Today's Tidbit... Flopping On Field Goals

Penn soundly beat visiting Harvard 15-6 in the second-to-last game of the 1897 season in which Penn outscored its opponents 463-20 on their way to a 15-0 record, equaled only by Clemson in 2018.

Football did not require seven players to be on the line of scrimmage until 1903, allowing Penn to pioneer the guards back formation in 1892, which the 1897 team used as well. The formation had both guards aligned in the backfield so they could be among three players allowed to be in forward motion at the snap.

'Penn's Guard's Back Formation,' Chicago Tribune, November 21, 1897.

None of that was unusual at the time. Instead, the memorable aspect of the game was that Penn attempted and made a place-kicked field goal, which was new and included holding techniques considered odd today. Thankfully, the newspaper article covering the Harvard game reported on how Penn executed the kick, describing the holder's technique.