The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: Penn football vs. Dartmouth

Four overtimes was plenty of time for a whole lot of good, bad and ugly for Penn and Dartmouth alike in their classic showdown Saturday.

THE GOOD — Penn’s offense in the clutch

The Quakers somehow always found an answer when they found themselves on the verge of losing. After fifth-year senior Billy Ragone was picked off deep in Penn’s own territory, resulting in a 26-yard Big Green touchdown drive, Penn responded instantly with a nine-play, 82-yard touchdown drive and added another nine-play, 70-yard drive midway through the second quarter to give the Quakers a 14-7 advantage.

And on a crucial third-and-12 from the 27-yard line in the second overtime with Penn trailing, 28-21, Ragone dashed for the scramble of his life down the right sideline, reaching paydirt for a game-tying touchdown. And when junior running back Kyle Wilcox smelled Big Green blood in the water after Dartmouth junior kicker Riley Lyons missed his third field goal, Wilcox’s 20-yard game-winning touchdown jaunt in the fourth overtime sealed the deal.

THE BAD — Penn’s defense in the clutch

While the Quakers’ ‘D’ did come up big in the end, pushing Lyons out of his field goal range in the fourth overtime, Penn had given up too many potentially game-winning drives to the Big Green by that point. Penn allowed a devastating 58-yard run to Dartmouth senior running back Dominick Pierre that led to a game-tying touchdown for the Big Green early in the fourth quarter. And of course, it only took Dartmouth 1:21 after Penn senior kicker Connor Loftus missed a field goal to march down 62 yards in nine plays to set up what should have been a game-winning 21-yard kick. The Quakers allowed back-to-back 12-yard passing plays, which comprised another clutch touchdown drive for Dartmouth in the second overtime as well.

THE UGLY – Dartmouth kicker Riley Lyons in the clutch

It just doesn’t get any uglier. Lyons missed two field goals that would have clinched the game for Dartmouth and a third that would have kept the Big Green from losing at the end. As time expired in regulation, what should have been a chip shot from 21 yards out for Lyons became a nightmare, as senior linebacker David Park rushed the left side and blocked Lyons’ kick. And in the first overtime, he hooked a 34-yard field goal wide left that would have given Dartmouth the win.