The Quakers crushed visiting Yale and assumed the position of the only undefeated team left in the Ivy League last Saturday.
Now all they have to do is hold on to it.
Brown will be the first opponent to attempt to strip the Quakers of their place alone at the top of the conference when No. 25 Penn visits Providence, R.I., tomorrow.
And if any of the Ivy League opponents can do it, Brown might just be the one.
Though 2-1 in the conference, the Bears boast an overall record of 5-1 -- the same as the Quakers' overall record. Brown's only loss came in double overtime contest against Harvard. With an offense that ranks second in the conference in both passing and rushing, the Bears are a serious threat to snap Penn's four-game winning streak.
"This is the most talented team within our league we've seen so far," Penn head coach Al Bagnoli said. "So we are going to have our hands full."
Penn's rushing defense, ranked No. 1 in all of Division I, will match up against Brown's powerful running game, which places second in the Ivy League and 23rd in Division I-AA. The Quakers will specifically look to silence Brown's Nick Hartigan, who rushes for an average of 157.7 yards per game and has already recorded 10 touchdowns this season.
"Its what you want -- the best runner in the league and one of the best runners in the nation against one of the best run defenses in the league and one of the best run defenses in the nation," Bagnoli said. "And we'll see what happens."
On offense, the Quakers have benefited from breakthrough performances from running backs Joe Sandberg and Sam Mathews, both of whom were injured for the first part of the season.
"Early on I suffered a few injuries, but right now I feel 100 percent," Sandberg said. "Same goes for Sam -- he was banged up early. But both of us are healthy and ready to go for the home stretch."
Mathews carried the ball into the end zone three times on Saturday, and Sandberg recorded a touchdown of his own. But Penn's rushing offense can't take all the credit for last weekend's win.
After losing starting quarterback Pat McDermott early in the game, Penn's passing offense bounced back with a breakthrough effort by Bryan Walker. The sophomore went 10-for-20 for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Walker's performance earned him a nod for Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week.
McDermott is easing back into practice this week, as he hopes to be prepared for tomorrow's game.
The senior "looked good in practice -- threw the ball with some velocity," Bagnoli said. "It looks like we might have dodged a bullet here. We don't want to be too optimistic, but it looks like he's OK."
Last Saturday's game seemed to promise tight competition, as Yale and Penn clashed on Franklin Field. Both teams were, at the time, undefeated, and both had hoped to maintain that record.
But Penn proved far superior to the struggling Elis, handing their opponents a loss far more severe than the 38-21 score indicated.
Despite such success, the Quakers refuse to underestimate this weekend's opponents.
"Every week is a new week with a new opponent," Sandberg said. "You just have to go in with the mindset to focus and stick to your gameplan."
But, if nothing else, Penn's effort against Yale can serve as a model for this weekend's contest, which promises to be one of the team's biggest challenges this season.
"If we play as well as we did against Yale, then I like our chances," Bagnoli said. "But we are going to have to play at that level and that's hard to do. Hopefully we will do it again."
