Penn is looking to down another Ivy champion, this time on the road, against Columbia

What’s better than doing it once? Doing it twice.

Penn (3-1, 1-0 Ivy) has the chance to defeat the reigning Ivy League champions twice. After defeating Dartmouth two weeks ago, the Quakers head to New York to take on Columbia (1-3, 0-1), which shared the title with the Big Green a year ago.

Having lost to Columbia in embarrassing fashion at home last season, quarterback Liam O’Brien is ready to flip the script in the Big Apple.

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“Co-Ivy champs, a big team to have to knock off,” O’Brien said. “We lost to them for the first time at home in, I think, 20-something years last year. We’re [ticked] off about that, and looking to go up and ruin their homecoming.”

Senior wide receiver Jared Richardson was named Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week following his 190-yard, two-touchdown performance in Penn’s win over Marist.

On Thursday, he was named a Phil Steele midseason All-American.

Averaging 117.8 yards per game through the air with O’Brien at the helm, Richardson is having a career year — one fueled by his desire to one day provide for his family.

“I want to set my family up,” Richardson said. “A lot of people don’t really have that same mindset, and I feel like if I’m doing something for my mom, my pops, my sister, my brother, nobody can stop me.”

For now, Richardson hopes to focus on the game ahead of him, still feeling the sting from last year’s loss to Columbia.

“I don’t think any team in the Ivy League is bad,” Richardson said. ”The teams that aren’t performing like they should, they can easily knock off teams that are doing well. So we have to attack this week like it’s any other week. It’s an Ivy League game. We are 0-0, this is our Super Bowl.”

The Lions rank last in the Ivy League in points per game and rushing yards per game, while second-to-last in passing yards, good for the worst offense in the Ivy League.

They also are last in total first down and third-down conversions, so the Quakers defense will look to capitalize on Columbia’s poor form with continued strong play from its young and surprisingly successful secondary.

“The defensive staff has done a really good job of getting our guys to be fundamentally sound,” coach Ray Priore said. “With young players, that means reps, reps, reps. If you watch our [defensive backs], you can see them from game one to two, two to three, three to four, getting more confidence.”

Columbia holds a bit more weight defensively, ranking fourth in the Ivy League in points allowed despite having the league leader in sacks in Justin Townsend and the league leader in interceptions in Jack Miechowski.

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Following three straight games scoring four touchdowns or more, Penn’s offense has no plans of playing down to lesser competition — something it has been used to in previous years.

“It feels good going in with some momentum coming off three and one and some good showings,” O’Brien said. “Looking to carry that forward and walk away with improvement offensively.”

Following last week’s injury of Alex Haight, Penn’s third wide receiver, Jake Davis, is slated for his first start as a Quaker after 44 games with the program.

A wide receiver from Jacksonville, Fla., Davis stayed on as a fifth-year senior this season after missing his freshman year with a hamstring injury.

With Davis snagging important first-down conversions while being a special teams difference maker in his four appearances this year, Priore believes there is no one with a better skill set to fill in for Haight.

“We basically can plug him into every single position at wide receiver,” Priore said. “That is challenging to do, because in every play someone is doing something different.”

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