PHILADELPHIA – Seeking its first 3-0 start in Ivy League play since 2022, the University of Pennsylvania football team continues its road trip Saturday with a noon kickoff at Yale.
 
The Quakers are one of three remaining unbeaten Ancient Eight teams and have already knocked off two defending Ivy champs in Dartmouth and Columbia. The Bulldogs have an Ivy win over Cornell on their resume and dominated Stonehill, 47-7, last weekend.
 
GAME 6 – PENN (4-1, 2-0 Ivy) at YALE (3-2, 1-1 Ivy)
Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025 | Noon
Yale Bowl | New Haven, Conn.
Watch Live on ESPN+ ($) | Listen Live (QAN) | Live Stats | Tickets
Penn Game Notes (PDF)  | Yale Game Notes (PDF)
 

Ivy Play Rolls On
The race to the 2025 Ivy League title is heating up and the picture will certainly become a tad more clearer following the third week of conference games this weekend.
 
Of the current 2-0 teams (Harvard, Penn, Princeton), one of the three will lose its first game on Saturday as Penn takes on Yale and the Crimson head to Old Nassau to take on the Tigers.
 
The Quakers are looking for their first 3-0 start to Ivy play since 2022. That year, a loss to Brown and Harvard negated Penn's chance at a 19th Ivy title, finishing the year with an 8-2 record, 5-2 in conference.
 
The Yale Series
Saturday marks the 91st all-time meeting between Penn and Yale in a rivalry that dates back to 1879. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 52–37–1, and hold a 24–16 edge over the Quakers at the Yale Bowl. Penn's first trip to the Yale Bowl came in 1925.
 
Yale has won six of the last 10 meetings, including last season's 31–10 victory in Philadelphia. Penn's last win at the Yale Bowl came in 2023, a 27–17 decision. The Quakers' longest winning streak in the series is seven straight (1992–1998), while Yale's best stretch was 11 straight (1879–1893).
 
Under head coach Ray Priore, Penn is 4–5 against Yale, while the Elis' Tony Reno is 7–5 versus the Quakers.
 
Last Time Against Yale
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 after Penn starting quarterback Aidan Sayin went down with a season-ending injury. The Quakers never found the end zone until late in the second when backup QB 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.
 
History In New Haven
Penn used a record-breaking performance from sophomore wide receiver Jared Richardson to dominate through the air in a 27-17 victory at Yale back in 2023. Richardson set a new Penn record for receptions with 17, totaling 191 yards and a touchdown.
 
The Quakers scored two first-half touchdowns and a field goal to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room. Graham Gotlieb kicked a 28-yard field goal to extend Penn's lead to six at 20-14 in the final two minutes of the third quarter, before Bryce Myers put the game out of reach with 4:26 left in the fourth with his first collegiate TD.
 
Aidan Sayin passed for a career-high 364 yards, tossing two touchdowns without an interception. Malachi Hosley rushed 20 times for a career-high 86 yards and a TD. Fairman led the team with 10 tackles, while the defense recorded four sacks. The win was the sixth in a row for the Quakers on the road dating back to the 2022 season.
 
Scouting The Bulldogs
Yale enters the weekend 3–2 overall and 1–1 in Ivy play under 13th-year head coach Tony Reno. Picked third in the Ivy preseason poll, the Bulldogs opened with wins over Holy Cross and Cornell, dropped road games at Lehigh and Dartmouth, and rebounded with a 47–7 rout of Stonehill.

The Bulldogs average 359.6 yards and 29.0 points per game, showing strong balance on offense. Quarterback Dante Reno has thrown for 1,015 yards and seven touchdowns, while running back Josh Pitsenberger leads the ground game with 539 yards and eight scores. Nico Brown (26 rec, 400 yds, 4 TDs) and Jaxton Santiago (16 rec, 287 yds, 2 TDs) headline the receiving corps.

Defensively, Yale allows just 17.8 points per game and has totaled 12 sacks and 30.0 tackles for loss. Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye leads the team with 58 tackles, Ezekiel Larry has a team-best 5.0 TFLs and 4.0 sacks, and Abu Kamara has added 31 stops, two interceptions, six breakups, and a pick-six.

Special teams have been reliable, led by kicker Noah Piper, who's a perfect 6-for-6 on field goals, and returner Joshua Tarver, averaging 29.0 yards per kickoff return.
 
