NEW YORK—Columbia sophomore quarterback Ty Lenhart accumulated 253 total offensive yards and was responsible for three touchdowns, Columbia rushed for season-high 255 yards and the Lions' defense limited Ivy League rushing leader Penn to 93 yards as it registered its largest Homecoming victory in school history with a 44-6 win Saturday at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium.
 
Columbia (2-3, 1-1 Ivy League) was dominant from the start and played its most complete game of the season. Led by Lenhart, the Lions scored 44 unanswered points and led 44-0 before Penn scored its lone touchdown in the fourth quarter. Columbia outgained Penn 413-232 in total yards, 255-93 in rushing yards and registered 24 first downs to Penn's 14. Columbia's defense limited Penn to just 93 rushing yards, 3.6 yards per play and 0-3 on fourth downs. The Quakers entered the game averaging an Ivy League-best 223.0 yards rushing per game and featured Karekin Brooks, who led the nation in yards rushing per game (157.2).
 
Lenhart was named the John Toner Homecoming Player of the Game as he rushed for a career-high 95 yards on 11 carries and completed 70 percent of his passes (14-20) passes for 158 yards. He scored on two 1-yard runs and threw an 11-yard TD pass and most importantly led a Columbia offense that scored on 5-5 of its red zone opportunities and dominated time of possession (35:51) with its run game.
 
"We picked a good time to play our best football of the year," Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football Al Bagnoli said. "We finally got a little bit of momentum, got a little bit of confidence. I'm happy for our players because we've worked hard the last three weeks and we haven't had that much to show for it. Just trying to get them to stay the course, continue to compete, work hard, to believe in each other, trust each other and eventually we'll work our way out of it. I think we picked a pretty good week to do it."
 
"I'm happy for our players, happy for the program. The timing couldn't have been better. We'll use this as a springboard to just keep pushing it forward and keep improving."
 
The 38-point victory marked Columbia's largest win since 2009, tied for the school's second-largest win in Ivy League play and tied for the third-largest home win in school history. It also marked Columbia's largest victory in its 99-game series against Penn. In addition, Columbia won a Homecoming Game for the third time in the last four years.
 
From the opening kickoff, it was all Columbia. On its first offensive play, Columbia completed a flea flicker-pass from Lenhart to Mike Roussos that went for 47 yards. Following three Ryan Young runs, Lenhart gave the Lions a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run following a five-play, 75-yard drive. Columbia went up 10-0 when the Lions' defense forced the Quakers into a turnover on downs and first-year Alex Felkins converted a 43-yard field goal with 5:44 left in the first quarter.
 
Columbia took a 17-0 lead in the second quarter when sophomore Dante Miller scored on a winding 17-yard touchdown run following a 70-yard drive spanning six plays. After the Lions' defense stopped Penn for a second time on fourth down, Columbia's score was setup by two Lenhart passes to Roussos of 21 yards and 19 yards.
 
Columbia's defense preserved its 17-0 halftime advantage as it forced two Penn field goal attempts, which were both missed wide left. A strip-sack by junior Cooper Wilson forced a fumble which was picked up by Daniel DeLorenzi also preserved Columbia's momentum.
 
Junior Broderick Taylor scored his first career touchdown in the third quarter on an 11-yard run to give the Lions a commanding 23-0 lead. Lenhart sparked the scoring drive as he rushed for 46 of the 79-yard, 11-play scoring drive. His 29-yard run put Columbia in Penn territory and a 15-yard facemask penalty set up Taylor's run.
 
Columbia made it 30-0 when Lenhart hit senior tight end Rory Schlageter for an 11-yard touchdown pass after a 54-yard scoring drive. Lenhart's second 1-yard run gave the Lions a 37-0 lead with 7:29 to play. And Columbia took a 44-0 lead when senior Jalen Williams forced a fumble which was recovered by junior Luke Adams, who rambled 20 yards for a defensive touchdown.
 
Roussos finished with career-highs for receptions (four) and receiving yards (92). Columbia's defense broke up 11 passes and was led by first-year Scott Valentas, who tallied seven tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
 
Penn (2-3, 0-2 Ivy League) was led by quarterback Nick Robinson, who threw for 129 yards while completing 11 passes and Brooks, who rushed for a season-low 60 yards.
 
Next up for Columbia, the Lions play a Friday night game on ESPNU at Dartmouth. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. ET.