Penn 14, Columbia 24 – Ellie Clark, Sports editor
Call me a Santos skeptic.
I may have been on the wrong side of history for the Howard contest, but I find it unlikely that the Quakers will ride another Hail Mary drive to victory at the bottom of the fourth quarter.
Despite getting blown out 35-7 by Princeton in its first Ivy game, Columbia has proved to be a more than formidable opponent across their non-conference matches. The Lions are efficient on both ends of the gridiron, averaging an impressive 313.5 yards per game while only allowing 179.5 yards per game.
Columbia also has individual standouts in kicker Hugo Merry, who boasts 100% accuracy on field goals across four attempts, and defensive back MD Awe, who leads the FCS in passes defended, averaging 2.25 per game. In just four games, quarterback Chase Goodwin has already recorded 1,252 passing yards – just ten yards less than he put up during the entire 2025 season.
Penn’s best chance to beat the Lions lies in its defense. After all, Penn has the best first down defense and allows the least passing yards per game in the subdivision. But unlike our previous opponents, Columbia has a strong enough offense to steamroll past our questionable special teams situation and inoffensive offensive line.
I don’t tend to believe in miracles. With quarterback freshman Miles Teodecki out of commission for the foreseeable future and the Quakers adapting to a new pass caller, I doubt my stance will be challenged.
Penn 27, Columbia 17 – Daniel Obstgarten, Sports associate
Penn football found a way against Howard. Quarterback junior Karson Siqueiros-Lasky stepped into the spotlight and the Quakers found a way to squeeze out a victory. Yet, despite clamors for the KSL era, it’ll take ASL and then some to find a way to read the signs and figure out who coach Rick Santos will give the start to on Friday.
To further complicate things, Columbia might be the most confusing football team that Penn has played so far. The Lions put up an incredible 422 yards of offense against Princeton a few weeks ago, but lost 35-7. Their three wins have all come against relatively low-ranking FCS teams, but they’ve scored a lot of points doing so. Penn’s still-stellar defense was dominant in the second half, but showed some real issues in secondary coverage during the first. Could it be the week that the defense finally gives way to an offensive flood?
Alas, I’m apparently hopelessly optimistic that this football team will win. The Quakers are 44-7 at home against the Lions all-time, and Penn won in New York last season. Even better, Siqueiros-Lasky wears jersey #7: the signs are there! Whichever quarterback ultimately starts, they should be able to help Penn exploit Columbia’s Ivy-worst defense and return the Red and Blue to a winning record.
Penn 17, Columbia 20 – Rachel Berliner, Sports associate
With fresh momentum from Saturday’s win against Howard, Penn football will be putting all of its energy into this Friday’s match against Columbia. Although both teams stand at sixth place in the Ivy League, the Lions’ impressive history against non-conference opponents make the team a challenging competitor for Penn.
The Quakers are riding the energy of their recent win against the Howard Bison. Although the Big Blue put up a fight, the Quakers ultimately pulled ahead in the fourth quarter with impressive touchdowns from quarterback junior Karson Siqueiros-Lasky and wide receiver sophomore Isaac Lee. Although the Red and Blue have good reason to be excited, the team will be facing a new set of circumstances with Teodecki on the mend from last Saturday. Still unclear of his status, Teodecki’s injury might throw a wrench in the Quakers’ game-winning plans against Columbia.
Regardless of the Quakers’ shuffled line-up, Columbia holds an impressive record. This season alone, quarterback Chase Goodwin has 1,252 passing yards, and running back Griffin Johnson holds 406 rushing yards. Columbia’s offensive powerhouse is decisive during the final moments of a game, which let the Lions notch overtime wins against Georgetown and Lafayette earlier this season. Columbia beat the Marist Red Foxes with similar strategy: a last-minute, consecutive rush of touchdowns from the Lions won the game, despite a back-and-forth during the first three quarters.
If the Lions employ their trademark tactic, this upcoming game will be a question of the Quakers’ strength in the final quarter. Columbia might attack hard, but can the Red and Blue attack harder?
Penn 27, Columbia 20 – Javier St. Remy, deputy Sports editor
Columbia has one of the best third-down conversion rates in the FCS, sitting at 12th in the subdivision. Fortunately for Red and Blue fans, the Quakers have the third-best defensive conversion rate in the FCS. But how is Columbia different from Dartmouth and Lehigh? Both rank within the top 15 in this statistic and also happen to be responsible for Penn’s two losses.
In their loss to Lehigh, Penn held a top-10 FCS team averaging 33.67 points per game to just 20 points — the least they have scored all season. In the Dartmouth game, the Big Green beat the Quakers 14-10 at home. Penn’s defense is hardly the issue. At the time of this writing, the unit ranks first in the conference in both passing yards and rushing yards given up per game. Penn’s offense just hasn’t been able to take advantage of the defense’s stellar play.
I don’t see this being a problem for the Quakers on Friday. The Lions allow over 28 points per game and rely heavily on their number-three ranked passing offense to win them games. However, Columbia’s play against top defenses in the FCS hasn’t been as stellar. Columbia only managed to score seven total points in their loss to Princeton, the best defense in the subdivision, earlier this season.
Like Princeton, Penn also has a top-10 defense in the FCS. The combination of Columbia’s lackluster defense and offensive inconsistencies against top ranked defenses could make for the perfect blend of factors for the Quakers to walk out of northern Manhattan with their first Ivy League win.
Penn 28, Columbia 20 — Earl Coker, Sports associate
Penn is riding high after defeating Howard in a fourth-quarter comeback despite losing its starting quarterback in the second quarter. Throughout the game, Penn faced several challenges but seemed to overcome them as Karson Siqueiros-Lasky, the replacement quarterback, grew more comfortable and the team began playing winning football.
That victory snapped Penn’s losing streak, so not only was it great for the team’s confidence, but it also helped change the trajectory of its season.
With that momentum, Penn now enters an important conference game against Columbia. A win would help improve the Quakers’ Ivy League record after losing their first conference game to Dartmouth.
Columbia is no easy opponent, though, as the Lions are coming off a dominant win and boast a 3-1 overall record. Their only loss came in conference play, meaning they are just as eager to win and improve their Ivy League standing. What they don’t have, however, is the spirit and momentum Penn built during its comeback against Howard, which I believe will give the Quakers the edge they need to secure another victory.