In a New York Groove
Penn overcame early turnovers to surge past defending Ivy champion Columbia, 35–21, Saturday at Wien Stadium in New York City.
 
O'Brien rebounded from two first-quarter interceptions to account for 353 total yards and five touchdowns—four passing and one rushing—while leading an offense that produced 458 total yards.
 
Richardson highlighted the day with six receptions for 157 yards and three scores—including a 76-yard grab—and became the sixth player in program history to surpass 2,000 career receiving yards.
 
Bisi Owens added seven catches for 79 yards and a TD, while the Quakers' ground game contributed 186 yards, paced by O'Brien's 81 and Julien Stokes' 63.
 
Carter Janki and Cole Olsztyn anchored a disruptive front, combining for five tackles for loss while the defense forced multiple fumbles. The Quakers are unbeaten through their first two Ivy games for the first time since winning three straight to start 2022.
 
Receiving (More) National Votes
Heading into Week 5, Penn received votes in a national poll for the first time since 2022. After another big victory in a 35-21 win at Columbia last weekend, the Quakers are receiving votes in both the AFCA coaches and Stats Perform media polls.
 
Penn is the sixth team receiving votes in the AFCA poll with 11 voting points, while picking up eight points in the media poll, also sixth.
 
One of eight unbeaten teams remaining in FCS, Harvard continues its ascent up the national rankings, now slotted No. 14 by the media, No. 17 by the coaches.
 
Penn has not been nationally ranked since 2010, ending that season ranked 16th by the coaches, 18th by the media.
 
Monopolizing Player of the Week
Stop us if you've heard this before: Penn has a Player of the Week. For the fifth straight week to begin the season, that is the case. At this point, the Ivy League office is just saving time by keeping Penn's name on file.
 
Richardson was named Offensive Player of the Week on Monday for the second week in a row, making it five straight weeks with a weekly award for Penn, tying a program record set back in 1993. In addition, Richardson and Stokes are the first Penn duo to win a weekly honor in consecutive weeks in the same season. Go figure!
 
Richardson caught six passes for 157 yards and a career-high tying three touchdowns in the Quakers' 35-21 victory at Columbia on Saturday.
 
The senior wideout has now won four career Ivy League weekly awards, tied for third all-time with Chris Flynn '87.
 
Midseason All-America
Late last week, Richardson and Stokes were recognized for their standout performances to begin the campaign and were named Midseason All-America by Phil Steele.
 
Stokes was tabbed to the first team for punt returners, second-team for all-purpose, while Richardson picked up second-team honors at wide receiver.
 
Richardson continues to pace the Ivy in all receiving categories, leading the way in receptions (41), yards (628), touchdowns (8), long reception (76), receptions per game (6.2), and yards per game (125.6). He also ranks first nationally in yards per game, is second in receptions per game, third in receiving TDs, and ninth in total receiving yards.
 
Stokes has cooled off quite a bit, but continues to rank among the NCAA leaders in all-purpose yards per game (third, 156.4), while slotted fifth in combined kick return yards (491). He's still the nation's leader in punt return yards per attempt (22.9) and is second in punt return TDs (1).
 
J-Rich in the Record Books
This is the last word we'll say on Richardson's incredible season (we hope!).
 
He became just the sixth player in program history to eclipse the 2,000 career receiving yard milestone after tallying 157 at Columbia on Saturday. Currently at 2,100 yards even, he begins his march towards the top five, just 266 from passing Miles Macik '95.
 
MOST RECEIVING YARDS IN A CAREER
Penn Program History
1. Justin Watson, 3,777 (2014-17)
2. Rob Milanese, 3,405 (1999-02)
3. Dan Castles, 2,444 (2001-04)
4. Don Clune, 2,419 (1971-73)
5. Miles Macik, 2,365 (1993-95)
6. Jared Richardson, 2,100 (2022-pres.)
7. Conner Scott, 1,762 (2010-14)
 
After becoming the fifth member of Penn's 20-touchdown club against Marist two weekends ago, Richardson added three more to his total against the Lions, and is now ranked fourth in program history.
 
