PHILADELPHIA--If you want to be king, sooner or later you've got to meet the ruling monarch head on.

The University of Pennsylvania football team did just that here at Franklin Field, beheading Harvard, 52-13, in front of 37,612 witnesses.

The Quakers (9-0 overall, 6-0 Ivy) clinched at least a share of the Ivy League crown with its victory. Penn meets Cornell next weekend in Ithaca for the outright title, marking the third consecutive season that the two Ivy League leaders will meet in the season finale to decide the championship.

Two years ago, Penn defeated the Big Red in the season's final week, and last year, Harvard defeated Yale in The Game to capture the title.

For the Crimson, the beating was its worst loss since 1957 when it lost to Yale, 54-0. Harvard (2-7 overall, 2-4 Ivy) hosts the Elis next weekend in an effort to salvage something out of a championship defense gone bad.

The game marked the return of running back Tony Hinz, out the last two weeks with a broken bone in his hand, and the first start for junior quarterback Tim Perry.

Hinz led the Crimson with 95 yards on 17 carries and hauled in six passes for 54 yards. Perry, starting because Tom Yohe is out with a fractured leg and backup Rod MacLeod is hobbling around on a bad ankle. completed 11 of 28 passes for 100 and rushed 13 times for 65 yards and a score.

"We're proud we were able to beat them to win the crown," Penn Coach Ed Zubrow said. "We wanted to go out and take it to Harvard early. A lot of our kids got their butts kicked last year. It meant a lot to our senior lineman to control the line."

Penn's offensive line played bang-up football, shoving the ball down Harvard's throat for 557 total yards (340 rushing, 217 passing). The front wall opened holes the size of moon craters for running back Bryan Keys (28 carries for 178 yards and three touchdowns) while giving ready-to-run quarterback Malcolm Glover (14 of 22 passes, 217 yards and a touchdown) ample time to pick the Crimson secondary apart.

The tone was set on Penn's first drive. After limiting Harvard to three plays and a punt, the Quakers roared 70 yards in seven plays with a mixture of passes and runs. On third and three from the seven, Glover dashed untouched for the score after he was unable to find an open receiver.

Penn followed that score with a six-minute drive which culminated in a 23-yd., Glover to David Whatey touchdown pass. The only bright spot of the drive for Harvard was Captain Don Peterson's sack of Glover. It was Peterson's 11th sack of the season, breaking 1987 Captain Kevin Dulsky's record.

Harvard finally got on the scoreboard in the second quarter when Perry ran three yards for a touchdown. Perry did it all once the Crimson got close, carrying the ball three times for the final 26 yards.

If there is such a thing as a turning point in a 39-point blowout, the first few minutes of the third quarter were it. With the game still in doubt, Harvard defensive back Tony Molinari picked off his second interception of the day at the Crimson 15-yd. line.

But on the second play, fullback Alex Konovalchik coughed up the ball, one of Harvard's three fumbles on the day.

"I think it was a big turnover because what happens sometimes is just all of a sudden you either lose momentum, lose field position, a lot of things can happen when that takes place," Harvard Coach Joe Restic said.