What to watch for as Penn looks to keep its good gridiron momentum going against Cornell

After a statement victory with its backup quarterback, Penn is headed back on the road to face Cornell on Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN+).

Penn (3-4, 1-3 Ivy) is coming off its highest scoring output of the season, a 38-28 win over Brown. Junior quarterback Liam O’Brien made his first career start, as senior Aidan Sayin was out with an elbow injury. O’Brien finished with 247 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown. With Sayin’s availability still in question for this Saturday, O’Brien’s name may be called again.

“[O’Brien] knows the playbook; he knows everything like the back of his hand,” junior wide receiver Jared Richardson said. “Normally, you see a drop-off in the starting quarterback to the backup. There’s no drop-off at all [with O’Brien starting].”

Title aspirations for Cornell (3-4, 2-2) are still alive with two conference losses. However, it likely needs to go undefeated in its remaining three games for a chance at the Ivy League championship game. The Big Red are trailing Dartmouth, Harvard, and Columbia, which all have one conference loss. Last week, Cornell took care of business against Princeton and won, 49-35.

Here’s what to watch for ahead of Penn’s trip to Ithaca, N.Y.

Last week, Penn’s receiving yards leader had his best showing of the season. Richardson caught seven balls for 113 yards and a touchdown. This was a welcome sign for Penn’s offense as he had struggled following an impressive start to the season.

In his first two outings, Richardson averaged 97 receiving yards per game. In the ensuing four games, though, he averaged 37 yards.

“It was kind of a little frustrating, but you got to keep your head down,” Richardson said. “I just kept my head down. I kept pushing through it because I know in a big game, this team is going to need me. I’m just going to have to make a play. My name’s going to get called. Last week, my name was called, and I delivered.”

Junior wideout Bisi Owens also had his best statistical game last week, with six receptions for 89 yards.

The 6-foot-4 Owens and the 6-foot-2 Richardson give their quarterback, no matter the starter, a large target in the red zone. Cornell ranks last in the Ivy League in red zone defense, and opponents score within the 20-yard line 90.3% of the time.

“We have two receivers who both have almost 40-inch verticals and ball skills, so it’s pretty hard to cover them when you throw it up,” Sayin told The Inquirer earlier this season.

Saturday marks the 130th game between Penn and Cornell. The Quakers are 77-47-5 against the Big Red. Since 1995, the two schools have played for the Trustees' Cup — Penn has won the cup 20 times to Cornell’s eight.

The Quakers beat Cornell, 23-8, at home to win the trophy last year. Notably, Penn running back Malachi Hosley broke program records for longest offensive play on a 96-yard rush and most rushing yards by a freshman in a single game with 261 yards.

Cornell has matched its win total from last season already under head coach Dan Swanstrom. Before moving to Ithaca, Swanstrom served as Penn’s offensive coordinator for two seasons.

“There’s going to be a lot of emotion,” said Richardson, who was recruited by Swanstrom. “He’s the reason why I got here. But at the end of the day, he’s on the other side. We’re going up against him. He’s on an opposing team. So during the game, I mean, we’re not going to be buddy-buddy.”

Swanstrom has gotten the most out of his senior quarterback Jameson Wang. This season, Wang has thrown for 1,776 yards, 17 touchdowns and only three interceptions. A rushing threat as well, Wang has run for 314 yards and five touchdowns.

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