One year ago, Penn football traveled to Providence, R.I. armed with two things: an undefeated record, and supreme confidence. By the end of the weekend, the first was gone, and the second was severely shaken.
That was the reality after the Bears (3-3, 1-2 Ivy) pulled off one of the most unexpected upsets of the 2022 Ivy League season, downing the Quakers (5-1, 2-1) 34-31 and ending their dreams of a perfect season. But as they prepare to play Brown for the first time since that bitter defeat, the Red and Blue are prepared for payback.
“Yes. Yes we do,” sophomore wide receiver Jared Richardson said when asked if the team views Friday’s matchup with the Bears as a revenge game. “We’re home, so we have to take priority in this game. This is a very important game, this is a playoff game for us. We have to come out firing on all cylinders.”
Penn will seek another critical Ivy League win when they host the Bears at Franklin Field on Friday at 7 p.m. The Quakers are currently entangled in a five-way knot atop the Ivy League, with four other teams also sitting at 2-1 in conference play. While every game is crucial, Friday’s matchup comes with an additional dash of motivation for the Quakers in light of last season’s defeat.
“Our kids understand what happened last year,” coach Ray Priore said. “We went up there, we played, we didn’t play smart. We let too many things get away from us, things that we had control over, and lost a very close game. But I think the kids are very, very focused right now, given what our season’s been so far.”
The Red and Blue have flown their way to 5-1 overall this season on the back of a prolific passing attack. Junior quarterback Aidan Sayin ranks second in the Ivy League in passing yards, and is currently on pace to challenge the program record for a conference season. Sayin’s receiving corps is loaded with weapons, including Richardson, who also ranks in the Ivy in receiving yards and recently broke the program record for catches in a game with 17 against Yale last weekend.
But to this point in the season, the Quakers have not been the Ancient Eight’s most potent passing team. That honor belongs to the Bears, who, led by quarterback Jake Willcox, lead the conference in passing yards and attempts. Brown’s Wes Rockett also tops the receiving leaderboard with 588 yards through six games.
“They have very, very good, talented quarterbacks and receivers,” Priore said of Brown. “Their scheme is very, very good … but [Penn’s defensive backs] go against some pretty good receivers every day in practice, [and] they know how to defend against a good quarterback. I think they’re up for the task.”
As good as Penn’s passing offense has been, the team's pass defense has been arguably just as adept. The Quakers have allowed the second fewest passing yards of any Ivy League team, and senior defensive back Shiloh Means ranks fifth in the conference in passes defensed.
Regardless of whether the Red and Blue secondary can slow down the Bears or the offense is forced to keep pace, Priore is confident in the team’s ability to adapt.
“We play the game as it is, and we’ll see the ebb and flow of it,” Priore said. “Typically, you go in with mindsets of how you wanna play it, and that doesn’t always end up being the case … What the other team gives you and doesn’t give you plays a big part … We have a pretty potent offense as well, and I think it’s gonna be a very good matchup.”
Priore’s confidence in the offense’s ability to produce is certainly not misplaced. Penn has scored at least 20 points in every game this season, and Sayin has not thrown for under 250 yards since the season opener.
If you ask Richardson, that level of consistency is the result of an offense working in harmony.
“The line’s doing a great job, they’re giving [Sayin] time,” Richardson said. “[Sayin] is a great quarterback, he’s very accurate, so all of that, combined with great athletes on the outside, it’s just a culmination of great things.”
All those great things will be put to the test under the Friday night lights, when the Red and Blue will look to assert themselves as legitimate Ivy League contenders. And while they may not carry the same undefeated record they did a year ago, the Quakers' confidence remains the same.
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