Sometimes mental challenges are larger than physical ones, even in the game of football.

Penn football’s recent upset victory over Villanova — the program’s first in more than 100 years — has sent tremors throughout the Penn Athletics community.

Will the residual holiness of the papal visit bless Penn men’s soccer with its first win of the season?

Number 29 got the ball with just under seven minutes left in the first quarter of Penn sprint football’s home opener. With the Quakers already up 7-0, the freshman running back looked like he wasn’t going to gain any yardage as multiple Franklin Pierce players made contact with him.  But he shocked everyone by fending off the Quakers' opponents before reeling off another 20 yards into the endzone.

Villanova's star quarterback John Robertson didn’t play against the Quakers on Thursday night. And it just didn’t matter.

Penn football defeated No. 4 Villanova 24-13 on Thursday night, the Quakers’ first victory over their crosstown rivals since 1911, a span of over 37,000 days.

Wow, things are going pretty well. The Quakers, heavy underdogs in tonight’s matchup with crosstown rival Villanova, are hanging right with the No.

Follow along live as sports editor Colin Henderson and associate sports editor Tom Nowlan cover Penn football's game against No. 5 Villanova. Penn leads 24-7 in the 4th quarter. 

For Penn men’s soccer, Wednesday's game was about a lot more than the score. In a game where the squad did most things right, the Quakers (0-5-1) could not come away with a win over No.

In case you haven’t heard, there will be a divine presence in Philadelphia this weekend. And for Penn football, that holy visit might be just the good-luck charm they need. The Quakers, fresh off a disappointing 42-21 season-opening loss to Lehigh, will travel to take on No.

When will the goal-barren start to the regular season end for Penn men’s soccer?

If Penn football is going to buck one of the longest active losing streaks in the sport, it might actually be the squad's lack of game experience in 2015 that helps it out.

This past weekend marked the first time in 2015 that each of the Red and Blue's fall sports teams were in action.

As a first year coach, there is reason to be nervous about a lot of things. But delivering a successful snap to the quarterback isn't necessarily one of them.

Nigel Blackwood and Gavin Barger were granted the special opportunity of training together at the highest level of junior soccer before ever donning the Red and Blue.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — They are what we thought they were. Coming into its first game of the season, no one thought Penn football would be flawless.

The box score reflected the reality: On Sunday night, the Quakers never had a shot.