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  • Villanova’s careless ballhandling, offensive struggles, and other takeaways from blowout loss to Michigan

    Villanova’s careless ballhandling, offensive struggles, and other takeaways from blowout loss to Michigan

    Villanova‘s winning streak reached seven games Saturday when it blew out Penn in the Big 5 Classic championship game. A season-opening loss to nationally ranked BYU in Las Vegas preceded a stretch of games in which Kevin Willard’s Wildcats didn’t have any blips.

    They beat their next seven opponents by an average margin of 19.7 points, and at 7-1 entering this week even made it onto some Associated Press Top 25 voters’ ballots as they climbed to KenPom’s 35th-ranked team by adjusted efficiency. But those wins came against teams ranked 142nd or lower by KenPom metrics.

    A year later than planned, Villanova wins its latest women’s Big 5 title

    The tuneups were over, and it was time for a test. Perhaps the biggest test of all: against No. 2 Michigan, a team that has been a buzz saw of sorts through the first five weeks of the college basketball season.

    Villanova learned that the hard way Tuesday night in Ann Arbor, Mich., where the Wildcats were run off the floor in an 89-61 loss.

    Here’s what we learned from Villanova’s step up in competition:

    First, the context

    Let’s get out of the way first how good Michigan is. The Wolverines are the No. 1 team at both of the main college hoops metrics sites, KenPom and Torvik. They ran through the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas a few weeks ago with wins of 40, 30, and 40 points over San Diego State, Auburn, and Gonzaga, the third-ranked team at KenPom and Torvik.

    Dusty May has his Michigan squad undefeated at 9-0.

    Then Michigan started Big Ten play Saturday with a 101-60 victory over Rutgers.

    Dusty May has built a team that will compete for a national title, and one that could be capable of making history along the way.

    Kevin Willard may soon have his Massimino moment at Villanova, but does this Big 5 format make sense for all?

    Carelessness with the ball

    That being said, Villanova wasn’t nearly good enough, and it started right away with a deer-in-the-headlights start that enabled Michigan to pull away early.

    What you can’t do against the best defensive team in the country is give away possessions, and Villanova did that way too often.

    Freshman point guard Acaden Lewis had two turnovers in the first five minutes. Villanova watched as its best defensive possession ended with a Michigan offensive rebound and putback. Then came a lazy pass from Bryce Lindsay to Tafara Gapare that led to a runaway dunk by Yaxel Lendeborg that upped Michigan’s lead to 19-7.

    Willard called timeout, and the ensuing inbound resulted in a 10-second violation. Michigan scored at the other end on another second-chance basket and its lead was 21-7 with 13 minutes, 40 seconds to go in the first half.

    Kevin Willard’s Villanova squad turned the ball over 15 times against Michigan.

    Villanova turned it over 10 times in the first half, far too often to have a chance against this type of opponent, and 15 times overall. Six Wildcats each had two turnovers. Michigan had 15 offensive rebounds to Villanova’s six.

    Where’s the offense?

    Defense has been a problem for the Wildcats over the first five weeks of the season, even against some lighter competition. But offense hasn’t been very worrisome.

    Until Tuesday.

    Again, Michigan is the best defensive team in the country with its mixture of size, length, and athleticism, but Villanova is going to face some pretty good defenses in the Big East, and there were some concerning things Tuesday night.

    Michigan took Lewis and Lindsay out of the game. If not for the isolation skills of Devin Askew, it might have been 53-13 at halftime instead of 53-23. This was Lewis’ first real test since he was benched vs. BYU in the opener, and he wasn’t good enough at getting Villanova into its offense, though he got better as the game went on (and already was out of reach).

    The Wildcats got assists on 57.7% of their makes entering Tuesday. They had just six assists on 21 makes Tuesday (28.6%), and one of them came on a last-second three-pointer.

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    Michigan, with its length, took away Villanova’s chances at the rim, and the Wildcats were forced to bomb away from three-point range, especially when they started trailing. They made just 10 of their 37 attempts.

