CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Freshman kicker
Mason Walters drilled a 30-yard field goal with 22 seconds remaining to give the University of Pennsylvania football team what looked like the final lead, but No. 11/7 Harvard answered with its own 53-yard game-winner with five seconds left to edge Penn, 45–43, in a Saturday thriller at Harvard Stadium.
The Quakers fall to 5-4 overall with a 3-3 mark in Ivy play, while the Crimson remain unbeaten at 9-0, 6-0 to earn a share of their third consecutive Ivy title and 20th in program history.
Quaker Notemeal
*Harvard picked up its fifth consecutive victory over Penn in the all-time series and have now earned at least a share of the Ivy title in three straight meetings dating back to the 2023 season.
*This is the second straight year the Crimson topped the Quakers on a game-winning field goal.
*Coming into the Week 9 matchup, Harvard had trailed for only three minutes, 32 seconds all season long. However, the Quakers made the Crimson come back from deficits of 7-0, 14-7, 21-14, 27-14, and 43-42 for easily their toughest game all year.
*Quarterback
Liam O'Brien played a brilliant game, completing 32 of his 40 pass attempts for 271 yards and three touchdowns (with zero interceptions). He also ran 18 times for 100 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first Penn QB to rush for at least 100 yards since Billy Ragone in 2010 against Brown.
*
Donte West added 54 yards on 16 carries with two scores, bringing his total to five over the last three games.
*Senior wide receiver
Jared Richardson had his second three-touchdown game—and fourth of his career—on 10 catches for 79 yards on the day. He brings his season total to 12, two from tying Justin Watson's single-season record 14 from 2017. He now has 938 yards on the year, the seventh most in a single season in program history.
*Richardson also overtook Miles Macik '95 for fifth all-time in career receiving yardage with 2,410. He's just 10 from fourth (Don Clune '73, 2,419).
*With three more TDs, Richardson now has 27 career touchdown catches, tied with Dan Castles '04 for second In program history. He now needs six to tie, seven to pass Justin Watson '17 (33) for the program record.
*
Bisi Owens led the team with 12 catches for 78 yards.
Davis Ellis had four receptions for 39 yards, while
Michael Hegarty (3-23),
Donte West (1-22),
Jack Donnelly (1-18), and
Tommy Lafayette (1-12) were also targeted in the passing game.
*
Ty Cortes led the Penn defense with a career-high 13 total tackles, finishing with six solo stops. He also had two pass breakups.
Kadari Machen finished with 12 total tackles (five solos) while
John Lista and
Jake Davis both had a TFL.
*
Ryan O'Connell and
Carter Janki each finished with two QB hurries, with Davis,
Raashed Hall, and
Liam Forster each adding one.
*
Jayden Drayton was all over the field on Saturday, leading the secondary with a remarkable five pass breakups. He also finished with six solo tackles.
How It Happened
For the first time in seemingly forever, Penn won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.
Jayden Drayton reeled off a 30-yard return and the Penn offense was in business. O'Brien established the passing game early, completing short yardage pass after short yardage pass to Owens, waiting patiently before scampering 16 yards towards the end zone. West ended up punching it in from one yard out, as the Quakers took an early 7-0 lead.
Trailing in the first quarter for just the third time all year, the Harvard offense took the field for the first time. The Crimson ended up marching all the way down the field, picking apart the young Quaker offense 75 yards on their way to points, a two-yard push over the plane for Xaviah Bascon. That tied the game up at 7-7.
Harvard's defense stamped down on Penn's offense early in its next drive, but the Quakers got bailed out by a pass interference call on Richardson that gave them excellent field position into Crimson territory. O'Brien continued to run his way down the field, ultimately setting up a 26-yard touchdown pass to Richardson on third and short, upping the Quaker lead to 14-7 to close the first quarter.
Harvard faced a third down and short to begin the second quarter with a one-possession deficit, but quickly got themselves back into Penn territory on a series of ensuing plays. Craig completed a 12-yard pass out to Bascon to square the game back up at 14-all with 12:11 to go in the half.
Facing another third down and one, O'Brien once again went to Owens through the air for short yardage, the seventh catch of the afternoon for the senior wideout. Penn seemed to have caught the Harvard defense off guard for a moment when O'Brien tossed a pass 46 yards over the top to
Tommy Lafayette, but the play was called back on an ineligible man downfield, pushing the Quakers back to their own 46-yard line.
A 13-yard rush for the quarterback picked up a first down and then he found Donnelly for 18 yards and other first to continue to chip away at the Crimson D. O'Brien, feeling pressure by the defense, danced out of the way to show off his best Johnny Football impression, finding
Davis Ellis just a few yards short of the end zone. O'Brien then found Richardson for three yards to the one before West punched it in for his second score of the day, Penn now in front 21-14.
