Penn Sweeps the Ivy League Honors after Defeating Yale

Alek Torgersen (Photo by Thomas Munson, TheDP.com)

The University of Pennsylvania Quakers defeated the Yale Bulldogs 34-20 in a nationally televised game on Saturday night. With the win Penn improved to 3-3, and 2-1 in the Ivy League. It is the first time since 2013 that the Quakers won two consecutive games.

After a big win over Ivy League rival, Yale, Penn football has nearly swept the weekly honors. Junior quarterback, Alek Torgersen, received Offensive Player of the Week after he threw a career-high 350 yards and career-best four touchdowns. His four touchdowns went for 63, 17, 27 and 1 yard out with two of them giving the Quakers the lead. He helped lead the Quakers out of an early 10-point deficit and into a 34-20 victory over Yale. Torgersen also missed just 10 of his passes, going 25-of-35 in passes, averaging 14.0 yards per completion. Penn offense rushed 397 total yards and Togersen contributed with 47 rushing yards himself.

Senior linebacker Tyler Drake received defensive player of the week honors after a defensive trifecta in the game against the Bulldogs. Drake recorded a sack, an interception and a forced fumble. He also made six tackles, three solo. However, it was his two game-changing plays in 41 seconds that led him to receive weekly honors. In those 41 seconds, the senior linebacker helped turn a 10-0 deficit into a 14-10 lead. First, he made an interception, which led to an eventual long touchdown pass for the Quakers first points of the game. Three plays later, Drake caused a fumble on a sack, which led to a touchdown just two plays later.

Finally, Christian Pearson, a freshman wide receiver made a game-high six catches for a career-high 133 yards and two touchdowns. Pearson’s first catch came while the Quakers were losing 10-0. After the Quakers went scoreless in the first quarter, the freshman pulled down a pass for a 63-yard touchdown to put his team within three points of the Bulldogs. The second game-changing touchdown would prove to be the game winner. Pearson made a 27-yard touchdown grab to put the Quakers up 27-13 in the third quarter. The freshman wide receiver ran for at least 11 yards on all, but one of his receptions for his career high total of 133 rushing yards on the week.

The Quakers look for their third straight win as they travel to Providence to face Brown on Halloween at 12:30pm ET. Four of the last five visits to Brown Stadium have resulted in losses, with their one win coming on Halloween in 2009, 14-7 in overtime en route to the 2009 Ivy League title.