The Penn football team took the field on Thursday night against a talented Villanova squad, the then-No. 6 team in the nation.
In the span of 48 minutes, the Wildcats proved their superiority through a composed offensive effort and steady defensive one.
Although the continuous rain no doubt hampered the Quakers' ability to mount a successful attack, it was not the drizzle that precluded a Penn victory.
The Wildcats, with the help of senior quarterback Brett Gordon, carefully located the holes in the Quakers' defense and capitalized. It was not a garish effort, but it got the job done.
Penn coach Al Bagnoli bemoaned Mother Nature and the curse she seemed to have put on the evening's matchup. But Bagnoli was wise enough to concede that the essence of the loss was not in the weather patterns, but instead the opposing team's ability.
"They're the real deal," Bagnoli said. "They're very, very talented."
Although Villanova outmatched the Quakers in Thursday's game, Penn should not wallow in the loss.
The Quakers, who have now completed non-conference play, should be cognizant of the fact that their preseason schedule was particularly formidable.
The Red and Blue, who faced the toughest teams in preseason play out of any Ivy League team, can not only walk away from its non-conference schedule with confidence, but they also emerge with an impressive record.
The Wildcats are the best squad any Ivy League team will face this season. The Quakers also succeeded where Princeton and Harvard failed, by topping Lehigh, 24-21, on Sept. 28.
Villanova is in the Atlantic 10 conference, which currently has five teams ranked in the top-20 of Division I-AA play. The Wildcats are near the top of the A-10 standings, and after Thursday's win, their hold on the No. 4 spot in the Division I-AA rankings doesn't seem to be changing.
Atlantic 10 teams are challenging to Ivy League squads for one main reason -- scholarship money.
The Wildcats are allowed to distribute 62 scholarships each year for the entire team.
This is a sharp difference between the Ivy League and also the Patriot League, where athletic scholarships are prohibited.
Only Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale and Penn will take on a non-conference opponent outside of the Patriot League this season.
Yale's only matchup outside of those two leagues came against San Diego in the Elis' home opener. Although Yale trounced San Diego, 49-14, the game isn't noteworthy. The Toreros, members of the Pioneer League, are 2-3 this season and haven't taken on a ranked, or even strong, opponent yet this season.
Brown faced off against unranked Rhode Island -- an A-10 conference member -- earlier this season, but lost, 38-28. At 0-3, Rhode Island is currently last in the Atlantic 10.
Dartmouth put up an impressive resistance against unranked New Hampshire on Sept. 28, but lost in the end, losing 29-26.
Lastly, Harvard will square off against 14th-ranked Northeastern, an A-10 team, on Saturday. Whether or not the Crimson can pull a win off will be a telling indicator for the rest of Ivy League play.
Although Villanova proved itself to be a squad one cut above Penn, this should not give the Quakers trepidation.
Instead, the Red and Blue should acknowledge the fact that they faced one of the toughest teams on any Ivy League schedule.
From the loss, Penn needs to bolster confidence for the completion of its league play.
