Costly Mistakes Hurt Penn In Loss To Cornell

Philadelphia: Conference play in College Football is starting to heat up, especially in the Ivy League where whoever wins the Conference gets the invite to the FCS Playoffs.

On Saturday afternoon, there was a big one as the Penn Quakers would do battle with Cornell Big Red from Franklin Field. Penn came into the game with a 5-2 record & 3-1 in the Ivy League while Cornell makes their trip to Philly with a 3-4 record & 2-2 in the Ivy League.

Penn won the toss & deferred to the 2nd half. Cornell would start the game with the ball.

Cornell would go 3 and out to start the game and, on Penn’s first drive, they would get it to the 40 of Cornell before getting stopped on 4th down.

The Big Red would take advantage of the 4th down stop & drive down for a 32-yard FG and the 3-0 lead with 8:57 left in 1st quarter.

The Quakers would respond with a nice, time-consuming drive that would go into the second quarter. In the second quarter, the Quakers would keep the drive going and end in a 4-yard TD run by QB Liam Obrein for the 7-3 lead. The drive went 16 plays, 75 yards in 8:55.

Q2 14:54 | Penn 7, Cornell 3

Sometimes, you have to take matters into your own hands! Liam O'Brien scampers four yards and we're in front!#FightOnPenn x #BEGREAT pic.twitter.com/U2ZaTzbkxf

— Penn Football (@PennFB) November 8, 2025

How would Cornell respond to the touchdown from Penn? They would walk right down the field but the Quakers’ defense would make the stop on 3rd down and Cornell settled for a field goal.

The Quakers would add to their lead on a 47-yard FG  for a 10-6 lead.

Right before halftime, Cornell would drive down the field for a touchdown that went 10 plays, 75 yards for the 13-10 lead – that would be the score at halftime.

Going into the second half, what could the Quakers do to get back into the game & still keep pace with Harvard for a shot at the Ivy League title?

The Quakers would get the ball to start the 3rd quarter. They fumbled the snap & Cornell would take advantage with a touchdown for a 19-10 lead.

Everything that could go wrong for the Quakers in the 3rd quarter did, as Cornell would grow the lead to 32-10. Penn would get a 75-yard touchdown from Donte West to try to cut into the lead, though:

Q3 3:29 | Cornell 32, Penn 17

DONTE WEST… 75 YARDS TO THE 🏠!#FightOnPenn x #BEGREAT pic.twitter.com/1hhshtmvUY

— Penn Football (@PennFB) November 8, 2025

Could Penn make a comeback and shake things up in the 4th quarter?

Cornell had something to say about that as they scored a TD for a 39-17 lead.  The Quakers would get a good drive going, but wind up being stopped on 4th down.

A crowd of 10,914 would see Cornell come into Franklin Field & take it to the Quakers as they won this game 39-17 and, in the process, give Penn their first home loss of the season.

The story of the game was the 3rd quarter, where Penn fumbled the snap on the 1st play of the half, changing everything.

Postgame:

Penn Coach Ray Priore:

Penn QB Liam O’Brien:

What I asked to @PennFB QB Liam O'Brien after Loss to Cornell#FightOnPenn #IvyLeague #CORvsPENN pic.twitter.com/a2jvXkMKVo

— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) November 8, 2025

Final Numbers:

What is next:
With this loss, Penn falls to 5-3 & 3-2 in Ivy League play. They will look to bounce back, but it will not be easy as they head on the road with a battle against undefeated Harvard.