Penn QB Liam O’Brien accounts for seven TDs in 67-49 comeback win over Cornell

Two starts, two wins — and a program record.

That is Penn backup quarterback Liam O’Brien’s resumé after the Quakers’ 67-49 victory over host Cornell on Saturday. With seven touchdowns on the day, O’Brien now owns the program record for most in a game. The record of six touchdowns had been set in 1998 by running back Jim Finn, who went on to play in the NFL.

O’Brien stepped up for the second week in a row in place of injured Aidan Sayin and recorded 341 passing yards, six touchdowns through the air, and a rushing touchdown.

Cornell (3-5, 2-3 Ivy) opened up a 14-point lead early in the first half. However, three forced turnovers by the Quakers (4-4, 2-3) doomed the Big Red. Penn’s 67 points are the most in the 130-game history between the conference rivals.

“Wow, wow. I haven’t been a part of one of those. Sixty-seven points? Never happened,” said Penn coach Ray Priore, now in his 38th year with the program.

Here is what we saw from Saturday’s explosive matchup:

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Sayin injured his elbow two weeks ago against Yale. He was listed as questionable entering the game but ultimately was unable to go. Priore told reporters postgame that the Quakers’ all-time pass-completion leader is unlikely to return this season.

“Unfortunately, for Aidan’s sake, he’s not going to probably be able to come back this season,” Priore said of the senior. “He’s got more tests to do, but right now, it doesn’t look good.”

Should Sayin not return, he’ll end his career at Penn with 7,157 passing yards and 45 touchdown passes. Before the injury, Sayin was just 366 yards away from becoming Penn’s all-time passing yards leader and eight touchdowns from becoming the program’s touchdowns leader.

O’Brien’s historic day started early. On Penn’s first play, O’Brien hit junior wide receiver Bisi Owens with a 61-yard pass. Two plays later, O’Brien found senior wideout Julien Stokes on a pass out of the backfield for a 3-yard touchdown.

O’Brien’s second touchdown pass went to junior wide receiver Jared Richardson on a 11-yard out route in the end zone. At the end of the half, Richardson found the end zone again, on a screen pass he took for 37 yards.

Richardson ended his day with nine receptions, 141 yards, and three touchdowns.

“Liam believes in me, the coaches believe in me, and, at the end of the day, I just have to do my job,” Richardson said. “Sixty-seven points on the board, that’s hard to do in college football.”

O’Brien got it going on the ground as well. The junior quarterback took a designed run 1 yard into the end zone to cap a 12-play, 58-yard drive to start the second half. O’Brien’s day was not done there, though. He found the end zone through the air three more times.

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“You know, scoring touchdowns is fun, so whenever we can share the wealth, that’s what we want to do,” O’Brien said. “I love all my guys here.”

Penn’s offense garnered 627 total yards on the day, 1 yard off the school’s record for most in a game. Along with O’Brien’s big day, sophomore running back Malachi Hosley tacked on 192 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns.

Cornell coach Dan Swanstrom is in his first year with the Big Red after serving as Penn’s offensive coordinator for two seasons.

Swanstrom went into his bag of tricks early against his former team. On fourth-and-8 from their 26-yard line, he called a fake punt. The ball was snapped directly to junior running back Robert Tucker, who was lined up in the backfield with Cornell’s punter. Tucker broke through the line and took the ball for a 74 yards for a touchdown.

“When we got down, 21-7, after that fake punt, their sideline erupted,” Priore said. “Our kids have done what they’ve done all year. They shrug it off and [went] onto the next play.”

At the 3-minute, 37-second mark of the second quarter, Cornell senior quarterback Jameson Wang found his top option in junior wideout Doryn Smith for a 37-yard touchdown as the Quakers committed to an all-out blitz.

The Big Red were able to move the ball in the second half, but could not keep up with the Quakers. Notably, Wang’s day put him into second all-time in Cornell program history in total offensive yards. He ended with 401 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown — alongside three interceptions.

Cornell’s 49 points are the most Penn has allowed in a game this season.

Harvard visits Franklin Field for Penn’s homecoming game on Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN+).

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