Nov. 4, 2006

PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) -Jeff Terrell matched his career high with three touchdown passes and scored on a bizarre 1-yard, fourth-down run in the second overtime to lead Princeton to a a 31-30 victory over Penn on Saturday.

The loss was an NCAA-record third straight in overtime for Penn (4-4, 2-3) and it was finalized when the Quakers, who have been bothered by placekicking woes all season, botched a snap on an extra point following a 25-yard touchdown pass from Rob Irvin on Matt Carre on the play after the Terrell run.

Holder Matt Reinert tried to run the ball on the extra point, but he was pushed out of bounds at the 2-yard line, keeping Princeton (7-1, 4-1) in the chase for the Ivy League title.

The Quakers also botched a snap on a 21-yard field goal attempt in the first overtime. That didn't matter because Penn later a Princeton field goal attempt.

The play that kept the Tigers in the Ivy League race was remarkable.

Faced with a fourth and goal after being stopped twice from the 1-yard in the second overtime, Terrell handed off to Rob Toresco. The running back was stood up by the middle of the Penn line twice, but not tackled. Toresco then pitched the ball back to Terrell at the 10-yard line and he circled the right side for the touchdown, leaving Penn players stunned.

Quakers coach Al Bagnoli yelled at the officials for not blowing the play dead in the game that saw Penn rally from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to force a third straight overtime.

No Division I program had ever played three straight overtime games.

Heading into the final two weeks of the season, Princeton and Harvard (7-1, 4-1) are a game behind Yale in the battle for first place. Yale (7-1, 5-0) beat Brown 27-24 on Saturday, while Harvard defeated Columbia 24-7.

Princeton will play at Yale next weekend, while Harvard will host Yale in the final week.

Penn forced the overtime by scoring two touchdowns in the final 11:07 against a Princeton defense that had not given up a touchdown in the fourth quarter to an Ivy League opponent this season.

On the game-tying drive, Irvin overcame a big rush and found Billy May for 29 yards on a fourth-and-24 play to the Tigers 28. After a 12-yard pass to Daniel Coleman, Irvin found Carre on a 16-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute to play.

Braden Lepisto, who took over for injured place-kicker Peter Stine and later kicked a 38-yard field goal, added the game-tying extra point as Quakers players watched with anticipation on the sidelines.

Terrell hit Brendan Circle on touchdown passes of 25 and 5 yards and connected with tight end Jake Staser on a 9-yard score as Princeton rebounded from a setback last weekend at Cornell. Conner Louden added a 22-yard field goal for the Tigers, who held leads of 17-7 at the half and 24-10 early in the fourth quarter.

Fullback Nick Cisler scored on 1-yard run, while Joe Sandberg rushed for a career-high 173 yards on 23 carries for the Quakers, who have now lost two in a row to Princeton after winning nine straight.