Guest Blog: Sunday with Mr. Blackmon

• TWEET
• SHARE
• SHARE

If you needed to have your blood pressure checked after this game, then you are not the only one.

The Quakers made sure their second Ivy League game was just like their first and came down to the last drive. Columbia played much of the first half with a great deal of energy that seemed to catch the offense off guard until the final drive of the first half when Billy Ragone punched it in to tie the score in the final seconds of the half.

Penn's defense in the first half was its typical self, loading up to stop the run and hoping the secondary could keep things in front of them. For the most part the secondary was able to to take care of business and keep the Columbia offense at bay. There were a few big plays by Columbia's offense but when a team makes 39 pass attempts they are bound to make a few plays, it's just they way the game goes.

This may have been one of the more balanced games Penn's offense has had in a few years. There were 35 pass attempts and 42 rush attempts. If the Quakers can keep up this type of a balanced attack then it will be tough for the other Ivy League teams to keep up with what type of plays Penn will be running for the rest of the year. One of the key plays in the second half came midway through the third quarter when Matt Hamscher picked off Sean Brackett and Penn was able to make it a 4 point game with a field goal and keep their morale at a high level.

In the 4th quarter Penn was able to pull back in front only to allow Columbia to tie it up with a field goal with just a few minutes left in the game. Penn, for the second straight Ivy game, was able to make a last minute drive all the way down the field to take the lead and show that they know you have to play an entire 4 quarters to be an elite team. The final drive was highlighted yet again by some clutch catches from 5th-year senior Ryan Calvert, who also went over the century mark in receiving yards for the game tallying 8 receptions for 105 yards. The exclamation point was put on the game with an interception by wide receiver Joe Holder.

If Penn can continue to show this sort of resilience they will be in good shape for their 3-peat efforts.