After a spotty first 40 minutes, the Quakers' offense finally found its rhythm. A second-half comeback seemed in order. And then, like in so many Penn games of the past few years, it all came crashing down with a failed red-zone conversion and botched field goal.
Harvard dealt a serious blow to the Quakers' title hopes, hanging on for a 24-21 win at Franklin Field on Saturday afternoon to remain tied with Brown atop the Ancient Eight.
Penn can still mathematically win a share of the crown , but it would take a win at Cornell, coupled with home losses by the Bears and Crimson next weekend.
Trailing by 10 with over seven minutes remaining, a Kieffer Garton 15-yard pass to Marcus Lawrence set up first-and-goal from the Harvard 4 yard line. Tailback Mike DiMaggio was the recipient of a pitch but had nowhere to run, and on second down, the Quakers thought they had a touchdown.
But the officials ruled that Garton's pass hit the ground before landing in Kyle Derham's hands. Garton and coach Al Bagnoli protested to no avail, and after a third-down pass intended for tight end Josh Koontz was broken up, Andrew Samson came on for the chip-shot field goal.
Instead, he chipped it wide right. Garton would lead the Quakers downfield once more, taking the ball to the house himself. And in the final half-minute, Penn got inside the Harvard 20. But Garton threw an interception in the endzone, magnifying the earlier kick's importance, as Penn fell by three.
