Penn lost, 14-10, to Dartmouth following a fourth-quarter flurry on Saturday in the Ivy League opener for both teams in Hanover, N.H.
For three quarters, it was a defensive battle. Dartmouth took a 7-3 lead into the fourth quarter before the Quakers put together a 16-play, 80-yard drive capped by senior running back Sean Williams Jr.’s 1-yard touchdown run to go up 10-7. The lead was short-lived, however, as Dartmouth responded with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to regain the lead.
Penn battled back with a 12-play, 59-yard drive that ended with an incomplete pass on fourth down from the Dartmouth 16-yard line with 1 minute, 20 seconds left. After both teams used timeouts on Dartmouth’s ensuing three-and-out, the Quakers got the ball back at their own 46 with 9 seconds left. But an incompletion and a sack of Penn freshman quarterback Miles Teodecki sealed Dartmouth’s first win of the season (1-2).
Figuring it out
Penn head coach Rick Santos stressed the importance of first- and second-down efficiency entering Saturday’s game, but the first quarter looked like a repeat of last week’s loss for Penn’s offense. The Quakers (1-2) punted on both of their drives and struggled to sustain offensive momentum while Dartmouth scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Grayson Saunier to Ky’Dric Fisher. Saunier threw for 173 yards on 13-of-15 passing.
But Penn’s offense woke up in the second quarter. The Quakers put themselves in field-goal range twice and converted one, a 26-yarder to cap a 10-play, 71-yard drive. Meanwhile, they held the Big Green to just 59 yards in the quarter.
Teodecki looked more comfortable this week and flashed the dual-threat abilities he impressed fans with against Bucknell. He was Penn’s leading rusher with 54 yards, and completed 27 of 39 passes for 214 yards on Saturday compared to 133 last week against Lehigh.
The quarterback also started to find his passing rhythm with a fellow freshman, wide receiver Mason Page. Page had eight receptions for a game-high 64 yards, including a 19-yard pass from Teodecki.
Fourth-quarter flurry
Dartmouth missed a trio of field-goal attempts in the second and third quarters, and, while Penn’s field goal put them on the board, untimely penalties erased the potential for more.
But the Quakers finally got an edge on their opening drive of the fourth quarter, when Williams’ 1-yard touchdown run gave them their first lead of the day.
But Dartmouth responded quickly, gaining 75 yards on eight plays and scoring a rushing touchdown of their own via a 2-yard run by Myles Craddock, whom Santos pointed out as a player Penn’s defense needed to watch.
Though Craddock scored the winning touchdown for the Big Green, the Quakers held him to 85 rushing yards. He put up 140 yards in Dartmouth’s previous game against Monmouth.
Up next
Penn returns to Franklin Field to face nonconference opponent Howard (2-3) next Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN+).
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