Penn gets shut out by Princeton

PRINCETON, N.J. - Penn picked a bad time to play its worst game in quite some time.

The good news is the Quakers (5-3, 4-1) can still get a piece of the Ivy League title - for the second straight season - by beating Harvard (7-1, 5-0) Friday night at Franklin Field.

But it won't happen if they play anything close to this again.

Their five-game winning streak ended Saturday afternoon at Princeton Stadium with a thud, 28-0. That left them tied with Princeton (6-2, 4-1) for second place with two games remaining. The Tigers lost to Harvard at home two weeks ago in overtime.

The stated goal from the players before the season was to win an outright title. Now they're going to need help to make that a reality. But a ring is a ring.

First, though, the Quakers have to find a way to regain their whatever in the next six days.

They didn't score in the second half of last week's 21-14 win over Brown. Then they were shut out in a first half for the first time in just over three years. They hadn't allowed a first-half point since their fourth game of the season. They hadn't allowed a first-quarter point since the third game.

They fell behind when Princeton returned a blocked punt (after the snap was dropped) for a touchdown less than a minute and a half in. It was 13-0 at the break. Princeton took the second-half kickoff and used up almost half the third quarter driving 80 yards to make it a three-possession hole.

It's the first time the Tigers have beaten Penn two in a row at home since 1990 and '92. It was their first shutout in the series since 1978.

"It's a long season," said second-year coach Ray Priore. "You have to keep looking forward. We didn't finish plays, or drives."

They turned the ball over on downs at the Princeton 26 early in the second quarter. And did so late in the period at the 31. It happened one more time, early in the fourth at the 28, and there were two turnovers (interception, fumble) deep in Tiger territory, after it no longer mattered.

"There's always a next game," said quarterback Alek Torgersen, who became the program's all-time total offense leader (7,350 yards). "We have a lot still on the line."

Added Priore: "There's plenty of work to be done here. At least we have a second chance."