With the riveting final play, the student sectionat the Stadium erupted and charged the field in celebration of the first time in four years that Harvard had won its final home game.

“I thought the fans at the Stadium were just unbelievable,” Murphy said. “It was really the greatest thing I’ve seen since I’ve been at Harvard.”

Today’s battle was a contrast in strengths. Harvard entered the game with the best rushing offense in the league (averaging 189 yards a game), while Penn possessed the best rushing defense in the league and in the country (allowing only 43 yards a game). Harvard boasted the league’s best pass efficiency offense going into today’s contest and, almost predictably, Penn had the league’s best pass efficiency defense. Harvard had scored at least four touchdowns in each game this season, and Penn had not given up more than 20 points in any game.

Heading into the contest it was obvious that something had to give. In the end, Harvard was more successful in imposing its will in running over the vaunted Quaker defense.

“They ran the ball better than most teams have been able to against us,” Bagnoli said. “That was the key to the game.”

Junior tailback Nick Palazzo and Staph combined for 142 yards on the ground and Palazzo punched in a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter to begin the Crimson’s comeback. Though Penn tailback Kris Ryan racked up 138 yards, most of those were the result of a 66-yard TD scamper in the first quarter that gave the Quakers a 14-0 lead.

Another big score in the first quarter—a 37-yard TD strike from Hoffman to senior receiver Colin Smith 13 minutes into the game—comprised the Quakers’ first-half offense and was good enough to ensure a halftime lead.

Next week, the Crimson will travel to New Haven for the 118th playing of The Game. If Harvard can beat Yale, it will cap one of the program’s finest seasons and would be the first time since 1913 that a Crimson squad had survived a season undefeated.

“[Harvard-Yale] is the biggest game of the season, and the seniors have yet to beat Yale,” Rose said. “We’ve got the guys to do it, we’ve got the heart, we’ve got the focus, and that will pay off next Saturday.”