Late field goal dooms Penn, which nearly pulled off an upset of Ivy League leader Harvard

The common adage is that football is a game of inches, but on Saturday it was yards — 53 of them, to be exact — that separated Penn from a potential upset against No. 11 Harvard. Crimson kicker Kieran Corr hit a 53-yard field goal as time expired to hand the Quakers a 45-43 loss at Harvard Stadium.

The loss was Penn’s second in a row and renders its chances of an opportunity to secure at least a share of the Ivy League title or a chance at the FCS playoffs essentially obsolete.

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It looked like Penn (5-4, 3-3 Ivy) had an upset of Harvard (9-0, 6-0) in the bag. With just 22 seconds remaining, Mason Walters, the Quakers’ freshman kicker, hit a 30-yard field goal to put Penn up, 43-42. But Harvard drove 22 yards on five plays to set up Corr’s kick.

The win for Harvard guarantees at least a share of the Ivy League title this season, its 20th in conference history.

Despite that, Harvard found itself on the back foot early against the Quakers, who took a six-point lead into halftime behind a four-touchdown first half. Jared Richardson, Penn’s reliable wideout and receiving leader, scored two of them, starting with a 26-yard catch-and-run. He scored again just before halftime on a 10-yard touchdown grab that capped a five-play, 47 yard drive.

Penn quarterback Liam O’Brien had command of the offense as well, finishing with 271 yards and four total touchdowns: a 1-yard scamper in the fourth quarter and three in the air, all to Richardson.

But a slow start out of the gate in the second half ultimately came back to bite the Quakers, who were unable to get on the board in the third quarter while Harvard score two touchdowns to jump ahead, 35-27. The back-and-forth made for a riveting fourth quarter, but one that sent Penn back to Philly empty-handed.

The Quakers will look to finish the regular season strong at home against Princeton. The Tigers (3-6, 2-4) are reeling from a four-game losing streak, but it will be anything but a gimme for Penn. The Tigers’ record doesn’t reflect that three of those losses came by just three points each to Cornell, Dartmouth, and Yale.

Speaking of tight margins, Penn will look to earn its first win against Princeton since 2022, when it beat the Tigers, 20-19.