PHILADELPHIA – It's the home opener for the University of Pennsylvania football team, taking on Colgate Saturday at 1 p.m. inside the confines of historic Franklin Field.
 
Saturday marks the start of the Quakers' (0-1, 0-0 Ivy) 129th season playing on the corner of 33rd and South Street, taking on the Raiders (1-3, 0-0 Patriot) for the third consecutive season and second time at home in the last three years.
 
GAME 2 – PENN vs. COLGATE
First Years On The Field presented by The Penn Bookstore
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 | 1 p.m.
Franklin Field | Philadelphia, Pa.
Watch Live on ESPN+ ($)  |  Listen Live (QAN)  |  Live Stats | Tickets
Game Program | Penn Game Notes (PDF)  | Colgate Game Notes (PDF)
 

The Colgate Series
This will be the 11th meeting all-time between Penn and Colgate, a series that dates back to Nov. 6, 1982. In that matchup, the Quakers knocked off the Raiders, 21-13, at Franklin Field. Since then, the series has been tinted Red and Blue, including over the last 31 years where Penn has won five games in a row. This will be the third meeting in as many years with the Quakers taking the previous two including a 25-14 win in Philly in 2022.
 
Last Meeting With Colgate
Penn kicked off the 2023 season with a 20-6 victory at Colgate last fall. The Quakers began the year with a win for a third consecutive season. Penn held a 13-6 halftime lead after Graham Gotlieb's two field goals—the first a career-long 42-yarder—and sophomore Jared Richardson's first career touchdown catch from Aidan Sayin. Sayin threw his second TD pass to Maurcus McDaniel early in the third quarter and the defense did the rest, holding the host Raiders without a point in the second half. Defensive backs Jaden Key and Shiloh Means both recorded interceptions, while Kendren Smith finished with a team-high eight total tackles (five solos).
 
Tough Start vs. Tough Opponent
Penn fell at Delaware, 29-22, on Saturday evening in Newark. The Quakers looked like they might be in position to tie the game or take the lead after Richardson caught a pass from Sayin and hauled it to the Hens' 17-yard line with just under two minutes left. However, Sayin's next pass to Malachi Hosley was bobbled and intercepted as UD prevailed. Hosley led the Red and Blue offense with 176 rushing yards on 26 carries, while Richardson caught five passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. Bisi Owens had the other receiving TD, totaling 20 yards. John Lista finished with a team-high eight total tackles, Shiloh Means registered a pair of pass breakups, and Francesco Barone recorded his second career punt block.
 
They're Back!
Last season, Hosley and Richardson were two of Penn's five first-team All-Ivy honorees and they both put on quite the performances Saturday at Delaware. For starters, Hosley ran all over the Blue Hens' defense for 176 yards on 26 carries, his fourth straight 100-or-more yard effort dating back to the end of last season. Richardson scored the Quakers' first touchdown of 2024 and registered five catches for 98 yards on the night. His final catch went for 58 yards and brought Penn into the red zone with under two minutes to play in the fourth quarter. 
 
Scouting The Raiders
The 1-3 record doesn't show the kind of team Colgate is entering its Week 5 matchup against the Quakers on Saturday. The Raiders opened the season with three straight losses to Maine (17-14), No. 5 Villanova (28-3), and FBS opponent Akron (31-20) before earning their first victory of 2024 against Cornell, 41-24, on Saturday. Colgate runs a three-quarterback system, led by Michael Brescia who leads the team in passing with 397 yards and rushing with 255 yards and four touchdowns. Wideout Treyvhon Saunders has a team-high 247 receiving yards with a TD while Brady Hutchison has added an additional 180 yards on 15 catches.
 
Defensively, Cole Kozlowski has a team-high 46 total tackles with 5.5 TFLs, while Tymir Wynn paces the secondary with four pass breakups.
 
Colgate enters the weekend with the 13th-ranked rushing defense in the nation, allowing just 96.5 yards per game.
 
Colgate's Preseason Prognostications
The Raiders were picked to finish fourth when the Patriot League announced its preseason poll on July 24. They totaled 46 voting points and one first-place vote behind Lafayette (72, 12), Holy Cross (56), and Fordham (53, 1).
 
Additionally, WR Treyvhon Saunders, OL Bardhyl Gashi, OL Chance Niesner, LB Christian Sweeney, and P Shelby Pruett earned Preseason All-Patriot League honors.
 
Penn in National Rankings
It's only been one game, but the Quakers have already cracked the Top 25 in several national statistical categories.
 
Penn ranks first in FCS football in fourth-down conversion percentage (1.000), sixth in third-down conversion percentage (.500), fifth in rushing defense (66.0 ypg), 17th in time of possession (32:45), and 22nd in passing yards per completion (13.41).
 
Hats Off to Coach Bags!
The Penn football program's all-time winningest head coach, Eldo "Al" Bagnoli, will be inducted into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday evening and will be participating in the opening coin toss on Saturday.
 
Coaching from 1992-2014, he retired as the program's winningest coach both overall (148) and in Ivy League play (112). The Quakers won nine Ivy League titles during his tenure, all of them outright, giving him more outright championships than any other coach in league history.
 
He coached the Red and Blue to three undefeated seasons, six unbeaten Ivy campaigns, with five others that ended with a 6-1 Ivy mark. Ten of his teams earned national rankings and he coached five Ivy League Players of the Year. Bagnoli's teams won 24 straight games from 1992-95, an FCS record that stood for 20 years, and his teams still have the three longest Ivy League win streaks in Ancient Eight history.
 
Follow The Action
Saturday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Joe Tordy (play-by-play) and Penn Athletics Hall of Famer Joe Valerio C'91 while Matt Leon (play-by-play) and Hench Murray (analyst) provide the radio call on the Quaker Audio Network (QAN). Live stats will be provided through pennstats.com.
 
For the latest on Penn football, follow @PennFB on X (formerly Twitter), @PennFootball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.