The phrase "adding insult to injury" was never more appropriate.
After seeing its quarterback go down with what could be a season-ending knee injury, Penn saw its Ivy title hopes follow suit: The Quakers fell, 34-27, at Franklin Field to Brown, which now has sole possession of first place in the conference.
Junior Kyle Olson started under center for the Quakers, but left in the second quarter due to what coach Al Bagnoli suspected was an ACL tear.
After that, the Red and Blue would try to make do with what they had - a platoon of former starter Robert Irvin and third-stringer Keiffer Garton, making his collegiate debut.
While Garton had some success as a runner, rushing for 49 yards, his arm went largely untested. And Irvin, whose throwing shoulder is still feeling the effects of offseason surgery, couldn't complete the big throw.
More significant, however, were his two third-quarter fumbles. Irvin's turnovers took the wind out of Penn's sails, setting up two Brown touchdowns, and giving the Bears a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"This was a total team loss," Bagnoli said. "It was equally shared, and every time we made a mistake, they were able to take advantage of it."
These mistakes were not just limited to the offensive side of the field. Penn's secondary, which had been rock-solid all year, was porous this weekend, exposed by Brown's wide-open attack.
Quarterback Michael Dougherty had ample open targets all day, but his favorite was Buddy Farnham, who had six catches for 120 yards.
The junior gave Brown a boost at the end of the first half when, streaking down the right sideline, he beat a pair of Penn defensive backs and went 57 yards for a touchdown to put Brown up, 14-10.
"It was huge, I don't even know how Buddy caught it or stayed in bounds," Dougherty said.
"That was - to give us the confidence going in at halftime - as big a play as we had," Brown coach Phil Estes said. "We kind of felt better about ourselves in the locker room, we kind of got things going again."
The Quakers, meanwhile, were forced to scrounge and scrap for points absent a consistent passer. That included a touchdown pass from tailback Bradford Blackmon to tight end Josh Koontz, a pass from wideout Kyle Derham to a streaking Garton and frequent mid-series quarterback switches.
But eventually, Brown got wise to the quarterbacks' respective strengths, playing the run when Garton was on the field, and dropping into pass protection when Irvin was under center.
With the score at 28-20 and 4:29 to play in the game, Bagnoli chose to go for it on fourth-and-two from Penn's 28-yard line. But the Bears sniffed out Garton's rush to the left side, all but sealing the victory.
"They just brought their extra backer over the top," Garton said. "There was just no lane to cut up."
After a play-action touchdown pass to Brown tight end Colin Cloherty and an interception by James Develin, fans poured out of the stadium.
Penn captain Tyson Maugle came up with a blocked punt in the end zone, and there was an opportunity for a miracle comeback.
Andrew Samson's onside kick, however, fell right into the arms of Farnham, providing a fitting end to a heartbreaking homecoming.
