Nebrich Passes Rams Past Penn, 60-22

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Bronx, N.Y. (October 11, 2014) – After experiencing a plethora of firsts last year, the Fordham University football squad had yet to embrace a major milestone this year. That was until today when senior quarterback Mike Nebrich set a school record for passing yards as the Rams defeated Penn, 60-22, on Jack Coffey Field for Fordham's first ever win over the Ivy League school.
 
With the win, the #14/18 Rams improve to 6-1 on the year while Penn fall to 0-4. It was the sixth meeting between the two schools with the Quakers winning the first five. Fordham also improved its home field winning streak to eleven games.
 
Nebrich had a day for the books, completing  36 of 47 passes for a school record 566 yards and six touchdowns, tying a school mark. He broke his own school record of 524 passing yards, set last year against Holy Cross, while he tied the school record of six scoring passes in a game, set by Kevin Eakin against Rhode Island in 2003. His 556 passing yards is the most by an NCAA FCS quarterback this season and his 36 completions brings his Fordham total to 537 as he moves ahead of current head coach Joe Moorhead and into second place on the all-time completions list at Fordham.
 

Freshman running back Chase Edmonds also etched his name in the Fordham record book as he became the first freshman in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He had 22 carries on the day for 101 yards and one score, bring his season total to 1,011 yards. He is also the fastest Ram to make it to 1,000 yards, doing it in his seventh game (the previous mark was eight games).
 
At wide out, Nebrich connected with five different receivers for scores, led by Tebucky Jones, Jr., who hauled in ten passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. His 203 yards in the seventh best single season total for a Fordham receiver.
 
Sam Ajala was just shy of 200 receiving yards on the day, catching eight passes for 199 yards and a score while Brian Wetzel, Marcus Jones and Dan Light also hauled in a six-point pass from Nebrich.
 
As a team, the Fordham offense amassed a school-record 730 yards of total offense, surpassing the former mark of 700 yards set last year against Holy Cross. It was also the most total yards by an NCAA FCS team this year (the previous best was 694 yards by Sacramento State) while the 60-point outburst was Fordham's first since a 63-28 win over Rhode Island in 2008.
 
The Fordham defense displayed a bend-but-don't-break attitude today, forcing four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles) and should have had a fifth but the play was nullified by an inadvertent whistle. The Rams allowed the Quakers to get in the red zone seven times but Penn couldn't get to the end zone and had to settle for four field goals in the seven red zone trips.
 
Penn jumped out to a 7-0 lead five minutes into the game on a 33-yard scoring strike from Alek Torgersen to Ryan O'Malley but the Rams came right back, covering 69 yards on six plays to knot the game at seven on Edmonds' three-yard touchdown run with 8:08 left in the first.
 
A 29-yard Jimmy Gammill field goal, one of five on the day for the Penn kicker, put the Quakers back in the lead, 10-7, with 6:35 on the clock but the Fordham defense came through later in the quarter as Austin Hancock sacked Torgersen on the Penn nine, causing Torgersen to fumble the ball which was scooped up by Fordham's DeAndre Slate who took it into the end zone for a 14-10 Fordham lead with 2:48 remaining in the first.
 
Levon Williams picked off a Torgersen pass on the next series, giving Fordham the ball on their own 44. Nebrich made short work of converting the turnover into points as, on the first play of the second quarter, he found Tebucky Jones, Jr. with a 37-yard touchdown pass and a 21-10 Fordham lead.
 

Later in the second, following a missed field goal, Penn drove to the Fordham 15 where the drive stalled and Gammill booted a 32-yard field goal to cut the Penn deficit to eight, 21-13, with 6:05 left in the half.
 
The Rams then scored on back-to-back possessions, starting with a 47-yard bomb from Nebrich to Tebucky Jones, Jr. with 5:13 remaining in the half. Then, after the Fordham defense held Penn to a three-and-out, Nebrich needed just one play to find the end zone, connecting with Ajala on an 80-yard bomb just over a minute later to put the Rams up 35-13.
 
After another Gammill three-pointer made it a 35-16 game, Nebrich threw his fourth touchdown pass of the day, a five-yarder to Brian Wetzel, and then completed a two-point conversion pass to Brett Biestek to give Fordham a 43-6 lead 57 seconds before the half.
 
Gammill added a 48-yard field goal on the last play of the half as the Rams took a 43-19 lead into intermission.
 
A 34-yard Gammill field goal early in the third quarter pulled Penn to within 21, 43-22, but that would be all the scoring for the visitors on the day.
 
On the ensuing possession, Nebrich marched the Rams down field, capping the drive with a five-yard scoring pass to Marcus Jones with 7:47 on the clock as the Rams increased the lead to 50-22.
 
On the next possession, Nebrich threw his sixth scoring pass for the day, this one a nine-yarder to tight end Dan Light with 5:15 remaining in the third.
 
Marando closed out the scoring with an 18-yard field goal late in the fourth.
 
Hancock paced the Fordham defense with a game-high 12 tackles, including eight solo, 2.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, while De'Nard Pinckney recorded a career-high eleven tackles, ten solo, including three for loss and he intercepted a pass. George Dawson also had a double figure tackle game with ten.
 
The Rams will have a week off before returning to action on Saturday, October 25, as they travel to Bethlehem, Penn., to face Lehigh University in a Patriot League matchup at 12:30 p.m.
 
Notes
Fordham improved to 14-1 at Jack Coffey Field under Moorhead… The Rams have won their last six games against Ivy League schools… Fordham outscored Penn 29-9 in the second quarter and have now outscored opponents 102-48 in the period this year… The Rams now have just one opponent that they have played at least five times without a win, Ithaca College (Fordham is 0-5 all-time against the Bombers)… Nebrich's five touchdown passes give him 56 in his Fordham career, good for second on the career list (John Skelton holds the record with 69)… He now has 6,795 career passing yards at Fordham, second on the all-time list behind Skelton (9,923)… Nebrich threw a third quarter interception to break a streak of 188 pass attempts without an interception… Hancock tied his career high in tackles, set last year versus Columbia… Pinckney's previous career-best in tackles was five, set earlier this year against Rhode Island.