Quakers. Miscommunication on a pass play from Sayin allowed the Lions' Aaron Brebnor to intercept the pass.
Columbia took advantage of the opportunity leading to the first score of the day in the form of a touchdown pass from Chase Goodwin to Marcus Libman, ending the first quarter with a 7-0 lead.
The Quakers didn't give up fast, converting on two 4th and short plays on the same drive. However, they weren't able to overcome the Lions' defense, giving up the ball on Penn's 31. Columbia kept up its stamina to continue down the field including a 26-yard pass from Goodwin to Bryson Canty. Ultimately, the Lions didn't find the end zone, flipping the ball back to Penn.
Penn's next drive ended with a second Sayin interception, picked off by Columbia's Hayden McDonald, running it back for 19 yards to get inside Penn's 18. Goodwin and Canty linked up to give Columbia a double-digit lead at 14-0 halfway through the second quarter.
Sayin and the offense took their time winding down the clock, paying off in dividends as
Malachi Hosley rushed up the gut for a yard, granting Penn's first score of the day and cutting the Lions' lead to seven points. Columbia had a minute left to work with in the quarter and were able to find a scoring opportunity which led to Hugo Merry's 29-yard field goal to conclude the first half with a 17-7 edge.
Columbia tried to carry that same momentum into the second half, but quickly gave back the ball on a three and out. The Red and Blue took measures into their own hands, completing a 13-play drive for 80 yards as Sayin ran the ball 18 yards and flipped over the pylon to trim the deficit to 17-14.
The Quakers had a spark of energy that pushed Lions close to the goal line after
John Lista swatted down an intended pass from Goodwin to Canty. In return, Goodwin threw a 36-yard pass to Braden Dougherty to push the team further down the field. The Lions found themselves in scoring position but after a quarterback sack from Talley, they conceded just a field goal for Merry.
While Penn retained the ball for another offensive possession, Sayin completed just one pass to Owens. Penn handed the ball back to Columbia with 1:25 left in the third quarter, but had to work quickly to score. The Lions had two back-to-back fundamental plays leading them down the field fast. Goodwin completed a 29-yard pass to Canty and then Joey Giorgi ran for 30 yards to run out the clock.
Continuing on into the fourth quarter, Columbia settled for another field goal by Merry to extend its lead to two possessions at 23-14. After the Red and Blue went three and out, the Lions took over at their own 28, making their way down the field with Merry missing what could have been the dagger.
With half a quarter remaining in regulation, Penn took over with Sayin completing a 25-yard pass to
Jared Richardson to get back in Columbia territory. The Quakers couldn't find any luck in the end zone turning to
Sam Smith with a 25-yard field goal, getting it back to a 23-17 game. In the last few minutes, Columbia took their time to run down the clock, eventually giving Penn the ball back with just 14 seconds remaining.
Sayin found Owens for 24 yards, who then got out of bounds with six seconds left. Another quick pass from Sayin to Owens went seven yards as the senior QB was sacked for a loss of six yards to end the contest.
Up Next
Penn plays Yale under the Friday night lights at Franklin Field in a nationally-televised matchup on ESPNU with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Both the Quakers and Bulldogs are looking for their first wins in Ancient Eight action.
For the latest on Penn football, follow @PennFB on X (formerly Twitter), @PennFootball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
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