PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania football team embarks on another hunt for an Ivy League title on Saturday, visiting Delaware at 6 p.m.
 
The Quakers, searching for their 19th Ancient Eight crown, tied for fifth place in 2023 after finishing with an overall record of 6-4 and a 3-4 mark in Ivy play. Meanwhile, the Blue Hens will take the gridiron for the third time in 2024 following back-to-back victories over Bryant and North Carolina A&T.
 
GAME 1 – PENN at DELAWARE
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024 | 6 p.m.
Delaware Stadium | Newark, Del.
Watch Live on FloFootball ($)  |  Listen Live (QAN)  |  Live Stats
Penn Game Notes (PDF)  | Delaware Game Notes (PDF)
 

Football Is Back!
The Ivy League starts a couple weeks later than everyone else, but opening day is finally here as Penn opens its 147th season Saturday at Delaware. This will be the Quakers' first matchup against the Blue Hens since 2019 and for the seventh time in the program's history. Penn is 5-3 in season openers during the Ray Priore era after a 20-6 victory at Colgate last year.
 
The Delaware Series
Penn owned the series back in the "classic" era, having taken the first three matchups from 1919-1921 before Delaware won the next three in 1981, 1983, and 2019. Saturday's winner will take the lead in the all-time series.
 
The Last Time Against Delaware…
So close. On Sept. 28, 2019, the Quakers stormed out to a 21-7 lead before the Blue Hens fought back to take a 28-21 cushion late in the fourth quarter. Penn was set to get the ball back with under 3:00 to play, but Isaiah Malcome had other ideas and the junior took a Delaware punt 69 yards for a touchdown. The Quakers elected to go for two but were just short. One Blue Hen first down later, the hosts escaped with a 28-27 win.
 
Scouting The Blue Hens
It's been a strong 2-0 start to the season for Delaware following consecutive victories over Bryant (48-17) and North Carolina A&T (42-13). On the road against the Aggies on Saturday, the Blue Hens scored five rushing touchdowns while the defense didn't allow an offensive TD in the win. UD finished with 526 yards of total offense, including 201 on the ground as quarterback Ryan O'Connor completed 23 passes for 325 yards and a touchdown, also rushing for a team-high 47 yards and a score.

Delaware currently ranks first in scoring offense (45.0 ppg), second in red-zone offense (1.000), and third in rushing defense (70.5 ypg). It's defense has totaled four sacks through two games, ranked fourth in FCS football.
 
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.
 
All Eyes on J-Rich
The entire nation has been laser-focused on what Richardson will bring to the fold in 2024. The junior wideout burst onto the scene last year by earning first-team All-Ivy honors following a special season. He caught 67 passes for 788 yards and eight touchdowns. Already this preseason, Richardson has been named a Preseason All-America by FCS Football Central, Stats Perform, and Phil Steele and was named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List, awarded to the national offensive player of the year in FCS football.

Hail King Hosley
New number, same baller. Sophomore running back Malachi Hosley will rock the No. 1 uniform after wearing No. 23 during his freshman campaign in which he was named both Ivy League Rookie of the Year and a first-team All-Ivy pick. Hosley rushed for 723 yards on 121 attempts during his first season, scoring seven touchdowns. He was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year a program-record five times in route to winning the end-of-season accolade, which also included Freshman All-America by Stats Perform, Phil Steele, and FCS Football Central.

That's What We've Been Sayin
The puns are back, but so is Penn's veteran signal-caller. Senior quarterback Aidan Sayin enters his final season wearing the Red and Blue having started 25 career games, racking up 6,069 yards on 619 completions with 39 touchdowns. The two-time team captain enters the 2024 season ranked second among Penn QBs all-time in pass attempts (983), third in yards and completions and fourth in TDs.
 
Fresh Faces
Another season, more first opportunities as a part of the starting lineup for several student-athletes Saturday at Delaware. On offense, Aaron Kruse is projected to make his first-career start at right tackle while Sam Carlson, Carter Janki, Devin Malloy, and Josh Narcisse are poised to make first starts on defense.
 
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.
 
Aye, Aye, Aye Captains!
Seniors Paul Jennings, Shiloh Means, and Aidan Sayin will be Penn's captains for the 2024 season, as voted by their teammates during the preseason. It's the first time since 2018 that three players were featured as captains. The Quakers had five captains in 2023 and four in both 2021 and 2022.
 
Follow The Action
Saturday's game will be streamed live on FloFootball with Jon Mozes (play-by-play) and Pat Devlin (analyst) on the call. Matt Leon enters his 21st season on the microphone as the radio voice of the Quakers, joined by analyst Hench Murray in his 43rd campaign on the 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.