On Penn’s opening drive of the game, the Crimson deflected Hunter Kelley’s punt to start its first possession in Quakers territory, and it took just 12 seconds for Harvard to get on the board—Stanton took the handoff and sprinted 42 yards down the field to give the Crimson the early 7-0 lead.

Stanton, as he did all day, picked up the slack when the rest of the offense sputtered. The second scoring drive was nearly as short, as the Crimson took just 32 seconds to tack on its second touchdown on a 75-yard run by the back, giving the visitors a 14-10 lead. A field goal late in the second quarter by kicker Andrew Flesher made the lead 17-10 going into the break.

Senior quarterback Conner Hempel, who hasn’t seen game time since Dartmouth, when he injured his shoulder, didn’t dress for the game. Under center instead for Harvard was Hosch. The starting position is a familiar place now for Hosch, as Hempel was sidelined early in the season with a back injury, but the junior appeared rattled early on Saturday.

Hosch’s fourth pass of the game, intended for junior tight end Ben Braunecker, was batted up in the air by a Penn cornerback and picked off Quakers defensive end Jack Madden. Harvard’s next possession also ended in a Hosch interception, when cornerback Ian Dobbins jumped the receiver’s route for the pick—which was stopped from being a pick six by Hosch himself, who made the tackle.

Penn was only able to convert the first takeaway into points, when backup quarterback Adam Strouss faked a quarterback run at the goal line and lobbed the ball over the pile to receiver Ryan O’Malley. The score gave the Quakers the early lead, 10-7, as a failed Crimson onside kick had led to a field goal on Penn’s previous possession. Harvard previously hadn’t trailed since its week two contest against Brown.

—Staff writer Samantha Lin can be reached at samantha.lin@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @Linsamnity.