It’s tough for a defender to make a tackle while on the ground. Unfortunately for Penn football’s opponents, they have found themselves in that position often this season.

Just before he returned to University City for football camp, Sam Philippi got a call. He was a match. Only a few months removed from joining the Be the Match registry, Philippi was needed as a bone marrow donor for a 30-year-old leukemia patient.

Penn football’s loss to Princeton on Saturday was, for lack of a better, less-ironic word, sobering.

From here on out, it’s win or go home. Following Penn football’s 28-0 loss on the road to Princeton, the Quakers (5-3, 4-1 Ivy) will have to win out in order to earn at least a share of the Ivy title for a second straight year.

If you were in attendance the last time Penn football and Princeton faced off, you couldn’t have asked for much more.

I didn’t think there were many more ways Penn could work to stifle any hope of creating a sports culture at this University.

Penn football will travel to Princeton for a pivotal Ivy matchup Saturday. In advance of the game, we sat down with Tiger junior quarterback John Lovett, the reigning Ivy Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for seven total touchdowns Saturday at Cornell.

As Friedrich Nietzsche so eloquently said, “that which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” Among the multitude of philosophical quotes that have been and could be applied to this remarkable undefeated Penn sprint football season, this one stands out for its relevance to one of the team's most important players: senior nose tackle Arthur D’Angelo.

Football’s Sam Philippi, men’s soccer’s Dami Omitaomu, and field hockey’s Alexa Hoover were all recognized for spectacular performances that propelled their respective teams to victories this past week.

It's easy to feel like Penn football is an obvious favorite to beat Princeton this Saturday and (eventually) win another Ivy League title. It's hard to argue with ten straight Ivy wins (which I'm about to do).

Who said it needs to be pretty? Penn football, despite not scoring in the second half, grinded out a gritty 21-14 victory over Brown to stay perfect in Ivy League play. The Quakers (5-2, 4-0 Ivy) relied heavily on the star power of junior wide receiver Justin Watson to jump out to a 21-0 lead in the first half.

This Homecoming weekend, the 1986 Penn football team will return to Franklin Field in honor of its 10-0 campaign 30 years ago. As today’s Quakers keep the hope of an undefeated Ivy season alive, the visitors may be able to offer some inspiration.

It was a good weekend on the field for Penn Athletics, and that's translating to hardware off the field as the Quakers enter the week. On Monday, football's Justin Watson was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, while men's soccer's Dami Omitaomu won City Six Rookie of the Week honors.

All that matters is going one game at a time. Interview a coach or player from any sports team and you’ll hear words like these. Who’s going to admit that his team can completely overlook the team it’s about to face? That the next game isn’t as emotionally significant as matchups later on might be?

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — It was a beautiful night for football, but it was not a beautiful game of football.

Three road games, two home games and a potential Ivy title. That’s all that’s left for Penn football as it moves into the second half of the 2016 campaign. First up on that list is Yale.

Senior Sports Editor Nick Buchta: There’s almost an embarrassment of riches to pick from on Penn women’s soccer — almost all of them freshmen!