Following Penn football's record-breaking effort against Cornell, The Daily Pennsylvanian Sports staff makes their picks for the team's Homecoming matchup with Harvard.
Penn 31, Harvard 28 — Walker Carnathan, Sports Editor
The Crimson have the conference's best team this campaign on the back of a league-leading offense and its second best defensive unit. Since blowing an 18-point lead to Brown in the Ivy opener, Harvard has won four straight conference contests with an average win margin of 15.5 points, a testament to its dominance in all phases. On offense, the connection between quarterback Jaden Craig wide receiver Cooper Barkate has been especially profitable, with Barkate's nine touchdown catches pacing the Ancient Eight.
But Penn has a go-to connection of its own: junior quarterback Liam O'Brien to junior wide receiver Jared Richardson, one that has helped Richardson catch fire to the tune of 254 yards and four touchdowns over the past two weeks. Add in the conference's top ground threat in sophomore running back Malachi Hosley, and the Red and Blue have all the offensive ingredients necessary to knock off the conference's top team. Look out for a big game from Hosley even in the face of the conference's second-best rushing defense, and for the red-hot Red and Blue to win by the slimmest of margins.
Penn 45, Harvard 42 — Tyler Ringhofer, Sports Associate
What could be more fitting on Homecoming weekend than the greatest show on turf? In a game that will certainly feature fireworks on offense from both teams, this year’s 109th Penn homecoming will be nothing short of a festive spectacle.
Coming off a historic week with multiple individual and team accolades, including an Ivy League scoring record, the Quakers look to extend their celebratory run against the current No. 1 team in the Ivy League. Although the Red and Blue are riding hot, the same can be said for the Crimson. In their last five Ivy League matchups, Harvard has scored at least 30 points in four of them.
Led by Craig, a dual-threat QB, Harvard sits atop the Ivy League with a 4-1 record. With a leaky defense of late that allowed over 500 yards of offense to Cornell, the Quakers will look to limit Craig’s rushing ability as well as his aerial attack. After Harvard ran the “Philly Special” against the Quakers to win a share of the Ivy League title a season ago, the Quakers will hope to use their vivid memory of that play to play spoiler this time around.
The greatest show on turf requires the greatest showman — can junior quarterback Liam O’Brien continue his “Liamsanity” run? You bet he will.
Penn 49, Harvard 45 — Jared Mitovich, Editor-in-Chief
Last week, sports editor Vivian Yao said that no Penn football game will ever top O’Brien’s record-setting performance against Cornell. That is all but certain to bear true this week, with O’Brien likely to return to earth after a historic six touchdowns. But I believe Penn will still eke it out through another twist of fate — the prospect of revenge against Harvard.
When Penn played this small school outside of Boston in 2023, the Quakers suffered their first away loss of the season, losing just barely, 25-23, as the Crimson clinched a third of the Ivy title. This time, the tables are turned — and Penn will secure its first Ivy win at home this season, denying Harvard a seven-win streak and its spot atop the Ivy League standings. Powered by cheering fans in the Homecoming stands, Penn’s consistently strong offense with rise to the crowd’s high expectations, overcoming Harvard’s stingy defensive front.
Harvard 24, Penn 14 — Katie Bartlett, News Editor
The forecast looks cold, windy, and miserable — surely a bad omen for Penn’s performance on the field. Harvard is coming off a six-game winning streak, and I think the face off between the two sides will be no different. Per tradition this season, Harvard is likely to dominate early in the game. Quarterback Charles DePrima — playing a role similar to that of O'Brien before his meteoric rise — will whoop the Quakers into shape on Franklin Field in front of the largest crowd of the year. Richardson may be no match for the Crimson, but O’Brien should prepare for a crash landing. Some Homecoming.
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