Turn Back the Clock: Sept. 26, 1998

Penn disappoints against Richmond in their 1998 home opener.

Sept. 26, 1998

The leaves are changing, the air is cooling, and football season is back in full swing.

And as the current Quakers vie for their fourth outright Ivy title in five years, we turn the clock back 15 years to another championship season - 1998.

While we celebrate Penn's victory over Lafayette in this season's home opener (and simultaneously brace ourselves with hopes of a first victory over Villanova in the Schuykill Showdown in over a century), let's reminisce on another season that started out not all too differently.

On September 26, 1998, the Red and Blue were fresh off a victory against conference opponent Dartmouth when they rolled into their second game of the season, this time against Richmond. Things did not go as well.

Then-senior tailback Jim Finn was on fire against the Big Green, carrying the ball 41 times for 151 yards. But he did not have as much to show against the Spiders. Richmond's defense stamped out Finn's offensive smolder early and efficiently, halting the Quakers' front line for an embarrassing 34-18 defeat.

But even the final score did not reflect the beating that went down under the lights on Franklin Field. Until the final 10 minutes of the meeting, Penn was down 34-5. It wasn't until a few key plays in the fourth quarter that the Quakers were able to preserve some dignity.

Fingers crossed that there won't be any déjà vu this coming weekend as the team travels to the Wildcats' home turf.