MOST RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS IN A CAREER
Penn Program History
1. Justin Watson, 33 (2014-17)
2. Dan Castles, 27 (2001-04)
3. Miles Macik, 26 (1993-95)
4. Jared Richardson, 23 (2022-pres.)
5. Rob Milanese, 21 (1999-02)
t6. Christian Pearson, 17 (2015-18)
t6. Don Clune, 17 (1971-73)
 
Oh, you wanted receptions? Jared's got the grabs, too.
 
MOST RECEPTIONS IN A CAREER
Penn Program History
1. Justin Watson, 286 (2014-17)
2. Rob Milanese, 259 (1999-02)
3. Miles Macik, 200 (1993-95)
4. Dan Castles, 167 (2000-04)
5. Jared Richardson, 154 (2022-pres.)
6. Conner Scott, 151 (2010-14)
 
Non-Conference Dominance
Penn closed its non-conference slate with another victory after a 28-9 win vs. Marist at Franklin Field. The Quakers closed the schedule with a winning record for an eighth consecutive season.
 
Penn is 18-4 in non-conference action since the 2017 season, going 2-1 in both 2024 and 2025, 3-0 in both 2022 and 2023, 2-1 in 2021, 2-1 in 2019, and 3-0 in 2018. The Red and Blue went through this season's non-conference gauntlet with victories over Stonehill and Marist, while falling on the road at then-No. 9/10 Lehigh.
 
O'Brien's Offense
It looked as if the wheels were going to fall off the wagon when O'Brien tossed two first-quarter interceptions at Columbia last weekend. But that was just the beginning, as the senior signal-caller rebounded and put in one of the most elite performances of his career.
 
O'Brien totaled five touchdowns on the afternoon (four passing, one rushing) for 353 total yards to lead the offense. He is the first player in program history to account for five-or-more touchdowns in two games during a career and the second quarterback (Alek Torgersen) to pass for four-or-more TDs in a career twice.
 
Currently, O'Brien leads the Ivy League in TDs (12) and is second in completion percentage (66.5), second in yards (1,308), second in yards per game (261.6), and second in passing efficiency (156.4).
 
Steel Curtain
Despite countless injuries spread throughout the season, Penn's defense remains as relentless as ever, with a ton of players stepping up at the right times.
 
The Quakers continue to be ranked in the Top 50 in the nation in scoring defense, only giving up an average of 23.8 points per game this year. Total defense, Penn is ranked 39th, allowing 349.4 yards per game.
 
John Lista is one of the nation's most feared defenders once again, ranked sixth in the nation in solo tackles per game (5.75) and is 22nd in total tackles per game (9.0). His 36.0 total tackles lead the Quakers and has added 2.0 TFLs and a sack to his ledger. Carter Janki's 6.5 TFLs are a team-high total and rank second among Ivy League pass rushers.
 
In The National Rankings
Penn remains locked and loaded in the punt return defense game, allowing -5.5 yards per game this season, good for first in FCS football. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Quakers rank first in punt returns at 20.38 yards per attempt.
 
As a team, Penn is also ranked sixth in third down conversion percentage (51.7), seventh in first downs defense (102), 14th in fourth down conversion defense (35.7), 15th in passing offense (264.4), 20th in passing efficiency (154.5), and 22nd in completion percentage (66.0).
 
Under center, O'Brien ranks eighth in passing yards per game (261.6), 10th in completions per game (20.60), 19th in passing TDs (12), 20th in passing efficiency (156.4), and 23rd in completion percentage (66.5). He's also second in the nation in points responsible for per game (20.4), only behind Monmouth's Derek Robertson (24.6).
 
Richardson's activity among the national leaders is already noted, first in receiving yards per game (125.6), second in receptions per game (8.20), third in touchdowns (8), and ninth in receiving yards (628). But he's also fifth in scoring (9.6 ppg), 12th in all-purpose yards per game (125.6), and 17th in total TDs (8).
 
Defensively, Lista ranks sixth in solo tackles per game (5.75) and 22nd in total tackles (9.0), while Janki ranks 19th in TFLs per game (1.30). Additionally, Olsztyn ranks 11th in forced fumbles per game (0.4).
 
Follow The Action
Saturday's game will stream live on ESPN+ and through the airwaves on the Quaker Audio Network (QAN) with Matt Leon (play-by-play) and Hench Murray (analyst) on the call.
 
For the latest on Penn football, follow @PennFB on X (formerly Twitter), @PennFootball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.