The revenge tour has come to a halt.
After starting the season undefeated with wins over two of last year’s conference co-champions, Penn football suffered a blowout loss to Yale — the Quakers’ first Ivy League loss of the season. The 35-13 loss was defined by four Penn turnovers and the inability of the Quakers’ offense to capitalize on scoring opportunities and penalties.
“There’s a couple things we had, some opportunities that we left off, [and] too many undisciplined … problems with the penalties. … Our kids know it,” coach Ray Priore said.
Penn (4-2, 2-1 Ivy) came into the matchup fired up on and off the field. Extracurricular activities began well before kickoff, with the Quakers exchanging heated words with the Bulldogs (4-2, 2-1) during warmups — an early glimpse into the chaotic interactions that permeated the match.
Penn halted Yale’s first drive after senior linebacker John Lista recovered a fumble by Yale quarterback Dante Reno. Yale exhibited unsportsmanlike conduct on that play — a penalty that continued to be called on both sides throughout the rest of the game — to put Penn at the Bulldogs’ 14-yard line. Penn settled for a field goal to put the first points on the board. Reno quickly rebounded by patiently making his way down the field before Yale running back and Ivy League rushing yard leader Josh Pitsenberger brought it home to put the Bulldogs up 7-3 just before the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Yale took full advantage of Penn’s offensive struggles. Tight throws, missed reads, and attempts to escape pocket pressure by senior quarterback Liam O’Brien were constant. The Bulldogs chased down O’Brien to force a fumble — one that Yale defensive back Abu Kamara returned 63 yards to the house for Yale’s second touchdown. Less than a minute later, Yale completed a 29-second drive into the end zone to extend its lead to 21-3.
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Penn’s offensive unit did have a flash of momentum in the middle of the quarter. Senior wide receiver Bisi Owens maintained his reputation for acrobatic clutch catches with a 32-yard catch to get the Quakers into Yale’s territory. After a quiet first quarter, senior wide receiver Jared Richardson caught a 13-yard pass to score the Quakers’ only touchdown of the game.
After a fumble recovery on a kickoff by senior kicker Sam Smith, the Quakers could not capitalize on the possession, and Yale responded with a passing touchdown, further extending its lead to 28-10 heading into halftime.
Senior running back/return specialist Julien Stokes’ absence was felt in the run game. O’Brien ended the day leading with 61 rushing yards on 22 attempts with sophomore running back Donte West being the only other player to make any rushing plays.
Last week, the Quakers rebounded from a turnover-heavy first half of play at Columbia, but this week, the Red and Blue never recovered from their underperformance.
Immediately after coming onto the field after halftime, the Quakers fumbled away the opening kickoff, killing any energy from the locker room.
After a long catch by Owens and a few well-timed penalties against the Bulldogs, Penn was able to notch a 28-yard field goal with five minutes left in the third quarter. However, the lack of quality scores was overwhelming.
On the subsequent drive, Yale running back Nico Brown caught a short pass, capitalizing on miscommunication in the secondary to carry it for another 33 yards into the end zone to extend the lead to 35-13. While Penn overcame several penalties to get the down into the red zone on its next drive extending into the fourth quarter, an illegal formation penalty and the Bulldogs’ stout defense stalled the drive.
“Those are things that we have to clean up,” Priore said. “Penalties, those are about discipline [not] being fundamentally sound in there and not buying into the talk and the chatter.”
The Bulldogs shut out Penn in the final quarter and ran the clock on their final drive to seal the victory. Penn ended the matchup dominating in possession time but scored less than 24 points for the first time this season. Despite Penn’s defense forcing three Yale turnovers and multiple three-and-outs and Lista ending the day with 11 total tackles and a tackle-for-loss, the penalties stifled any resulting gains.
Though the scoreboards showed 10 Penn penalties for a total of 110 lost yards, one of the biggest factors in the offensive struggles came in what wasn’t marked on the stat sheets. Big plays from long runs to deep touchdown passes were called back due to penalties, along with lost momentum and scoring opportunities.
“[The] general energy over our team … was negative, and that caused all those penalties. … That stuff is contagious,” Lista said.
Penn football will return to Franklin Field to battle Brown on Oct. 31.
“We know we can play a lot better football than that, and we have to learn from this. We have to learn and take every game as a learning experience,” Priore said.
