Here’s why Penn has a shot against Ivy League champion Dartmouth

In arguably the biggest game of the football season, Penn will make the seven-hour trek to Hanover, N.H., on Friday (7 p.m., ESPNU) to open Ivy League play against Dartmouth. Although the Big Green (1-1) are the heavy favorites in this matchup, the momentum swings toward an undefeated Penn (2-0).

In a game that will be televised nationally — the only one this season for Penn — a win would give the Quakers their first victory over Dartmouth since 2016.

Having played only nonconference games, both at Franklin Field, so far, there will be a lot to adjust to: Penn will need to adapt to the new setting, playing at night, and the pressures of Ivy play.

The Big Green finished the 2021 season ranked No. 23 in FCS with a 9-1 record and have held onto the Ivy title since 2019. But even Goliath is beatable. Heading into Week 2, Dartmouth was a 14.5-point favorite over Sacred Heart, but lost, 38-31, in overtime to break the Big Green’s 20-game nonconference win streak that stretched to 2014.

The Penn defense will have to look out for rushing plays. Dartmouth has three running backs — Nick Howard (121.5), Zack Bair (111.5), and Alexisius “Q” Jones Jr. (101) — with more than100 rushing yards per game.

Senior linebacker Jake Heimlicher. Last week against Lafayette, he recorded a career-high 10 tackles, including a career-tying three for losses. The two-time captain earned Ivy League weekly honors for the first time for his effort against the Leopards.

So far this season, Heimlicher leads his team in most defensive stats, including total tackles (15), solo tackles (9), tackles for losses (5), and sacks (3). He’s also No. 2 in tackles for losses per game (2.5) and No. 6 in sacks per game (1.5) among all FCS players. With his help, the Penn defense has the second-best scoring defense in the FCS, allowing just seven points per game.

This will be the Quakers’ 89th game with the Big Green. Penn holds a 48-38-2 advantage over Dartmouth with the first game taking place in 1896. However, the rivalry was first played in Hanover in 1947, where Penn had smooth sailing in its 32-0 win.

In recent years, the Big Green has dominated the Ivy League. The back-to-back conference champions are riding a four-game winning streak over Penn entering this weekend.

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Penn will play the final game in its nonconference slate next weekend at Georgetown (Oct. 8, 2 p.m.). The Hoyas (1-3) just suffered a 42-6 blowout by Columbia and will try for its first win over an Ivy League team since 2019.