Penn is having its best start in Ivy play since 2022, and it’s because ‘everyone is contributing’
The Quakers took down Brown on Friday night to go 3-1 in the league. They now have an upcoming stretch against Cornell, Harvard, and Princeton to finish the regular season.
Penn is having an impressive start in Ivy League play, going 3-1 ahead of its upcoming stretch against Cornell, Harvard, and Princeton.
The Quakers are having their best start in league play since 2022, after they took down Brown, 28-21, at Franklin Field on Friday. Head coach Ray Priore believes his team is still improving seven weeks into the season.
“We’re growing, we’re believing, we’re trusting,” Priore said. “From top to bottom, end to end, and everyone is contributing to having success.”
‘A clear canvas’
On offense, Penn hasn’t won a game the same way twice.
The Quakers were sloppy in the opener at Stonehill, heavy on the ground vs. Dartmouth, and flying through the air against Marist.
“There are staples of what you do week to week,” Priore said. “But we try to figure out where there are spots in the opponent’s defense that we can attack by formations.”
» READ MORE: Penn shakes off a tough start against Columbia to remain undefeated in Ivy play
In its win over Columbia, Penn relied on a run-pass-option attack, featuring quarterback Liam O’Brien’s legs and a stellar three-touchdown performance from Jared Richardson.
Penn dominated Brown on Friday with a heavy run game. The Quakers finished with their highest rushing output of the year with 231 yards and three touchdowns.
“Coach [Gregory] Chimera and the offensive staff really are very wide open in their thoughts,” Priore said. “It is a clear canvas every time they go to put together a plan.”
Continuing mistakes
However, those offensive adjustments, coupled with a young defense, have also led to Penn being second in the league in penalties, losing more than 72.7 yards per game to mistakes.
This constant thorn in the Quakers’ side was prevalent in the team’s lone Ivy League loss to Yale, where Penn had 10 penalties for 110 yards.
» READ MORE: Against Yale, Penn suffers its first Ivy League loss, as penalties and turnovers take over
After the game, Priore said his team has the “maturity” to break those undisciplined habits, and they have since improved. Penn only had seven penalties for 55 yards against Brown.
“Discipline is a great word, but it’s all about focus,” Priore said. “Focus will bring that discipline around. … We were up and down all over the place, and we finally just got a chance to play one play at a time. And as you see, we did not have a lot of self-inflicted wounds in this game [against Brown].”
Winning with what you have
The Quakers’ defense has faced multiple injuries this season, particularly on the defensive line, and has still stood tall.
“I think our D line did a great job,” said linebacker and captain John Lista of Penn’s performance vs. Brown. “They were plugging a lot of gaps, ran a lot of stunts, pressuring them a little bit … our D line has some young guys in there and they executed.”
Priore believes calling more aggressive defensive schemes is now possible as inexperienced players get more reps.
Against Brown, the defensive line notched three sacks despite having Paul Jennings, Hunter Lay, Brady Ioannidis, and Liam Forster sidelined.
“I’m not sure who the starting guys will be next week,” Priore said. “I’m not sure who’s healthy, but that’s OK. These guys just keep on showing up week in and week out and just giving us their best.”