PHILADELPHIA – Following three straight home games, the University of Pennsylvania football team heads back onto the road to play Brown Saturday in Providence, R.I.
 
The Quakers (2-4, 0-3 Ivy) have dropped three consecutive conference games following a 31-10 defeat to two-time defending champion Yale Friday at Franklin Field while the Bears (3-3, 2-1 Ivy) are coming off a gritty, come-from-behind victory against Cornell last weekend.
 
Brown is currently slotted in a three-way tie for second place in the Ancient Eight standings while Penn is last, still searching for its first Ivy victory.
 
GAME 7 – PENN at BROWN
Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 | Noon
Brown Stadium | Providence, R.I.
Watch Live on ESPN+ ($)  |  Listen Live (QAN)  | Live Stats
Penn Game Notes (PDF)  | Brown Game Notes (PDF)
 

The Brown Series
The Bears have taken the past two meetings of a series that dates back to 1895. Despite recent losses, Penn remains in tight control of the all-time series lead at 63-26-2 and have still claimed six of the last 10 contests. The Quakers have a 19-16-1 edge at Brown Stadium and head coach Ray Priore is 6-2 all-time against Brown in his tenure at the helm.
 
Last Meeting With Brown
Penn nearly completed the fourth quarter rally against Brown in 2023 but couldn't quite overcome the deficit in a 30-26 defeat at Franklin Field. After the Bears led by 10 entering the final stanza, the Quakers had two scoring plays—a 13-yard touchdown pass from Aidan Sayin to Jared Richardson and a safety in the closing seconds—to get within four points and have one final offensive possession. However, Penn ran out of time trying to get past midfield with no timeouts remaining. Richardson tallied his second straight 100 receiving yard game with 12 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown, while Alex Haight had seven receptions for 89 yards. For the fourth time in the season, Sayin had a 300-yard passing game, throwing for 322 yards on 32 completions. Jack Iuliano paced the Penn defense with a team-high 12 tackles, adding three TFLs and a sack. Joey Slackman had 11 tackles with Jack Fairman and Julian Talley each contributing nine.
 
Penn's Last Time Out
Penn fell to Yale, 31-10, at Franklin Field under Friday night lights. The game aired to a national audience on ESPNU. The Bulldogs put up the first 14 points of the contest during the first quarter and Penn never found the end zone until late in the second when Liam O'Brien ran five yards to cut the deficit to 21-10. Yale scored twice in the second half to come away with the three-score win. O'Brien completed eight of his 13 pass attempts while rushing 13 times for 61 yards and a TD. John Lista totaled 10 tackles on defense, while Jack Fairman and Kadari Machen combined for a TFL. Albert Jang punted six times and averaged 43.7 yards per attempt.
 
What Say You, 2?
Due to unfortunate circumstances—an early injury to Sayin against Yale—junior O'Brien took his first extended snaps under center of his career against the Bulldogs, completing eight of his 13 pass attempts, but also rushing for 61 yards on 13 carries and his first touchdown of the season.
 
O'Brien saw a significant amount of action in Penn's run game during the 2023 campaign, scoring six touchdowns in short-yardage situations, which ranked second on the team behind just Malachi Hosley.
 
A Second Pick
Penn's secondary has recorded just two interceptions this year so far, the first to Alec Wills against Colgate on Sept. 28, and the other was tallied by Josh Narcisse on Friday against Yale.
 
It was Narcisse's first collegiate INT after picking off the Elis' Grant Jordan early in the second quarter and returning it 41 yards in the Penn 47 yard line.
 
Just Call Him Mr. 7,000
It wasn't the best day at the office for Sayin two weeks ago against the Lions, but he did continue his push towards becoming Penn's all-time leading passer. The senior QB attempted just three passes against Yale before missing the rest of the game due to injury.
 
He passed for 241 yards against Columbia and became just the third Quakers' QB to reach 7,000 career passing yards, now at 7,177 after jumping over Alek Torgersen (7,025) for second place. He needs just 366 yards to usurp Gavin Hoffman '01 (7,542) and become Penn's career passing leader.
 
