The defeat of the football team by the University of Pennsylvania yesterday, was a surprise to the college. After the good steady work of the team and the constant improvement which has been shown in their play, the college had begun to think that we were to have a foot ball team which would at least do as well as that of last year. In spite of the unexpected defeat of yesterday we still think that our team is capable of good play. Many of the men have had but little experience on a University football team and can acquire steadiness only by experience. Their play ought to continue to improve with every day's practice. The more preparatory games they play the petter will they be prepared to meet with Princeton and Yale. It is certainly better to play with strong teams now and be defeated, than to play with weak teams and get into a loose, confident style of play.

We dislike to say anything in regard to the referee, but we feel sure that we speak for the majority when we say that his duties were hardly discharged as they should have been. However, that does not explain our defeat. Our opponents played much better than was expected and our team played much worse than we had been led to expect. We hope the members of the team will not feel discouraged at the result of their first important match, but will continue their practice with steady perseverance which will in time overcome their faults.