Last year, after nearly five minutes of Penn driving up the field, everything rode on then-junior kicker Sam Smith. Smith geared up for a potential kick of 46 yards, just one yard longer than his career best, but the ball sailed wide right.
As memories of 2023’s triple-overtime loss still loomed among the Penn team, Harvard then methodically paced downfield, taking all the time remaining on the clock along with it. Finally, with two seconds left in the game, the Crimson set off a 23-yard kick straight through the uprights to seal a Homecoming heartbreak for the Quakers.
After that fateful day against the Crimson, Penn football struggled to finish off a Princeton team the following week, closing the season with consecutive one-score losses for back-to-back seasons. This year, heartbreak returned to Homecoming as Cornell trounced Penn 39-17 last Saturday. The Red and Blue are currently still in contention for the Ivy League title, but they will need to win these next two games and hope for some opponent losses.
“We’re going 110% [every day] in practice,” sophomore defensive back Ty Cortes said. “Just counting down the days for Harvard. … We’re excited for the challenge, whatever they bring to us.”
Harvard has followed last year’s script to a tee. The Crimson enter this week’s matchup atop the Ivy League with a flawless streak, securing a part of the Ivy title. Coming off a dominant 31-14 thwarting of Columbia this past Saturday, the Crimson look for a perfect finish on their last home game.
The Crimson’s defense has been nothing short of dominant, with the team holding seven of its last eight opponents to a score of 14 or fewer. Going into the game as the underdog, Penn is looking to execute a near-flawless performance to take down the Crimson.
“I just think we need to play a complete game,” coach Ray Priore said. “We go back to our game a bit. We played Dartmouth. That was a complete game. Offense, defense, special teams. We made real good football plays.”
Penn’s game against Dartmouth on Oct. 4 was indeed complete on all fronts. Penn’s defense stepped up against Dartmouth’s formidable offense and shut down the Big Green’s receiving threats. The game also highlighted senior quarterback Liam O’Brien rushing for nearly 100 yards, the defense generating turnovers, and special teams putting up an impressive performance. But following some tough injuries, including senior wide receiver Julien Stokes suffering a season-ending fibula injury, Penn hasn’t had a chance to put together a complete game.
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But this week, Penn has a chance to do it all over again. Despite Harvard’s standout performance so far this season, headlined by wide receiver Brady Blackburn, the Quakers are ready to take on the challenge.
“They’re a top-ranked team, but we’ve played top-ranked teams this season,” Cortes said. “We just got to be mentally and physically locked in. It’s going to be a good game.”
Following an off performance last weekend, Penn’s offense is also ready to step up.
“They’re a good team, but our job is still the same,” senior wide receiver Jared Richardson said. “The mission is still the same: Just do what we can do.”
The Quakers will head to Cambridge, Mass. for their final road trip of the season to face off at Harvard on Nov. 15. The game will kick off at 12 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPNU.
