Senior tight end Josh Koontz clearly remembers last year's triple-overtime thriller against Yale.
"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't in the back of our minds," the captain said. "It's definitely motivation."
In the third overtime, the Quakers found themselves facing 4th-and-goal trailing by six points. After the designed pitch-left was sniffed out, tailback Joe Sandberg tossed a touchdown pass to fullback Nick Cisler.
Or not.
The refs penalized a lineman for a downfield block, the ensuing fourth-down pass was incomplete and Yale held onto to its undefeated record.
Add that two years ago the Quakers also lost in overtime to Yale, and there's plenty of reason why the Quakers (3-2, 2-0 Ivy) will be motivated to beat the Bulldogs (3-2, 1-1 Ivy) in New Haven, Conn., tomorrow.
So will this game be as tight as the last two, which Yale won by a combined nine points?
"It's got the potential to be close," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "You've got the statistically Nos. 1 and 2 defenses in the Ivy League. So points will be somewhat hard to come by. The last couple of years, it's been defensively orientated and hard fought."
But one big potential difference from the past is that Penn actually has a kicking game.
The Quakers only lost in overtime two years ago after Derek Zoch's 37-yard field goal attempt clanked off of the uprights in overtime.
Andrew Samson has been just the kicker the Quakers have needed, as the sophomore is 8-for-9 on the year with a long of 37 yards.
"We feel confident in the kicking game," Bagnoli said. "As long as we have a reliable kicker, we'll feel pretty good about close games."
The performance of Yale senior running back Mike McLeod is another difference.
The New Britain, Conn., native - who ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns (two in overtime) against the Quakers last year - seemed poised to shatter the Ivy League's all-time rushing mark. Yet his production has fallen off this year, as he's averaged just 3.6 yards per carry.
Although Penn doesn't have one dominant rusher, both teams are quite similar.
"Both teams are playing excellent defense and I think both teams are trying to find offensive consistency," Yale coach Jack Siedlecki wrote in an e-mail.
Bagnoli feels Siedlecki stole the words out of his mouth.
"I think he quoted me from my luncheon on Tuesday," Bagnoli said, laughing, upon learning of Siedlecki's comment. "We're like carbon copies of each other."
The Quakers have to improve their offense, which has struggled at times this year.
"Talent-wise, we have good players," Koontz said. "It comes down to consistency. The big thing will be to eliminate mental mistakes."
With a game that has the making of a defensive battle, Siedlecki sees turnovers and field position as critical.
"Penn has done a great job of protecting leads by playing great defense in the second half," he wrote. "We must force some errors and play very well in the kick game to dictate field position."
