We almost had a race again.

Dartmouth had just held on fourth-and-one with a minute remaining to reclaim possession, trailing Harvard just 13-12. With just five minutes left in Philadelphia, Brown led Penn 16-13 and had held the Quakers scoreless for the last 30 minutes.

For a brief moment, it appeared that everyone would be back in the Ivy race. Even Columbia.

Just as quickly as the possibility had presented itself, however, it vanished. The Big Green drove to the Crimson 35-yard line but couldn’t stop the clock for a field goal try. The Bears defense needed just one more stop to seal the deal, but Penn put together a nine-play, 88-yard drive spanning just 2:10 as it drove for the game-winning score.

And with Cornell’s 21-20 upset of one-loss Princeton, the lead pack of Harvard and Penn jumped a full two games out in front of the rest of the league with just three games to play. Since the Crimson and the Quakers face off on Nov. 13, at least one of the teams will finish with no worse than two losses, once again making that Harvard-Penn showdown in Philadelphia the de facto conference title game.

That being said, there’s still plenty of football to be played, so let’s get to this weekend’s action.

PRINCETON (4-3, 2-2) vs. NO. 20 PENN (6-1, 4-0)

Just seven quarters ago, this game wasn’t going to be a roadblock, it was going to be a conference title bout.

As Princeton trotted off the field up 14-3 at the end of one quarter against Harvard two weekends ago, it appeared that the Tigers had claimed the “number one contender” status and that this week’s game in Princeton would be for all the marbles.

In the seven quarters since, the Tigers have been outscored 57-20, including a run of 36 straight points by the Crimson to close out a 39-14 win.

Now, Princeton’s title hopes are shot, but it still has one last chance to make an impact on the race.

Taking a quick look at Penn’s numbers—a 19-game conference winning streak, the best rushing defense, scoring defense and passing offense in the league—makes the situation look bleak for the Tigers.

If Princeton is to have a chance, it must generate turnovers and find a way to take advantage of a relatively weak Quaker secondary. The first side of that equation might be possible—the Tigers are fourth in the league with a +3 turnover differential on the season. Penn’s Pat McDermott has thrown just two picks all season, however, so the prospects aren’t good.

Princeton is also dead last in the league in passing yardage and has no receivers in the top 10 in yards or receptions per game. The good news is that QB Matt Verbit has the highest completion percentage in the league, and since the Quakers have been very successful against the run, he may just get a chance to show off his arm. But expecting anything more than a 200-yard, two-TD performance would be a stretch, and that probably wouldn’t even be enough to lead the Tigers past Penn.

The Quakers will run their Ivy winning streak to 20 with a 24-14 win over Princeton.