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Dartmouth wide receiver Victor Williams had plenty of reasons to celebrate in the Big Green's 41-20 win over Penn on Saturday.

Credit: Ilana Wurman

After a strong showing against Villanova last week, it appears the Penn football team that took down the nation's fourth-ranked team has not yet returned to campus.

Penn fell, 41-20, to Dartmouth on Saturday in its home and Ivy League opener. The 41 points allowed to the Big Green (3-0, 1-0 Ivy) were the most conceded by the Quakers (1-2, 0-1) to Dartmouth since 1922, and the loss marked the first time the Red and Blue have lost back-to-back games to the Big Green since 1996-97.

Dalyn and Victor Williams — Dartmouth's quarterback and wide receiver tandem — dominated Penn, as Dalyn Williams was responsible for all six of the Big Green's touchdowns. He threw for 328 yards on 22-for-24 passing, throwing two touchdowns apiece to Victor Williams and Houston Brown. Dalyn Williams also accrued 73 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, while Victor Williams finished with 12 receptions for 213 yards.

Despite falling behind early, Penn attempted to establish the run throughout the first half, with 15 rushing attempts that were mostly unsuccessful after sophomore running back Tre Solomon opened action with a seven-yard carry. Coach Ray Priore thought junior quarterback Alek Torgersen might have been making incorrect reads in the read-option scheme, which could have contributed to the lack of success on the ground.

Torgersen — who sustained an injury late in the second quarter — finished the half 7-for-10 for 29 yards and had trouble with accuracy and finding the open man. He added 22 yards and a touchdown running the football before senior backup quarterback Andrew Lisa took over the duties behind center in the second half.

"[Torgersen] took a shot on one of those plays at the end of the first half, didn't seem right," Priore said. "So he went back into the locker room and [did not return] because of precautionary reasons.

The Red and Blue looked for sophomore wide receiver Justin Watson early and often, and he finished with eight catches for 66 yards and a late touchdown. Watson has scored in all three games this season.

It was a rough game for the Penn defense, which rarely pressured Dalyn Williams in the pocket. When they did, the Quakers could not stop the quarterback from scrambling for sizable gains. 

"The key was our inability to get pressure on the quarterback," Priore said. "Our standard four-man stuff was not getting there."

On the Red and Blue’s first series of the game, Solomon fumbled on his second carry after he appeared to pick up a first down, and the Big Green recovered at the Penn 27. Four plays later, Dalyn Williams completed his second pass to Victor Williams for an eight-yard touchdown.

After a Penn three-and-out, two Williams-to-Williams completions for 31 yards put Dartmouth just outside the red zone. Dalyn Williams then carried the ball on the next three plays, gaining 21 total yards, with the final rush putting the Big Green up, 13-0.

After another punt by the Quakers, Dartmouth marched down the field, with Dalyn Williams eventually scoring on a one-yard rush a few minutes into the second quarter. The Big Green got the ball back just over a minute later, and the Corinth, Texas, native iced off the drive with a beautiful 22-yard throw to Brown to make it 27-0.

With seven minutes on the clock, Torgersen rebounded to lead Penn on a 74-yard drive. After a crucial pass interference penalty deep in Dartmouth territory, the veteran plunged through for a one-yard rushing touchdown right before halftime.

The Big Green didn’t waste any time at the beginning of the second half, taking the kickoff 35 yards to their own 43-yard line. Dalyn Williams completed 22- and 30-yard passes to Ryder Stone and Brown, respectively, the latter of which went for a touchdown.

With Dartmouth up 34-6, the Williams duo hooked up for a long 43-yard touchdown with moments left in the third quarter to open up a five-score lead. Now playing against a full prevent defense and with Torgersen out with a head injury, Lisa threw two touchdown passes to Watson and senior Cam Countryman.

Next week, the Red and Blue will get a chance at redemption as they host Fordham, a team against whom they lost, 60-22, last year.

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