Football season commences crucial stretch with final home game against Harvard

Penn football has won seven out of eight games this year, scoring 12 more points per game than its opponents. But with two games left, the fate of this season, and how it will be remembered, is still to be determined. 

This Saturday, the Quakers (7-1, 4-1 Ivy) face a crucial test when they play Harvard (5-3, 3-2) at Franklin Field, in the final home game of the 2022 campaign. If they win, Penn’s hopes of its first Ivy League title since 2016 will survive into Princeton next weekend.

But for any chance of success, the Quaker defense must find a way to contain the Ivy League’s most explosive player. Harvard running back Aidan Borguet has tallied over 1000 yards on the ground so far this season, nearly twice the next leading rusher in the conference. The senior star has averaged 6.0 yards per carry and notched 11 total touchdowns in 2022. 

Penn coach Ray Priore mentioned stopping Borguet as one of the priorities for the Quaker defense this week. In order to do it, the Red and Blue must resort to fundamentals.

“He does a great job of yards after contact, he doesn't go down easily,” Priore said. “I think the key with him is you … got to [tackle him] with more than one person. You got to have a lot of guys swarm to the pile.” 

The Quakers have done a good job of bottling up powerful backs before. Last month, when Yale’s Tre Peterson came to town, he was held to just 37 yards, well below his season average of 76.6. 

What might get lost behind Borguet’s brilliance, though, is the Crimson pass attack. Led by senior quarterback Charlie Dean, the Crimson stands fourth in the Ivy League by yards per game at 219.5. Dean has also been remarkably efficient, throwing 12 touchdown passes to only a trio of interceptions. 

Harvard will face a Quaker pass defense that has been giving up a lot of yards at 221 per game, but does a good job of keeping opponents out of the end zone and forcing turnovers. Through eight games, the Quakers have only allowed eight passing touchdowns while picking off opposing passers seven times, good for second and third in the Ivy League, respectively. 

Senior defensive lineman Micah Morris emphasized the role of communication in potentially stopping, or at least slowing down, the Harvard offense this Saturday. 

“Last week, we got messed up on a couple of plays,” Morris said. “We … didn’t set the front in the right place and they had some breakout plays.”

On the other side of the ball, the Quakers can find more room to capitalize. Harvard’s defense has been allowing over 25 points and nearly 350 yards per game this season. Penn has been one of the most potent offenses in the conference in 2022 behind a balanced attack directed by first-year offensive coordinator Dan Swanstrom and led by sophomore quarterback Aidan Sayin. 

The Quakers have the potential to benefit from Harvard’s middling pass defense. Quarterbacks against the Crimson have averaged over 250 yards per game and tallied 16 touchdowns. 

Priore, though, was reluctant to reveal what Penn’s strategy would be this week. 

“[With] everything that we've done on offense and defense, you have to study the tape [and] see what people do,” he said. “You take advantage of what you feel your strengths are versus their weaknesses, [but] I'm sure there'll be a dash of everything.”

Regardless of the game plan to come, the Quakers are optimistic about their chances of success this weekend. After having lost at Brown two weeks ago, last weekend’s triumph against Cornell was a nice bounce-back performance. 

“It assured us of who we are,” Morris said. "After losing to Brown, we kind of scrambled, everybody was worried that we wouldn't bounce back. But after beating Cornell, it definitely … [got us] back on track."

Most importantly, their win keeps them in control of their own destiny in the Ivy League with 80% of the season in the books. 

Penn will take on Harvard this Saturday at 1:00 pm from Franklin Field. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.