Penn hopes its solid start rides into the opening of Ivy League play against Dartmouth

Penn is coming off a commanding win against Colgate and looks to stay hot heading into its Ivy League slate.

Penn (1-1) will open conference play at Dartmouth (2-0) on Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN+). In the preseason, Penn was projected to finish third in the Ivy League as voted on by 16 members of the media. Dartmouth tied for fourth place in the same poll, but after a strong win against Colgate, the Quakers are reveling in the excitement.

“The vibes after a win are always great,” senior quarterback Aidan Sayin said. “Going into Dartmouth, it’s just high levels of excitement. We only have seven league games; we got to make the most of all of them.”

» READ MORE: Meet Penn’s ace in the hole on the gridiron, sophomore running back Malachi Hosley

In a winning effort, Sayin became Penn’s all-time pass completion leader against Colgate last Saturday, completing his 665th pass as a Quaker.

“I actually didn’t know until [Penn football] posted the graphic the morning after, but it’s definitely cool,” Sayin said. “You know, getting a record like that just shows you played a lot of football here, but I think definitely the yards and touchdowns records are going to be a little bit more special.”

He is just seven passing touchdowns away from overtaking Alex Torgerson’s record of 52 career touchdowns set in 2016 and needs just 926 more yards to become Penn’s all-time passing yards leader, a record held by 2001 graduate Gavin Hoffman.

But when hit with these stats, Sayin deflected, putting the praise instead on both sides of the ball.

“I think if you look across the board, I think we have the best player in the league at each position, especially with the skill positions being so explosive,” Sayin said.

The Quakers have been dominated by Dartmouth recently, dropping seven of the last 10 matchups. Last season, Penn fell to Dartmouth in a 23-20 overtime nail-biter, a game that Sayin watched a few times this week in preparation.

Penn employed a run-by-committee approach last year, in which running back Malachi Hosley rushed four times for 14 yards. In the passing game, though, Hosley pulled in a 52-yard pass, beating a linebacker in man coverage for a wide-open touchdown.

Sayin passed the ball 55 times in the same game. Hosley will look to give his quarterback some rest this time around. The sophomore back, who put on 20 pounds in the offseason, has rushed for 307 yards through two games this season and has become the focal point on offense.

“[Hosley’s] an unbelievable player, so I think it’s hard to stop him and the receiving core in the passing game, so it seems they’ll have to pick which one they’ll want to stop,” offensive coordinator Greg Chimera said.

After winning a share of the Ivy title last season, the Big Green have not fallen victim to a championship hangover. They started off their 2024 campaign undefeated, blowing out Fordham, 45-13, before barely getting past Merrimack, 16-14.

Dartmouth is led by senior quarterback Jackson Proctor, who has passed for 346 yards, one touchdown, and one interception on the season. Proctor has also rushed for 65 yards this year.

Last season against Penn, Proctor passed for 49 yards in a multi-quarterback attack in which he played alongside since-graduated quarterback Nick Howard. Dartmouth has minimally subbed in sophomore quarterback Grayson Saunier this season, but the Big Green has ditched the days of splitting time between quarterbacks.

Dartmouth has been staunch on defense, allowing 13.5 points per game. It ranks fifth in the FCS and first in the Ivy League in scoring defense. Last week against Merrimack, it held the Warriors to just 99 yards through the air.

Everything is pointing to another chapter in the long history of close games between the Ancient Eight programs.

“Our guys take it day by day. They learn day by day. They’re great friends, they stay together. The brotherhood is very tight and the message is ‘one day at a time,’” Penn head coach Ray Priore said.