Fifty For Priore
George A. Munger Head Coach Ray Priore became the fifth head coach in program history to reach the 50-win milestone following the Quakers' 31-21 victory over Bucknell at Franklin Field. The win put Priore past Louis Young (1923-29) for sole possession of fifth place. Currently, he's now behind just Carl Williams (60; 1902-07), George Munger (82; 1938-53), George Woodruff (124; 1892-1901), and the all-time winngest head coach and recent Penn Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Al Bagnoli (148; 1992-2014).
 
Scouting The Bears
Brown remains steadfast in its pursuit towards an Ivy League title, holding steady at 2-1 as we hit the halfway point in the Ancient Eight season.
 
The Bears are coming off a close 23-21 victory over Cornell in Providence last weekend to remain locked in a three-way tie for second with Harvard and Columbia.
 
Brown, trailing 21-3 with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter, scored 18 unanswered points including a game-winning 29-yard field goal from Christopher Maron as time expired to come away with the two-point win over the Big Red.
 
Quarterback Jake Willcox passed for 316 yards and a TD while Stockton Owen rushed 18 times for 79 yards. Ben Moseley caught eight passes for 100 yards and Isaiah Reed led the defense with seven total tackles and two PBUs.
 
On the year so far, Willcox has passed for 1,604 yards and has completed 61.3 percent of his pass attempts but has eight interceptions over seven touchdowns for the Bears. Running back Matt Childs has rushed for 240 yards with a touchdown while Qwentin Brown has a team-high six TDs. Childs also leads Bruno in receiving with 291 yards and a pair of scores, while Tim Malo has recorded 42 total tackles on defense with two interceptions. Caleb Moorhead has a team-high seven TFLs.
 
Linebacker UofP
Six games into this season and the position group that has excelled the most on the defensive side of the ball has without a doubt been at linebacker.
 
The Quakers boast a solid group of linebackers in Kadari Machen, John Lista, and Jack Fairman, who have all stepped up in a big way this year. Both Machen and Lista are chasing Yale's Abu Kamara, who leads the Ancient Eight in total stops with 44.0. Machen ranks second in the Ivy League in total tackles with 48, while Lista is tied for fifth with 43.
 
Kamara's solo tackles per game average (7.2) leads the nation in that category, while his 43 total solos rank tied for tied for sixth.
 
Lista is putting together a quietly successful season on the national level, currently slotted in at sixth in FCS in solo tackles per game (5.8) and 26th in total tackles per game (8.6) as well.
 
Penn in National Rankings
The Quakers continue to be one of the nation's leading teams in a variety of categories as we enter Week 6 on the calendar.
 
Penn is third in the nation in punt return defense (0.67), third in fumbles lost (1), sixth in kickoff return yards per attempt (25.47), sixth in fewest penalties (27), 12th in tackles for loss allowed (3.83), 12th in fourth-down conversion percentage (.692), and 14th in turnovers lost (7).
 
Individually, Hosley is 10th in rushing yards per game (105.5) and 24th in all-purpose yards per game (117.33). Julien Stokes is currently eighth in kickoff return yards per attempt (28.1). Lista ranks sixth in solo tackles per game (5.8) and is 26th in total tackles per game (8.6). Punter Albert Jang is 22nd in the nation in punt yards per attempt (43.2). Placekicker Sam Smith has burst onto the scene ranked 27th in the nation in field goals per game (1.17).
 
Preseason All-Ivy
Announced by Phil Steele on August 2, eight Quakers earned Preseason All-Ivy honors led by first-teamers RB Malachi Hosley, WR Jared Richardson, TE Bryce Myers, LB Jack Fairman, LB John Lista, and DB Shiloh Means. DL Paul Jennings and LB Kadari Machen earned spots on the second team.
 
Hey, Coaches!
Priore added four new faces to his coaching staff with Greg Chimera (offensive coordinator), Marvin Clecidor (defensive backs), Jordan Johnson (running backs), and David Josephson (tight ends) coming to University City.
 
Follow The Action
Scott Cordischi (play-by-play) and John Anderson, Jr. (analyst) have the broadcast call on ESPN+ while Penn radio voice Matt Leon (play-by-play) and Hench Murray (analyst) will provide the call on Quaker Audio Network (QAN).
 
For the latest on Penn football, follow @PennFB on X (formerly Twitter), @PennFootball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.