    “You try to,” Willard told reporters Tuesday when asked if creating threes was the plan. “But it’s not easy against a very connected defensive team.

    “Everyone talks about their offense, but everything is predicated on their defense.”

    Rotation roulette

    Part of Villanova’s problems on offense came from issues that may pop up against better competition. Willard had to decide what he had tolerance for. Lewis and Lindsay were getting beaten defensively, but reserves Malachi Palmer and Gapare offered little help offensively.

    The second unit on the floor meant only Askew could be relied on for offense.

    Villanova’s Devin Askew led the team with 18 points against Michigan.

    Beyond that, it’s apparent that Willard doesn’t think backup big man Braden Pierce is ready to contribute. He’s Villanova’s only rotation 7-footer, and against a Michigan team that has 7-3 center Aday Mara, Pierce barely saw the floor. Neither did Temple transfer Zion Stanford, who logged just three minutes. Stanford only recently returned from an ankle injury, but he is playing just 5.8 minutes per game.

    The game got out of reach fast, but it still seems like Willard is trying to figure out his best mix of players, and that will be something to monitor moving forward.

    What’s next?

    Tuesday was the kind of game that doesn’t hurt when you lose and really helps when you win.

    Up next is the opposite. Villanova welcomes Pittsburgh to Finneran Pavilion on Saturday, and while the ACC school isn’t one of the cupcakes that have been on Villanova’s schedule to date, the 5-5 Panthers aren’t very good. Villanova will be expected to win, but it will be another chance to see the new-look Wildcats against a power-conference foe.

    From there, only a Dec. 19 trip to Milwaukee to face a solid Wisconsin team separates Villanova from its Big East opener on Dec. 23 at Seton Hall.

    The real games are underway, and the Wildcats took a big punch Tuesday.

  • Report: Temple makes offensive lineman Giakoby Hills among highest-paid Group of Six players

    Report: Temple makes offensive lineman Giakoby Hills among highest-paid Group of Six players

    Temple left tackle Giakoby Hills agreed to a multiyear deal to stay with the Owls, according to a report from 247Sports. Hills reportedly will become one of the highest-paid players among the Group of Six conferences.

    Hills committed to Temple from Morristown (N.J.) High School in 2024. He redshirted in his freshman season and was expected to remain a backup during the 2025 season.

    Starter Kevin Terry suffered a sprained knee during a scrimmage on Aug. 9, thrusting Hills into his spot. Hills, 6-foot-5 and 290 pounds, spent the rest of training camp as the starting left tackle while Terry was on the mend, and made his first collegiate start in Temple’s 42-10 win against Massachusetts on Aug. 30.

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    Even when Terry returned in September, Hills remained the starter. The redshirt freshman was a key part of a Temple team that averaged 147.4 rushing yards per game. He was also the blindside blocker for quarterback Evan Simon, who broke the team’s single-season record by passing for 25 touchdowns.

    Hills was one of six Temple players with a top-50 Pro Football Focus grade with a 73.5 through 12 games.

    With Hills returning, Temple has locked down a potential cornerstone for the team under coach K.C. Keeler.

    Temple’s Giakoby Hills (left) started all 12 games this season at left tackle.

    Last week, Keeler and general manager Clayton Barnes spoke about the importance of multiyear contracts. They make it easier for the Owls to retain core players and help compete with Power Four conferences who may be offering those players more money.

    “Without multiyear contracts, we wouldn’t have a chance to keep our best players,” Keeler said. “So some of those guys who are going to be sophomores, going to be juniors, say, ‘Here’s the plan to grow you,’ and that gives them a lot more security. Whereas a lot of Power [Four conferences] aren’t going to give a guy a multiyear contract.”