Penn stuffed the Harvard offense on their next drive, the Crimson managing only 23 yards on six plays. Harvard tried some trickeration with a reverse pass to Brady Blackburn, but was met in the backfield by
Jake Davis for a five-yard loss. The Crimson punted away for the first time on the afternoon following the two-minute timeout.
Harvard ended up attempting a fourth down and five yards to go, but Craig's pass was broken up by
Cole Olsztyn to force the turnover on downs.
Penn was hoping to make their lead two scores heading into the locker room and they did just that, grabbing chunk play after chunk play, moving 47 yards down the field as O'Brien found Richardson down the left side for the score. Walters missed the extra point but that gave the Quakers a 27-14 advantage.
It looked as if Harvard was going to have to settle for a field goal and a 10-point deficit heading into the locker room, but its offense found a way to get into a position to score six points, as Craig faked out the D and scrambled two yards to the right for the TD. Penn entered halftime with a 27-21 edge.
The Crimson immediately drove down the field on their first drive of the second half, getting as close as the 10-yard line, but fourth down was their bugaboo once again, as Craig tried a pass in the end zone, broken up by Cortes to force the turnover on downs.
The Quakers were able to pick up at least one first down on their first drive of the second half, when O'Brien rushed up the middle one yard following a nine-yard completion to Owens, but were forced to punt for the first time on the afternoon. With 5:36 remaining in the third quarter, Harvard took its first lead of the afternoon after driving 63 yards down the field on nine plays, culminating with an acrobatic grab from Blackburn, a 23-yard catch to take a 28-27 lead.
Lafayette had another opportunity to score on a similar play from earlier, but O'Brien pass sailed just too far away from his out-stretched arms, making it third down and long. O'Brien tested his arm once again, looking for Richardson deep down the sideline, but the attempt was broken up by Damien Henderson to force a punt with the Crimson hanging on to a one-point edge at the 4:37 mark of the third stanza.
Harvard's next offensive drive was highlighted by what ended up being the Ivy League's longest pass play of the 2025 season, an 82-yard pitch-and-catch from Craig to Osborne down the middle, extending the Crimson lead to eight points at 35-27, scoring 21 consecutive points.
Penn was once again benefitted by a defensive pass interference call on its next drive that brought them deep into Harvard territory. Capitalizing on that opportunity as the game entered the fourth quarter, O'Brien used a short pass to Ellis to get down to the Harvard 25 and then a 12-yard pass to Lafayette set up another short pass to Richardson, which went seven yards for his third touchdown of the day. O'Brien attempted a rush attempt for two points, which failed, keeping the score at 35-33 with 14:21 to go.
For the first time this season, Penn attempted an on-side kick in which it almost pulled off, but
Sage Webb was called for kick-catch interference, giving possession to the Crimson and the ball 15 yards from the Harvard 44 to the Penn 41. Nine plays and 41 yards later, Bascon once again found the goal line with another rushing touchdown, upping the Harvard lead to two possessions, up 42-33 early in the fourth quarter.
Down two scores and needing more time on the clock, Penn continued to chip away with two quarterback keepers and a short pass to Owens that moved the ball eight yards to the Quakers' 43. A seven-yard rush by O'Brien advanced the drive to the Crimson 30, and Owens then drew another DPI call to place Penn at the 15. O'Brien connected with Ellis for 11 yards to the 10, and Owens followed with an eight-yard reception—his 12th of the day—to the 2-yard line. A few rushing plays later, O'Brien finally punched it in up the middle for his first rushing touchdown of the game, cutting the deficit to 42–40.
The Crimson struggled to move the ball on their next drive, highlighted by
John Lista's remarkable sack of Craig to force fourth down with plenty of time remaining. After losing a yard on three plays, Harvard was forced to punt back to Penn with 2:38 left.
Starting at their own 24, O'Brien methodically worked the offense down the field, picking up first downs on a pair of second-down completions to Richardson that flipped field position. He then hit
Michael Hegarty for five yards and followed it with a six-yard keeper to the Harvard 42, moving the chains again. With the clock winding and no timeouts, O'Brien found
Donte West down the right sideline for 22 yards to the 20, prompting a Harvard timeout. Facing third-and-three from the 13, Walters drilled a 30-yard field goal to put Penn ahead, 43–42, with just 22 seconds remaining.
Harvard took over at its own 25 and quickly mounted its final push. Craig found Boyd for 21 yards, then connected with Tattersall for 18 more to reach the Penn 36 with five seconds left. From 53 yards out, Kieran Corr delivered the game-winning field goal, lifting Harvard to a come-from-behind victory that ultimately clinched the Ivy title.
Up Next
Penn will close out the 2025 season next Saturday, hosting archrival Princeton at Franklin Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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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