When Columbia's final gasp ended with a fifth and final turnover on Saturday, when the score had finally settled, 15-10 in Penn's favor, after a seemingly endless series of three-and-outs, both sides struggled to decide what the result meant for them.
For Penn (3-2, 2-0 Ivy), was it a victory worth celebrating, however unremarkable? Or just a giant red flag?
And for the Lions (0-5, 0-2) - who may have played the better game apart from a series of comical fumbles, bad snaps, penalties and interceptions - was it a step in the right direction, or just the most disheartening (and maddening) loss of their now-13-game skid?
"I thought [Columbia] played very hard today, and they did, schematically, all the right things," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "They just got a little bit snakebitten."
In the final calculus, Lions quarterback Shane Kelly may have done more to keep Penn's offense on the field than any man in red and blue. He often overthrew his receivers and failed to make much out of the Lions' many broken plays.
The Quakers gained just 204 yards on offense, to Columbia's 258, but managed to stop the Lions from making a charge late in the fourth quarter after a long period of stalemate.
Down five points, stuck deep in its own territory and with under three minutes left, Columbia lined up to go for it on 4th-and-13. But a false start penalty made it a more formidable 4th-and-18. Columbia could punt, but it needed the ball back.
Defensive coordinator Aaron Kelton "looked me right in the face and told me that if we punted the ball, our defense would stop them," Columbia coach Norries Wilson said.
So they did. The Lions then forced Penn to go three-and-out, but another fine punt by Kyle Olson (Penn's backup quarterback) pinned them at their 14. Kelly managed to advance the ball 27 yards before throwing up a fittingly long, wild pass that fell into the arms of Penn defensive back Josh Powers. Olson needed only to kneel once to end the game.
Penn took nine punts overall and once again had difficulty sustaining drives, but managed to win the field position battle anyway, often pinning Columbia deep and forcing turnovers.
The Quakers gained an anemic 20 yards but scored 10 of their points in the second quarter. A collision between Kelly and a teammate in the backfield gave Penn the ball in the red zone, and kicker Andrew Samson nailed a 31-yard field goal. Under two minutes later, a botched pitch from Kelly to sophomore halfback Zach Kourouma ended up in the hands of defensive back Britton Ertman, who took it within two yards of a touchdown. Sophomore Bradford Blackmon punched in his first touchdown of the year two plays later, and in a flash, Penn had a 13-3 lead.
Nonetheless, Olson replaced starting quarterback Robert Irvin for nearly the entire third quarter - a departure from Olson's previous allottments of two or three series each game. He did not produce any offensive scoring. A bad snap over Columbia punter Jon Rocholl's head in the third quarter gave Penn a safety, the only points for either side in the second half.
"Not to say it was a specific person that wasn't hitting on all cylinders - but on every play it seemed to be a different thing," Bagnoli said.
The vaunted Columbia wide receiver Austin Knowlin had a six-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter but gained just 28 yard on the afternoon; Ertman said that the Quakers had focused on stopping him from making big plays and had noticed on film that Kelly often tipped off his intended receiver.
Bagnoli repeated the obligatory a-win-is-a-win mantra after the game, and with good reason - Penn is now tied for first place in the Ivy League, undefeated in-conference along with Brown. Kelly offered a less charitable hypothesis when he was asked if Penn had gotten away with one.
"I think so," he said.