  • Matt Campbell has one job: Rebuild Penn State’s national title hopes

    Matt Campbell has one job: Rebuild Penn State’s national title hopes

    STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Following a 54-day national coaching search filled with reported hiring whiffs and leaked audio from a private meeting between the university’s athletic director and several players, Penn State on Monday introduced Matt Campbell as its 17th head football coach.

    “It’s a dream come true for me,” Campbell said as he fought through tears. “It’s one of the greatest honors of my life, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be here.”

    Campbell, 46, spent the last 10 seasons as head coach at Iowa State, where he won a program-record 72 games. The Massillon, Ohio, native signed an eight-year deal with Penn State that will pay him $8 million in 2026 and gradually rise to $9.25 million in 2033, the university announced Monday following approval from Penn State’s Board of Trustees.

    Campbell is now tasked with winning the Nittany Lions’ first national championship since 1986, a challenge he embraces.

    “From this day forward, we’re going to wake up every single day in this football program, and we’re going to build championship habits,” Campbell said. “We’re going to do it one day at a time, we’re going to do it from the ground up, and we’re going to do it in a football program that’s going to demand toughness, discipline, and most importantly, togetherness.”

    Campbell’s contract is filled with incentives, including an automatic two-year extension and a $1 million bonus for winning a national championship, according to a copy of his contract released by the university. He would earn an additional $100,000 for winning Big Ten Coach of the Year and $350,000 for winning the Big Ten championship game, among other incentives.

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    The university is reportedly committing significant resources to Campbell, who will have around $30 million in Name, Image, and Likeness funds, plus an additional $17 million staff pool, to build his roster and coaching staff, according to The Inside Zone.

    Penn State allocated significant resources to former head coach James Franklin, who was fired Oct. 12 after a 3-3 start in what many considered a championship-or-bust season.

    “Matt Campbell is Penn State: hard-nosed, humble, relentless,” athletic director Patrick Kraft said. “He’s built for championships. He embraces our expectations, not as pressure, but as a privilege. … Penn State football is once again a program that no one wants to see on their schedule.”

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    Penn State’s coaching search was bumpy.

    Early reports noted the program’s interest in Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Texas A&M’s Mike Elko, Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, and Georgia Tech’s Brent Key, who later signed contract extensions at their respective universities.

    Penn State offered Brigham Young’s Kalani Sitake a lucrative deal to become the school’s next coach, according to ESPN. But once Sitake accepted an extension at his alma mater, Kraft pivoted to Campbell, who reportedly had turned down several college and NFL coaching offers during his tenure at Iowa State before accepting a move to State College.

    “If you’re ever going to leave, it better be about your family,” Campbell said. “If [my family] were ever to leave Iowa State, I wanted to go somewhere I wanted to finish my career, I wanted to stand for something that is bigger than Matt Campbell. And I found that [at Penn State].”

    Retaining Terry Smith

    In a statement released Friday by Penn State Athletics, Kraft announced the university will retain Terry Smith, who served as the Nittany Lions’ interim head coach for the final six games this season. ESPN later reported a four-year contract extension for the 56-year-old.

    Smith will serve as associate head coach, among other responsibilities, according to 247 Sports.

    “Terry is Penn State. I made Terry the interim coach because I felt he was the one person in that building to unify the team,” Kraft said. “The [decision to retain Smith] was an absolute no-brainer. … I think I’ve got the best football coach in the country [in Campbell], and I’ve got a partner for him who will fight for Penn State.”

    Smith, who played wide receiver at Penn State from 1988-91, led the Nittany Lions to a 3-3 record. His players lobbied for him by holding up “Hire Terry Smith” signs after wins over Nebraska and Rutgers.

    The longtime Nittany Lion garnered head coaching interest from Memphis and UConn, according to Jordan Shultz. But as Smith said at his introductory news conference, he bleeds blue and white.

    Campbell lauded Penn State’s “impressive” turnaround under Smith’s leadership. He said one of the first questions he asked during initial conversations with Penn State was whether he could keep Smith on his staff.

