Fitzpatrick, who had previously led the Crimson to comeback wins in Rose’s stead, was unable to substantially spark the offense when he entered the game in the third quarter. His touchdown pass did, however, prevent the high-powered Crimson offense from being shut out for the first time since 1998.

The dominating Penn performance was particularly sweet for the Quaker players, who lost a similar high-stakes game in Cambridge last season.

“Last year’s game was the type of game you think about all year,” Milanese said. “The way we handled them today is definitely good payback.”

On the flip side, the dismal Crimson performance was particularly bitter for the contingent of Harvard supporters who braved the cold rain to make the six-hour trek to Philadelphia.

Over 100 students, many of them bussed in from Cambridge by the H-Club, arrived early enough at Franklin Field to cheer on the team during ESPN’s live broadcast. They noisily objected when GameDay analysts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit both picked Penn to win, though they couldn’t really argue with the experts at game’s end.

—Staff writer Daniel E. Fernandez can be reached at dfernand@fas.harvard.edu.

Penn 44, Harvard 9

at Franklin Field

Harvard 2 0 0 7 — 9

Penn 13 21 7 3 — 44

First Quarter P—FG Veldman 27, 11:02. H—Safety, Mitchell tackled in end zone, 7:45. P—Pennington 51 fumble return (Veldman kick), 4:47. P—FG Veldman 23, :10. Second Quarter P—Faulk 18 pass from Mitchell (Veldman kick), 9:27. P—Castles 12 pass from Mitchell (Veldman kick), 5:25. P—Bolinder 33 pass from Mitchell (Veldman kick), 3:30. Third Quarter P—Milanese 22 pass from Mitchell (Veldman kick), 1:11. Fourth Quarter P—FG Galas 41, 7:54. H—Fratto 9 pass from Fitzpatrick (Blewett kick), 4:03. Attendance—18,630.

Harvard Penn

First downs 19 18

Rushes-yards 41-134 30-74

Passing 205 317