Penn football looks to keep momentum going in Ivy and home opener vs. Dartmouth

For the first time since 2019, Penn will face Dartmouth in a game not played under the Friday night lights on ESPNU. But make no mistake: This contest still bears massive importance for a Quaker squad looking to secure its first Ivy League title in seven years.

Penn will kick off Ivy play in its home opener against the Big Green at 1 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+). Last season in the same Week 3 matchup, the Quakers came in as double-digit underdogs and pulled off a shocking double-overtime victory, setting the stage for a 5-2 run in conference play. This time it’s Penn, which enters as double-digit favorites after two commanding road victories against Patriot League opponents (Colgate and Bucknell).

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“Going on the road for the first two weekends is always a challenge, but our team begins to show their sides of maturity and development,” Penn coach Ray Priore said. “[I] do truly believe we took a step in the right direction.”

The Quakers beat Colgate and Bucknell by 14 and 16 points, respectively, but Priore still wants to watch his team against Ancient Eight opponents before he judges its ceiling.

“I’m not sure if anybody truly knows until you get to league play how good you are against other people,” he said. “I truly believe that we still have perhaps another level to get to on all three sides of the football, for all three facets of it.”

Penn has been dominant on defense. The Quakers held Bucknell to just one first down in the first half and 8 rushing yards last Saturday.

Toss in the Colgate game, and Penn has the FCS’ best run defense, allowing 34 yards per game.

“I anticipated our defense, with the depth, the maturity, the all-league guys coming back, to do what they’re doing right now,” Priore said. “[Defensive coordinator Bob] Benson and staff have done a great job of continuing how they ended the season last year.”

Though Priore has high praise for his defensive unit, he was most pleased with the offense.

The Quakers’ offense has been diverse. Penn has employed a run-by-committee approach, which has netted an average of 135.5 rushing yards per game. Junior quarterback Aidan Sayin, meanwhile, connected with 12 different receivers against Bucknell.

The strategy seemed to work for Sayin, who passed for a career-high 354 yards and three touchdowns, but two interceptions. The targets may have been diverse, but almost 40% of the yardage was accounted for by sophomore wideout Jared Richardson.

After a 62-yard game in Week 1, Richardson had his true breakout performance against Bucknell, catching 12 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came in the second half.

Penn will need all the help from Richardson it can get on Saturday, as Dartmouth comes into Franklin Field ranked No. 1 in the Ivy League in passing defense, allowing only 91 yards per game.

Dartmouth employs a two-quarterback approach in which senior Dylan Cadwallader takes most of the passing responsibilities, while fifth-year Nick Howard essentially acts as the Big Green’s second running back. For the FCS’ strongest run defense this season, the approach will present Penn’s most unusual challenge so far.

“One thing about Dartmouth [is] they are very similar to the way they’ve been the last decade,” Priore said. “Very, very stout defense, very sound football team. They will pressure, but not very much. They want you to make mistakes.”