    “It was critically important for me to keep Terry. I know what he’s about and what he stands for,” Campbell said. “The fact that Terry wants to stay and wants to be a part of this, I couldn’t be more grateful. To work hand-in-hand with him, knowing what it means to play here, what it means to coach here, what it means to lead here, that’s huge for me and the rest of our staff.”

  • A year later than planned, Villanova wins its latest women’s Big 5 title

    A year later than planned, Villanova wins its latest women’s Big 5 title

    When Villanova hosted the first women’s Big 5 Classic tripleheader last year, the Wildcats intended to cap it off by winning the title.

    Instead, the Temple Owls spoiled the party plans and left the Main Line with the title in their hands.

    This year, the Wildcats delivered. Led by Brynn McCurry’s 21 points, they topped St. Joseph’s, 76-70, Sunday in a title game that was close throughout. It marked ’Nova’s 22nd women’s Big 5 crown, the most of any City Series team.

    For as much as rosters in college basketball change by season these days, coach Denise Dillon admitted she had kept last year’s loss in mind.

    “That’s the responsibility of myself and our staff, to explain to our players, because of so many new players on the roster, and not recognizing what Philly basketball is,” she said. “Yeah, the taste stuck with me, and I think some of the others who were playing in that game. Denae Carter and Jasmine Bascoe last year, they knew they gave something up here on our home court, and wanted to make sure we took care of business here today against St. Joe’s.”

    Villanova’s players celebrate with the Big 5 champions’ banner.

    The Hawks were more than valiant. Rhian Stokes totaled 23 points and six assists, while Gabby Casey had 19 points and eight rebounds.

    At the other end, St. Joe’s held Bascoe to 4-of-16 field-goal shooting, though she still had 13 points. McCurry, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, delivered her third straight 20-point outing.

    Villanova also reclaimed its spot atop the men’s Big 5

    “Kudos to [McCurry] and to her teammates for stepping up, because I thought we did a hell of a job on Bascoe,” Hawks coach Cindy Griffin said,

    December obviously isn’t March, but Villanova is on some national bracketologists’ early NCAA Tournament bubbles. Though the Wildcats lost at Princeton last month, they made up for it with a win at then-No. 25 West Virginia last Monday, and followed it with a win at Georgetown on Thursday to open Big East play.

    Villanova’s Jasmine Bascoe defending Rhian Stokes of St. Joe’s, who led all scorers with 23 points.

    Their next game, following exams, should be another solid barometer: home vs. Seton Hall on Dec. 19. The Pirates were picked third in the preseason conference poll, with ’Nova fourth.

    “We gave up a tough one to Seton Hall last year in this place,” Dillon said of a 56-55 defeat. “We’ll remind them [at practice] on Tuesday.”

    The rest of the day

    Drexel topped Temple in the third-place game, 59-52. With Dragons star guard Amaris Baker held to just seven points on 2-of-13 shooting, Deja Evans stepped up with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting, plus seven rebounds and three assists.

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    “Things weren’t going our way, our scorers weren’t making shots, but they still found a way to lock in and stay focused on what we needed to do to win the game,” Drexel coach Amy Mallon said. “And to me, that’s what Drexel basketball is about, and how we find ways to win.”

    New York Liberty star Jonquel Jones, the adopted daughter of Temple women’s coach Diane Richardson, sat courtside to watch the Owls. That was a reminder of how big women’s basketball is nationally these days, though the stardust hasn’t landed on the Big 5.

    Jonquel Jones (second from left) sitting courtside during the Temple-Drexel game.

    “Well, I’d love to have her on the court, but we have already exhausted that eligibility,” the always-charismatic Richardson said. “It’s great. She loves our kids and she’s got some time off because of her [ankle] injury, so she’s been spending a lot of time with me. We’re glad to have her here, and not only just for us, but for women’s basketball — and here at the Big 5, where we want to shine a light.”

