PHILADELPHIA – On a night when the University celebrated 125 years of Franklin Field, the University of Pennsylvania football team fell to Dartmouth, 28-15.
 
To celebrate the occasion, Penn (1-2) busted out red jerseys and red helmets, a look that hadn't been seen around these parts since the 1970s. Unfortunately, it was Dartmouth (3-0) that walked out of the historic venue with the victory. Friday night's game, which was televised to a national audience on ESPNU, was the Ivy League opener for both teams.
 
After a defensive stop, Penn's opening drive showed promise, the Quakers driving from their 17-yard line to Dartmouth's 33 before stalling. David Perkins then attempted a 49-yard field goal which had the distance but not the accuracy, skirting wide right to keep the game scoreless.
 
Dartmouth's second drive didn't last long, but it didn't need to. On just the second play, Jared Gerbino faked a handoff to Zack Bair, who then took off around the left side of the line on a wheel route. No Penn players followed him, and Gerbino couldn't miss the wide-open back for a 57-yard scoring play.
 
Dartmouth doubled its lead in sudden fashion late in the first quarter, Penn fumbling on its own 26-yard line and the Big Green's Jack Traynor picking it up and running it in untouched.
 
Penn got on the board quickly in the second quarter. On fourth-and-2 at Dartmouth's 43-yard line, Karekin Brooks broke through the line and shook off one final tackler before scampering into the end zone. The touchdown run was the first conceded by the Big Green in four games, and the longest rushing touchdown against Dartmouth's defense since the 2016 season.
 
Dartmouth came right back, though. The Big Green needed just nine plays to march 75 yards, Bair carrying the ball around the left end for the final 17 yards to make the score 21-7. That's how the half ended.
 
The third quarter was scoreless, before Dartmouth went on a long fourth-quarter drive that basically put this game to bed. The Big Green used 15 plays to drive 84 yards and took 8:24 off the fourth-quarter clock before Gerbino ran through the left side of the line to paydirt with 3:57 to play.
 
Forced to play catch-up, Penn rolled quickly down the field. Using just six plays and 1:42 of game time to cover 75 yards, the Quakers got in the end zone when Brooks ran it up the gut for two yards for his second score of the night. The Red and Blue then converted a two-point conversion, making the score 28-15 with 2:15 to play. Penn used an onside kick after that and it was successful, the Quakers recovering in Big Green territory. However, the Quakers' drive stalled at Dartmouth's 21-yard line as an Eric Markes catch on 4th-and-23 was two yards short in the final minute and the visitors ran out the clock.
 
Brooks finished the night with 91 yards rushing, and he also caught 10 passes to lead the Quakers in that category. Nick Robinson completed 27 of his 39 throws on the night for 209 yards, spreading the ball around to eight different receivers.
 
Penn is back at home next Saturday, hosting Sacred Heart in its final non-conference game of the 2019 season. The Quakers and Pioneers will kick off at 1 p.m.