When you think of Bethlehem, your first thought probably isn’t football. When Penn football travels to Bethlehem on Saturday, they won’t need to fly and their trip won’t be one of any religious importance.

Up in Rindge, N.H., lies Franklin Pierce. Perhaps it’s not an institution that Penn students hear about frequently in the world of Penn athletics, but for the 49 players on the Quakers’ sprint football roster, it’s a household name nonetheless. This weekend, Penn sprint football will officially begin its season against its New England counterpart, under the sun at Franklin Field on Saturday.

"For anything to be worth anything, it takes time."

The play of Penn football’s defense in 2014 was, well, indefensible. The Quakers struggled mightily to stop opposing offenses a year ago, surrendering an average of 31.9 points per game.

Change is inevitable. Nothing continues forever... except for time and, maybe, space, but that’s not the point.

Anyone who says numbers never lie didn’t watch Penn’s offense last season. A year ago, then-sophomore quarterback Alek Torgerson was near the top of not only the Ivy League, but the entire Football Championship Subdivision in multiple passing categories.

Penn football operates under a microscope. With that said, it seems curious that the biggest guys on Franklin Field are consistently the most overlooked.

Alek Torgersen has something to prove. This year it’s not about proving he’s capable of locking down the top spot at quarterback.

Penn football’s first game may come a full two weeks after most teams begin their seasons, but a high level of competition has been brewing for weeks in Quakers' practices at Penn Park. As the Red and Blue approach their opener against Lehigh, position battles have been on the minds of many coaches and players.

The streak goes on. After opening its season with a draw and two losses, Penn men's soccer looked to get on track in a midweek matchup with crosstown foe Drexel on Wednesday night.

When Penn women’s soccer assistant coach Emily Oliver stepped on the soccer field four years ago on December 4th, her objective was clear. It was the finals of 2011 College Cup, the NCAA women’s soccer national championship, and her team, the Stanford Cardinal, was facing Duke.

For fans of Penn volleyball, Tuesday’s tilt against Delaware was the kind of game best watched between your fingers with a cringe on your face. Every match point was a near miss for the Quakers (4-4), and the squad was unable to claw its way after conceding the first two sets to the Blue Hens (5-5) and went on to lose 3-1 despite exceptional offensive play from senior captains Alex Caldwell and Alexis Genske, who carried the attack on the court with 18 and 12 kills, respectively. In the first set, Delaware jumped out to a 10-6 lead early, leaving Penn no chance but to chip away at the deficit point by point.

It's hard for any foray into the topic of "veteran leadership" to hit on something new, but Penn volleyball coach Kerry Carr finds herself with a truly unprecedented embarrassment of riches. Carr, the winningest and longest-tenured coach in program history, has rarely appointed more than two captains during her 18 years at the helm, and never more than three.

Wednesday marks the onset of another week of battle for one of Penn’s premier fall teams, field hockey.

Last year, Penn women’s cross country finished last in the Ivy League. This is an indisputable fact. In their year-end Heptagonal meet, the de facto Ivy championship competition, the Red and Blue only managed to finish eighth in the Ancient Eight. And while any single meet result should be taken with a grain of salt, this sort of result would be the elephant in the room.

Penn's cross country opener featured some strong times and some shocking timing. In their first competitive action of the season, the Quakers went up against Saint Joseph's, La Salle, Villanova and Temple in the Big 5 Invitational, held at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

Over the past few years, Penn men’s cross country has largely been a showcase for one of the top runners in the nation: Thomas Awad. And what a showcase it has been.