Two second-half touchdowns against Princeton kept the Penn football team undefeated, but the underdog Tigers made Homecoming Saturday a little too close for the Quakers.
Penn (7-0, 5-0 Ivy League) managed to make up a three-point halftime deficit against the Tigers (1-6, 1-4) to set up a battle of undefeated Ancient Eight teams next weekend at Harvard.
More than 18,000 students and alumni were on hand to see Penn rebound from a surprising first half, one in which Princeton led, 10-7.
"It's a rivalry. You should never expect your rival to come in and lay down for you," Penn tailback Kris Ryan said. "I think the coaches did a good job at halftime letting us know that we're a good team and all we have to do is play."
Princeton turned the ball over on downs at the Penn two-yard line late in the third quarter, sparking the Red and Blue's comeback. Penn cornerback Rudy Brown defended the failed fourth-down pass.
"I had a feeling with the type of offense that they have we'd need more than three points to win the game," Princeton coach Roger Hughes said. "I don't regret going for it all."
And where the Tigers failed, the Quakers succeeded.
Penn was faced with a fourth down on its next drive, and quarterback Gavin Hoffman was able to keep the drive alive with a first-down pass to Rob Milanese.
"I thought that we had to take some chances and we weren't going to go conservative," said Penn coach Al Bagnoli, who saw his team convert three fourth-down plays on the day.
Ryan capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown dive that put Penn ahead for good, 14-10.
On the ensuing Princeton possession, Tigers quarterback David Splithoff, who gave the usually airtight Penn defense fits all afternoon, fumbled away Princeton's chances.
Penn defensive end Brian Person popped the ball out of Splithoff's hands in Penn territory, and safety Vince Alexander scooped up the ball to seal the victory.
"We got the lead and it started to build our confidence back up," Penn linebacker Travis Belden said. "On top of that, we get the turnover from a great hit by Brian Person."
Quakers fullback Adam Keslosky plunged in from two yards for an insurance touchdown as the game clock winded down, putting Penn firmly in the driver's seat at 21-10.
During the drive, Hoffman, a pocket passer, uncharacteristically scrambled 14 yards for a first down to keep the ball out of Splithoff's hands.
Ryan, however, was the star of the day for Penn. The bruising back was handed the ball 36 times, and he rumbled over the Princeton defense for his sixth 100-yard effort in seven games.
"I try to come out every game and play as hard as I can because I know that my opportunities are limited," said Ryan, who missed most of last season with injuries.
The biggest surprise on the field was that the Penn defense, ranked first in rushing and scoring in Division I-AA, allowed the opposition to rush for over 100 yards for the first time this season.
Princeton's early success on offense was a function of Splithoff's performance. Penn's defense couldn't seem to contain the scrambling quarterback in the early going.
The Tigers opened the game with an unexpected no-huddle attack that featured the Princeton signal-caller's rushing ability. They converted a field goal attempt on their opening drive to take an early 3-0 lead.
Hoffman's three-yard scoring pass to wideout Colin Smith put Penn up 7-3, but Splithoff's mobility gave the Tigers the lead at the half.
Princeton ran quarterback traps and rollout passing plays down the field, as Splithoff evaded Penn's defenders.
He scrambled into the end zone for Princeton's only touchdown after having seemingly been stopped by Penn defensive tackle John Galan.
Penn mounted a drive before halftime, but a fumbled exchange with 48 seconds left to play in the first half sent Penn to its locker room trailing the Tigers.
"We escaped. I give a lot of credit to the Princeton kids," Bagnoli said. "I feel very, very relieved. I think that is the word right now."
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