The picks are in: Penn football vs. Brown

Brown 21, Penn 14 — Neema Baddam, Sports Reporter

Halloween isn’t the only fright this weekend promises — as the weather gets colder, so, too, do Penn football’s chances at picking up a dub against Brown on Saturday. Last season, the Bears put up a 5-5 overall record and celebrated their best Ivy finish since 2016. They’ve been building off of that momentum this season so far, with one of the university’s most experienced teams in recent memory, featuring 24 seniors and seven fifth-year athletes. The Red and Blue are looking to gain steam given their 2-4 overall record and 0-3 Ivy record, but they’ll have to lock in this weekend, especially against Brown’s 3-3 overall and 2-1 Ivy record, to have a chance at scaring the Bears off. 

Brown 38, Penn 17 — Valeri Guevarra, Sports Associate

Two losses in a row was a rut, but three in a row is a losing streak — one that will likely continue for a while. I’m not keeping my hopes too high with senior quarterback Aidan Sayin’s unknown status ahead of this weekend and with the season continuing to be defined by missed opportunities and disappointments. I’m not a complete pessimist though because there are bright spots like the developing Quaker defense, highlighted by sophomore defensive back Josh Narcisse’s interception for a 41 yard return last weekend. However, if the offense line can’t connect with its quarterback — whether it be Sayin or junior quarterback Liam O’Brien — it’ll be a struggle to break into the win column. 

Brown 24, Penn 21 — Justin Lee, Sports Reporter

As much as I would love the football gods to shine in Penn’s favor, I think Brown will come out on top in a close game. Following Sayin’s injury, the Quakers will turn to O’Brien as their quarterback. While O’Brien’s physicality and abilities are an invaluable asset to the team, I believe they’ll still fall short to Brown’s quarterback and offense through a game decided in the final quarter. In its Ivy Opener, Brown beat Harvard during the final minutes for its first win over the Crimson in 14 years. I think this exact scenario will play out on Saturday. 

Penn 17, Brown 14 — Vivian Yao, Sports Editor

Three years ago, Penn started the season 0-3 in Ivy League play with Brown next up on the schedule. Three years ago, Penn entered the game agains the Bears with the team's senior quarterback out of commission. The result three years ago was a dominating win — the Red and Blue's sole conference win that year. The Bears may be a better team now, but O'Brien showed enough flashes in the loss to Yale to give me hope that the Quakers can play spoiler on Saturday. Special teams has been humming, and I expect O'Brien to be much more comfortable capitalizing on the short fields that senior wide receiver Julien "Juice" Stokes will be gifting him with now that he has one game's worth of experience under his belt.