PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania football team will once again be on the hunt for an Ivy League title on Saturday at 6 p.m. when they travel to Delaware.

The Quakers, seeking their 19th Ancient Eight title, finished fifth in 2023 after finishing 6-4 overall and with a 3-4 record in Ivy play. Meanwhile, the Blue Hens will take the field for the third time in 2024 after earning two straight victories over Bryant and North Carolina A&T.

GAME 1 – PENN at DELAWARE
Saturday, 21 September 2024 | 6 p.m.
Delaware Stadium | Newark, Del.
Watch Live on FloFootball ($) | Listen Live (QAN) | Live Stats
Penn Game Notes (PDF) | Delaware Game Notes (PDF)

Football is back!

The Ivy League starts a few weeks later than everyone else, but opening day is finally here as Penn opens its 147th season at Delaware on Saturday. This will be the Quakers’ first meeting with the Blue Hens since 2019 and the seventh time in program history. Penn has won 20 games in season openers during the Ray Prior era after a 20-6 win at Colgate last year.

The Delaware Series

Penn dominated the series in the “classic” era, winning the first three meetings from 1919 to 1921 before Delaware won the next three in 1981, 1983 and 2019. Saturday’s winner will take the lead in the all-time series.

The last time against Delaware …

So close. On September 28, 2019, the Quakers stormed to a 21-7 lead before the Blue Hens fought back late in the fourth quarter to take a 28-21 lead. Penn was close to getting the ball back with less than 3:00 left in the game, but Isaiah Malcome had other plans and the junior carried a Delaware punt 69 yards for a touchdown. The Quakers went for two, but it was just not enough. A Blue Hens first down later, the hosts escaped with a 28-27 win.

Scouting out the blue chickens
Delaware is off to a strong start to the season, 2-0, after back-to-back wins over Bryant (48-17) and North Carolina A&T (42-13). In Saturday’s road game against the Aggies, the Blue Hens scored five rushing touchdowns while the defense did not allow a single offensive TD. UD finished the game with 526 yards of offense, including 201 yards on the ground, while quarterback Ryan O’Connor completed 23 passes for 325 yards and a touchdown and also led the team in rushing with 47 yards and a touchdown.

Delaware currently ranks first in scoring offense (45.0 points per game), second in red zone offense (1,000) and third in rushing defense (70.5 points per game). The defense has recorded four total sacks through two games, ranking fourth in FCS football.



Preseason All-Ivy
As Phil Steele announced on August 2, eight Quakers received Preseason All-Ivy honors, led by first-teamers RB Malachi HosleyWR Jared RichardsonTE Bryce MyersLB Jack FairmanLB Johannes Listaand DB Shiloh means.DL Paul Jennings and LB Make Kadari earned places in the second team.



All eyes on J-Rich
The entire nation has been focused on what Richardson will bring to the table in 2024. The junior wide receiver made headlines last year when he was named to the All-Ivy first team after a special season. He caught 67 passes for 788 yards and eight touchdowns. Already this preseason, Richardson was named Preseason All-America by FCS Football Central, Stats Perform and Phil Steele and was named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List, which is given to the national offensive player of the year in FCS football.

Hail King Hosley
New number, same baller. Second running back Malachi Hosley will rock the No. 1 uniform after wearing No. 23 in his freshman season, where he was named both the Ivy League Rookie of the Year and an All-Ivy first-team pick. Hosley rushed for 723 yards on 121 attempts and scored seven touchdowns in his freshman season. He was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year a program-record five times, winning the award at the end of the season that also included Freshman All-America from Stats Perform, Phil Steele and FCS Football Central.

This is what we said
The puns are back, but so is Penn’s veteran playmaker. Senior Quarterback Aidan Sayin enters his final season in the red and blue jersey after starting 25 games in his career, rushing for 6,069 yards on 619 completions and 39 touchdowns. The two-time team captain enters the 2024 season as the second-leading Penn QB all-time in passing attempts (983), third-best in yards and completions, and fourth-best in TDs.



Fresh faces
Another season, more first chances as part of the starting lineup for several student-athletes on Saturday in Delaware. On offense Aaron Kruse is expected to make his first start as right tackle, while Sam Carlson, Carter Janki, Devin MalloyAnd Josh Narciss are ready to make their first missions in defense.



Hello, coach!
Priore added four new faces to his coaching staff: Greg Chimera (Offensive Coordinator), Marvin Clecidor (Defensive Backs), Jordan Johnson (running backs) and David Josephson (Tight Ends) are coming to University City.



Aye, aye, aye, captains!
Seniors Paul Jennings, Shiloh meansAnd Aidan Sayin will be Penn’s captains for the 2024 season, as voted by their teammates during the preseason. It is the first time since 2018 that three players have served as captains. The Quakers had five captains in 2023 and four in 2021 and 2022.



Follow the action
Saturday’s game will be streamed live on FloFootball, with Jon Mozes (live commentary) and Pat Devlin (analyst) on the phone. Matt Leon begins his 21st season on the mic as the radio voice of the Quakers, joined by analyst Hench Murray in his 43rd season on the Quaker Audio Network (QAN).



For the latest Penn football information, follow @PennFB on X (formerly Twitter), @PennFootball on Instagram, and online at PennAthletics.com.



 

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