It took a while, but the Quakers that were expected to vie for the league title finally showed up. They scored early and often, while keeping Cornell off the scoreboard for 55 minutes, en route to a dominating 45-9 victory.
"We just got whipped in all three facets of the game," Cornell coach Jim Knowles said.
Penn coach Al Bagnoli, meanwhile, was happy to end this tumultuous season - his first losing campaign in his 16 years at Penn - on a positive note.
"Kudos to our kids," he said. "They've been an outstanding group of kids to deal with, they really have persevered, and they picked a good time to collectively play as well as we have in a while."
Penn (4-6, 3-4 Ivy) finished tied with Dartmouth and Princeton for fourth in the Ivy League, ensuring that twenty-four Quakers will graduate without an League title, another Bagnoli-era first.
Several of the seniors, whose families were honored during halftime, came up big in the final game. Cornerback Greg Ambrogi said "it was pretty exciting" when he caught his first interception of the season in his last college game.
Braden Lepisto notched his 100th career reception, on, appropriately, a key third-and-short slant up the middle. Catch No. 101 was more dramatic, as quarterback Bryan Walker led him past the Cornell secondary 55 yards into the end zone.
Walker, who has been plagued by his inconsistency and poor decision-making, completed a solid seven of 11 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown.
"We knew coming into the game that Cornell was going to try to pressure us," he said. "We tried to stick to as many quick passes as possible."
Even senior members on the special teams unit partook in the rout. Former starting placekicker Derek Zoch took advantage of his opportunity to put an extra point through the uprights. Punter Anthony Melillo faked out all 6,838 in attendance at Franklin Field when he used his legs instead of his right foot to run for 35 yards on 4th-and-4.
It was the Quakers' longest run of the day, but it was Penn's more conventional rushing attack that stole the spotlight.
Even without fifth-year senior Joe Sandberg, who sat out the finale with a bum knee, the Quakers stomped the Big Red for a season-high 329 rushing yards. Walker showed his mobility with 95 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, while reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week Michael DiMaggio finished with 94 yards and one score.
The offensive line "dominated up front," Walker said. "That's really where the game started, and where the game finished."
The Quakers were stingy on the other side of the ball, allowing a season-low 216 total yards. The Big Red tried three different quarterbacks, but none fared particularly well.
After the game, the Penn seniors reveled in temporary amnesia, forgetting the season's disappointments while walking out of their swan song with their chins held high.
"It's our last time out there," Walker said. "You're not going to remember a whole lot 30 years from now about what you did. But I'd say the last game will probably stand out."
"It showed who we are as seniors, and what this team can do it the future," Lepisto said. "It was what we wanted, and it felt great."
