In the end though, Penn would prevail over the Big Red, 34-26, behind a career day for senior receiver Spencer Kulcsar in his final collegiate game.

Both teams had their share of turnovers, and neither could manage to establish a true lead. At the half, Penn ended up on top 21-18.

For as much as he’s loathed talking about it, the time has finally come: Al Bagnoli’s last game is this Saturday. And with both Penn football and Cornell struggling this season, the action on the field will likely be secondary.

It sure would have been nice to send off the program’s winningest coach with another victory in his final game at Franklin Field, but Penn football showed a lot to be proud of in its loss to Harvard.

Despite being limited in stretches by the Quakers' defense, Harvard managed to score on its three subsequent possessions to clinch the win, 34-24, and a share of its second consecutive Ivy League title

While Saturday will be all about Al Bagnoli, who will be coaching for the last time at Franklin field, the coach on the opposite sideline deserves his fair share of recognition.

After 23 years, it's time for Al Bagnoli to say goodbye to Franklin Field.

Although this will also be his last campaign on the Quakers’ sideline, Bagnoli made it perfectly clear before the year started that he never wanted his impending retirement to overshadow what his players did on the field.

Everyone reading this next sentence will hate me but I will say it anyway: When Al Bagnoli announced in April that he would retire after the 2014 season, I immediately thought about Derek Jeter.

Bad calls or not, the Red and Blue had a chance to come into Princeton and deal their biggest rival a season-killing loss on national television. By all accounts, they could have — and should have — won.

After losing consecutive Ivy games to Yale and Brown, the Quakers came to New Jersey with upset on their minds, but came up just short, falling to Princeton, 22-17.

All in all, some miscues in Princeton territory held Penn back as the Quakers fell behind the Tigers in the first half, 19-7, at Princeton Stadium despite forcing their first turnover in almost a month.

With disappointment swirling around Penn football and its conference record, the squad has upset on its collective mind.

After Penn football’s 21-13 loss to Brown on Saturday, coach Al Bagnoli was not about to make any excuses for the Quakers’ offensive performance. But curiously enough, Brown coach Phil Estes was.

Homecoming has the potential to be great for any school. A ton of alumni (read: possible donors) all in the same place, interacting with your campus and taking in the athletic events you have on tap. But when events unfold like they did for Penn Athletics on Saturday, it is hard to call this rain-soaked Homecoming great for the athletic department.

Seven games into the 2014 season, it's impossible to deny the sense of disappointment surrounding Penn football.

A bitterly cold rain drove much of the anticipated Homecoming crowd away, and the Quakers didn’t give the several thousand that braved the rain many reasons to cheer.