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Penn Welcomes CCSU To Franklin Field Saturday

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The University of Pennsylvania football team will play its final non-league game of the season on Saturday as they welcome Central Connecticut State University to Franklin Field.

The Quakers are 1-2 on the season but, more importantly, 1-0 in the Ivy League after going up to Hanover, New Hampshire this past Friday and pasting Dartmouth, 37-24. The game wasn't even really that close as the Quakers led 37-10 before Dartmouth scored a couple of late touchdowns.

"I thought the entire team, coaching staff, everyone went in with the mindset that we have to get back on track," Penn head coach Ray Priore tells KYW Newsradio. "We took our first two games and learned a lot about ourselves, but we took a nice seven-hour bus ride up north and came back with a great win."

Listen to the entire interview with Penn's Ray Priore:

 

Big performances were all over the place for the Quakers against the Big Green. Senior quarterback Alek Togersen was 18 of 24 for 188 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 47 yards and two more scores. Junior running back Tre Solomon rushed for 107 yards and two scores. On defense, cornerbacks Jyron Walker and Mason Williams each had an interception. Williams is making this ball-hawking a habit as the sophomore now has an interception in all three of Penn's games this season.

"He's a natural football player, athlete," Priore says. "Great football intel, he understands the game, studies it real, real hard. All three of his picks he's been in great position. Those are great momentum changers in the course of a game, coming when we really need it."

Central Connecticut State calls the Northeast Conference home. The Blue Devils are 1-3 on the season and coming off a 45-25 loss to Bryant. The Blue Devils have shown an ability to score, averaging 25 points a game. But they have struggled to stop teams, as opponents are putting up 40 points a game against their defense. Priore says he sees a lot of talent on the CCSU roster.

"They haven't put it all together yet," Priore says. "They remind us a lot of ourselves in our first two games. They've got a big, strong quarterback, some talented running backs, some great coverage kids on defense. They'll be a great challenge. Our kids will have to come ready to play, which they will."

Saturday's game will kickoff at 1:00pm.

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