With an inspired win over Yale, Penn earned more than sole possession of first place in the Ivy League.
It earned another victory and tribute for Kyle Ambrogi.
With flawless execution on both ends of the field for the first three quarters, the Quakers demonstrated what distinguishes them from the rest of the league. They showed why the Penn seniors have lost only one Ivy game in their four-year careers.
It is not just the players' god-given talents -- Penn players are not leading most of the major offensive categories in the conference.
Nor is it merely the Quakers talented coaching staff -- though 14-year veteran Al Bagnoli proved again on Saturday that he is one of the best in the business.
Rather, it is the 2005 Penn football team's character that has propelled them to consecutive blowout victories. They have channeled their sadness and grief into inspiration to succeed.
Indeed, while Penn may be far from clinching the Ivy League title, the entire team has played like true champions in its past two games.
Before the game, Yale senior cornerback Andrew Butler told the New Haven Register that he thought the Elis would win: "We know they are not superhuman," he said.
Penn not may be superhuman, but it has coped with the loss of Ambrogi in superhuman fashion.
Heywood Broun, an esteemed early 20th century reporter, once said: "Sports do not build character. They reveal it."
Over the past two weeks Penn's character has emerged. The Quakers are strong, resilient, mature and perhaps most importantly, they are a family, united both on the field and off of it.
When sophomore defensive back Greg Ambrogi -- brother of Kyle -- broke up a deep Yale pass on third-and-long in the second quarter, he rushed off the field to many eager high-fives from teammates. He also had his own cheering section in the northeast corner of the stadium.
"All of us have been having a really hard time with this, especially Greg," senior linebacker and team captain Ric San Doval said.
The Quakers have played their best football of the season in two games. Penn crushed Columbia in New York and then dominated a talented Elis team at Franklin Field.
During the Columbia game, Penn players wore No. 31 decals on their helmets to commemorate their teammate.
After the victory over the Lions, Penn senior running back Sam Mathews said, "Really going out there and playing with max effort is something in the backfield that we really wanted to do and give that to him as an honor to him."
That tribute continued this weekend against Yale, and it will continue for the rest of the season. There is a reason Kyle's photo and biography remain on the Quakers roster on the Penn athletics Web site: He is still a part of the Penn football team.
Before the Elis game began, the 9,826 fans in attendance joined in a moment of silence to honor Ambrogi.
But the real tribute came on the field.
For the first three quarters, Penn played flawlessly. It went into halftime leading 28-0, having limited the Elis to negative-16 rushing yards.
It didn't matter that senior quarterback Pat McDermott went down in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. Sophomore Bryan Walker filled in brilliantly, guiding the offense to two touchdowns without committing a turnover.
It didn't matter that the teams were playing amid heavy rain.
"The rain affected the game play a little today, but we try to keep the mindset that rain or shine, we are going to run our offense," Walker said.
Penn is a team on a mission, and no injury or weather could have altered their purpose. The Quakers executed on both ends of the field, working together to obliterate the Elis in every facet of the game.
"For the first three quarters, that was probably as well as we've played, from top to bottom, in a long time," Bagnoli said. "I give our kids a lot of credit.
"I just couldn't be prouder of the team."
By the time the first quarter ended, Penn had already tallied 14 points, while Yale had yet to earn a first down.
The cohesive defensive line shut down the Elis' hyped freshman running back Mike McLeod.
"The most important part about our defense is that we go out as a group," San Doval said.
In a true team effort -- seven Penn players had at least one carry, eight receivers caught at least one pass, and 17 players recorded at least one solo tackle -- the Quakers demonstrated what has driven them to two Ivy League championships in the past three years.
It is that very team-first mentality, combined with Penn's resilient character, that will propel the first-place Quakers for the rest of this season, as they continue to honor No. 31.
Josh Pollick is a senior political science major from Los Angeles. His e-mail address is jpollick@sas.upenn.edu.
