{shortcode-faa2cf84f15e69e9b068c1bf70f401e5979b7e1e}

On Friday night, Harvard football’s hopes of an outright Ivy League title died in Philadelphia.

A win over Penn would have secured a fourth straight Ivy League title—a school record—along with the satisfaction of beating a Quakers team that had dealt the Crimson its lone defeat in 2015.

But that satisfaction never materialized. Penn jumped to a 14-3 advantage, weathered a Harvard comeback to tie the game, and mounted a methodical touchdown drive to retake the lead. Thanks to a botched hook-and-ladder play, the Quakers tacked on another score as time expired and emerged with a 27-14 win.

That result dropped the Crimson into a three-way tie for first with Penn and Princeton. Next weekend will determine the Ancient Eight crown.

PENNED IN

Before Friday night, the Quakers defensive line had recorded nine sacks, the least in the Ivy League. Led by senior and NFL prospect Max Rich, the Harvard offensive line seemed poised to take advantage of the matchup.

Not so fast. The Quakers brought pressure all night and totaled six sacks. Senior quarterback Joe Viviano never looked comfortable in the pocket and finished with a career-high three interceptions.

Penn defensive end Louis Vecchio accounted for three sacks. The most crucial came with nine minutes left in the fourth, when Harvard faced a third-and-seven from the Quakers 42. Vecchio burst through the line and hugged Viviano to the ground. Down 14-6, the Crimson had to punt.

“If you saw our first couple games, we played against running quarterbacks and used a passive, just-contain-them approach,” Vecchio said. “This week we knew that we couldn’t be afraid.”

Vecchio’s impact went beyond the sacks, however. In the second quarter, he anticipated a Harvard screen, intercepted the throw, and rumbled 40 yards for Penn’s first score. Then in the third quarter, he strip-sacked Viviano at the Harvard 38. The Crimson retained possession but kicked the ball two plays later.

Besides his three picks, Viviano ended the night with 11 rushing yards on 16 attempts, the second straight week that he has averaged less than a yard per try.

FOOLED THREE TIMES

“At the end of the day, we just made too many mistakes to beat a good football team.”

So said Harvard coach Tim Murphy. In fact, he said it four times in the course of a six-minute press conference.