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Pennsylvania vs. Wesleyan (CT)

Pennsylvania and Wesleyan (CT) first met in 1884 and have played 12 times; Pennsylvania leads the series 9–⁠3. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Pennsylvania 8–⁠2, and Pennsylvania has won the last 6.

Pennsylvania wins
9
Wesleyan (CT) wins
3
Ties
0
First meeting
1884
Longest streak
6 Pennsylvania
Current streak
6 Pennsylvania
Last 10 meetings
Pennsylvania 8–⁠2
Most recent
1899

The series at a glance

’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1880s3–⁠3
1890s6–⁠0
Average margin
12.3 points; 6 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Pennsylvania
9–⁠0 Pennsylvania’s record at home
At Wesleyan (CT)
3–⁠0 Wesleyan (CT)‘s record at home
Shutouts
4

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. Pennsylvania’s biggest win1892: Pennsylvania 34, Wesleyan (CT) 0by 34 points
  2. Wesleyan (CT)‘s biggest win1889: Wesleyan (CT) 10, Pennsylvania 2by 8 points
  3. Upset1885: Wesleyan (CT) 25, Pennsylvania 18Wesleyan (CT) had a 31% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  4. Upset1889: Wesleyan (CT) 10, Pennsylvania 2Wesleyan (CT) had a 31% chance, by our ratings before kickoff

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of Pennsylvania and Wesleyan (CT), 1884 on1300150017001900192019401960198020002020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

From the newspapers

  • The New-York tribune's story of the 1885 game: COLLEGIANS AT FOOTBALL. PENNSYLVANIA BEATEN BY WESLEYAN. TIE BIG EASTERN TEAM WINS by A SCORE OF 20 CAME

    1885 · New-York tribune, New York [N.Y.], Nov 8, 1885

  • The St. Paul daily globe's story of the 1887 game: WESLEYAN WINS. A Very Rough Game in Which PENNSYLVANIA Is Defeated

    1887 · St. Paul daily globe, Saint Paul, Minn., Nov 25, 1887

  • The New-York tribune's story of the 1888 game: WESLEYAN COMES LAST. BEATEN BY THE PENNSYLVANIA MEN. n ROUGH GAME OF FOOTBALL AT THE POLO

    1888 · New-York tribune, New York [N.Y.], Nov 30, 1888

  • The Pittsburg dispatch's story of the 1889 game: THE WESLRYANS WIN. They Capture n Good Game From Penn. sylvanIa Students by 10 10 2 "A Great Struggle on MnddH Grnnnda

    1889 · Pittsburg dispatch, Pittsburg [Pa.], Nov 29, 1889

  • The Pittsburg dispatch's story of the 1890 game: Great Excitement Regarding the Football Game Between Yale and Princeton. LATEST NEWS ABOUT THE TEAMS. The University of Pennsylvania Team Defeats the Wesleyan Eleven in an Exciting Contest. AL J0HNSONS POOR PROSPECTS. Gossip About Local Baseball Afsrs-6ensrl Sporting News Of the Day. ESPE

    1890 · Pittsburg dispatch, Pittsburg [Pa.], Nov 27, 1890

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.

Every game

Oct 18, 1899Pennsylvania 17, Wesleyan (CT) 6at Pennsylvania
Oct 19, 1898Pennsylvania 17, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Pennsylvania
Nov 13, 1897Pennsylvania 22, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Pennsylvania
Nov 24, 1892Pennsylvania 34, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Pennsylvania
Nov 25, 1891Pennsylvania 18, Wesleyan (CT) 10at Pennsylvania
Nov 26, 1890Pennsylvania 16, Wesleyan (CT) 10at Pennsylvania
Nov 28, 1889Wesleyan (CT) 10, Pennsylvania 2at Wesleyan (CT)
Nov 27, 1888Pennsylvania 18, Wesleyan (CT) 6at Pennsylvania
Nov 24, 1887Wesleyan (CT) 10, Pennsylvania 4at Wesleyan (CT)
Oct 27, 1886Pennsylvania 14, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Pennsylvania
Nov 7, 1885Wesleyan (CT) 25, Pennsylvania 18at Wesleyan (CT)
Nov 27, 1884Pennsylvania 14, Wesleyan (CT) 12at Pennsylvania

Every game is listed as played on the field.