Big Red, big plays.
As alumni and students celebrated Homecoming weekend for the Red and Blue, it was the Big Red who was victorious as Penn football suffered a 39-17 blowout. The loss brings the Quakers (5-3, 3-2 Ivy) to No. 4 in conference standings, while giving Cornell (4-4, 3-2 Ivy) their longest win streak since 1999. Last season’s matchup between the two teams culminated with six touchdowns for O’Brien and a historical win for the Quakers. This year, the Big Red flipped the script, helmed by Cornell quarterback Garrett Bass-Sulpizio, and held the usually explosive Quakers to only 112 passing yards.
“The Cornell offense [threw] a lot of difficult formations … they try to trick you a lot,” senior linebacker Kadari Machen said. “It's about staying disciplined, which we did sometimes. Other times, I think we had to communicate a little bit more to be on the same page.”
After forcing a three-and-out on Cornell’s first drive, the Quakers began with back-to-back rushes, where sophomore running back Donte West quickly became a standout on the offense. Soon after though, the Quakers’ momentum on the ground quickly came to a halt. O’Brien went for a pass to senior wide receiver Bisi Owens, but a deflection forced a turnover on downs.
The Big Red wouldn’t see another fruitless drive, garnered by their offensive duo of Bass-Sulpizio and running back Jordan Triplett. After a rush from Triplett was good for a first down, the Big Red went for it after a 25 yard pass from Bass-Sulpizio. The Red and Blue held firm at the red zone, however, as Cornell’s drive ended in a 32-yard field goal – the first points of the afternoon.
This was the wake-up call the Quakers needed. With O’Brien and West running the ball, the Quaker offense scampered down the center of the field before back-to-back rushes from West were good for another first down. As the first quarter wound to a close, a pass from O’Brien was soon followed by a four-yard rush, inches short of a second down. Immediately after, O’Brien ran it to the house with another four-yard draw, giving the Quakers their first touchdown of the afternoon.
But the Quakers were unable to maintain their aggression, stifled by penalties in the second quarter. After battling a loss of 30 yards from two holding penalties, the Quakers’ gain was nullified by another holding penalty, forcing freshman kicker Mason Walters to split the uprights from 47 yards. The 10-6 score was the last time the Quakers had the lead. In just over two minutes, Bass-Sulpizio ran it to the endzone to close the half, leading 13-10.
The halftime score was a sign of things to come. On the first play out of their locker room, O’Brien was brought down by Cornell linebacker James Reinbold. In the scramble, the Big Red recovered the ball deep in Quaker territory, and just 58 seconds later, Triplett ran it to the endzone. But the Quakers wouldn’t end the drive without a fight as senior defensive lineman Carter Janki blocked the field goal.
“I think that we had a good game plan going in, and we were executing on the first half, and then come out in the second half, we just shot ourselves in the foot,” O’Brien said.
Penn was unable to dig itself out of the hole in the third quarter. A muffed kickoff return put the ball at the 13-yard line before a three-and-out brought the ball back to the Big Red. After steadily marching down the field, the Big Red went for a play on fourth-and-one. An ensuing 22-yard rush from Cornell running back Gannon Carothers widened the Big Red’s lead over the Quakers to 15 points. As a second three-and-out from the Quakers brought the ball back to the Big Red, Carothers banked another touchdown to bring the Big Red to a 32-10 lead.
“We had that one … fumble. They got the ball short, [went] to score, and things began to snowball,” coach Ray Priore said.
Though left in the dust, the Quakers had a spark of life on the next play. On the kickoff, West received the ball, found a gap in the defense, and ran 75 yards along the sidelines to the end zone to put the score at 32-17. This would be the last touchdown scored by the Quakers.
Starting off the last quarter, another Cornell drive culminated in a touchdown from Bass-Sulpizio. Throughout the quarter, the teams traded blows but rushes from O’Brien and West came up short before a turnover on fourth down iced the game.
If nothing else, the Red and Blue were able to celebrate Penn’s 1980, 2000, and 2005 Ivy League championship teams, and with that historic reminder, Penn looks to shake off the loss and win the last two games of the season.
They will retake the gridiron at Harvard on Nov. 15 for another chance at the Ivy crown.
