Turn Back the Clock: The longest game in Penn football history

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With the game tied and less than two minutes remaining, last week’s football game between Penn and Columbia looked to be eerily similar to the 1996 game between the two teams. Thankfully, the Red and Blue escaped with the victory, and I avoided any possible blame for jinxing the Quakers by blogging about the last time they lost to the Lions. Although I won’t always be focusing solely on the history of the football team, this week’s segment, relevant to Saturday’s Penn-Yale matchup, goes back to the gridiron.

On this day in Penn sports history …

October 20, 2007: This date marks the longest football game played in the history of the Red and Blue — a triple-overtime thriller between Yale and Penn at Franklin Field. Coming into the game, the Bulldogs boasted a 5-0 record and were tied for first in the Ivy League with Harvard, while the Quakers were a mediocre 2-3 overall, but 1-1 in the Ivies and coming off a 59-28 thrashing of Columbia the week before. A year earlier, the Red and Blue also took the Elis to overtime, but ultimately fell 17-14 en route to a 3-4 Ivy season.

In regulation, the game went back and forth — an offensive struggle that ended with the score tied 10-10. In the first overtime, the Bulldogs received the ball first and advanced to the Penn 4-yard line on the first play, and after two Quaker penalties, scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to take a 17-10 lead. Penn did not tie the score easily, as they were faced with a fourth-and-five on the Yale 20 on their OT possession. After an incomplete pass on that fourth down, it looked like the Bulldogs could celebrate, but flag was thrown on what the Yale Daily News called “a questionable pass interference,” giving the Quakers new life. Three plays later, Penn evened the score, 17-17, forcing a second overtime.

Receiving the ball first this time, Penn got as close as the Yale 6-yard line, but ultimately had to settle for a field goal to take a 20-17 lead. The Bulldogs also failed to reach the endzone, and they barely tied the game on a 21-yard field goal after their long snapper skipped the snap back to the holder. On the play, Yale kicker Alan Kimball actually stopped his momentum to give the holder time to set up the ball, and then Kimball proceeded to punch a wobbler through the uprights to tie the score, 20-20.

On to the third overtime they went, where college football rules stipulate that teams must go for two points after scoring a touchdown to help prevent the game from going on forever. Yale again received the ball first and basically duplicated their possession from the first overtime — a long completion on the first play, and they punched it in close. It was not without controversy, however, as it appeared Bulldogs running back may have been brought down before reaching the goal line. After failing on the two-point conversion, Yale led, 26-20.

The Quakers followed by quickly marching down the field, setting up a first-and-goal at the 2. Being very similar to the 2011 squad, the 2007 team tried to punch it in on the ground on first down, and second down, and third down, but the Bulldogs’ front line stopped all three attempts, bringing up and fourth-and-goal. The DP’s postgame recap best sums up what happened next:

With his team down by six in the last overtime, it was [Joe Sandberg] who took a pitch to the left side on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Out of room, he improvised, reversing direction and [passing] the ball to a grateful Nick Cisler, the senior fullback [who was wide open in the endzone]. Sandberg sprinted to the sideline for an impromptu hug with offensive coordinator Bill Schmitz. Then he turned around and crouched in disbelief. Ineligible man downfield. Five-yard penalty.