    Penn won the fifth-place game over La Salle, 65-52, led by Katie Collins’ 20 points and nine rebounds. The Quakers led by 21 points in the third quarter, but the Explorers rallied to within five at the end of the period before Penn pulled away in the fourth.

    As The Inquirer confirmed a few days ago, the women’s tripleheader will change location next season. Sunday marked Villanova’s second straight year, and the second straight year of disappointingly small crowds on the Main Line: 1,242 fans over the three games.

    Over 16,000 tickets have been sold for the Unrivaled women’s basketball doubleheader in Philly next month

    Though it’s not official yet, the Palestra is the favorite right now to host as part of the arena’s 100th birthday celebration. Penn’s coach isn’t alone in hoping that moving the games to the city’s most famous college basketball venue will draw more fans to watch them.

    “I know one thing: Penn would put on a first-class event, just like Villanova has done here,” said Mike McLaughlin, who has long championed having the women’s tripleheader at the city’s most famous venue. “This has been a great event for our athletes, and Penn will do the same if it’s at the Palestra.”

  • Notre Dame, left out of playoff while Alabama and Miami get in, opts out of bowl consideration

    Notre Dame, left out of playoff while Alabama and Miami get in, opts out of bowl consideration

    Snubbed by the College Football Playoff, Notre Dame snubbed its nose at a second-tier bowl game.

    The ninth-ranked Fighting Irish responded to getting dropped in the CFP rankings for the second consecutive week by turning down an invitation to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

    “As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season,” Notre Dame wrote in a statement posted to its official X account. “We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we’re hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026.”

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    Although it might be the exact reaction that many Notre Dame fans wanted, it’s far from ideal for the long-term viability of non-playoff bowl games.

    The decision also denies Notre Dame’s seniors a chance for one final game, denies underclassmen from a few extra weeks of practice and denies a legion of fans — is there a bigger brand in college football? — from watching this team play again.

    Sep 13, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman looks at the scoreboard during the second half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

    Unlike Iowa State and Kansas State, which each got fined $500,000 by the Big 12 for opting out of a bowl game because of coaching changes, Notre Dame won’t get punished because it’s not a full-fledged member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

    Despite winning every game for nearly three months, Notre Dame dropped behind Miami in the final CFP rankings and was left out of the 12-team bracket entirely.

    The Fighting Irish, who won their last 10 games by an average of nearly 30 points, watched championship weekend from afar, idle as an independent with no options to impress the selection committee one last time in a league title game.

    Athletic director Pete Bevacqua and coach Marcus Freeman had taken the high road in recent weeks, avoiding too much lobbying and believing their winning streak would be enough to earn a berth over Alabama.

    Miami (10-2) ended up knocking the Irish (10-2) out.

    With BYU losing to Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game, the committee ranked Miami and Notre Dame next to each other and turned to the head-to-head metric to determine which one would get the No. 10 seed.

    It was Miami, which beat Notre Dame 27-24 in Week 1 of the regular season.

    Hunter Yurachek, the chair of the selection committee, said members rewatched the game and were struck by Miami’s shutting down of a Notre Dame running game in a way nobody else did this season.

    “Then there was observation from the coaches in the room where Notre Dame did a lot of chasing of some of the athletic receivers, especially on the Miami side,” Yurachek said. “And it just felt like there was a little bit more athleticism on the side of Miami versus Notre Dame.”

    The Hurricanes will play at Texas A&M in the opening round of the playoff.

    No. 12 BYU, No. 13 Vanderbilt and No. 14 Texas — and, to a lesser extent, Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke — are sure to have issues with the final CFP standings, too.

    “We are not entitled to anything and we’re not victimized by any process or any committee,” Vandy coach Clark Lea said. ”This is about ownership over what we’ve created, and the opportunity we created for ourselves is to go and know exactly when our season is going to be finished.”

    But no one has a bigger gripe than Notre Dame, which dropped one spot after beating Stanford 49-20 and then fell another while not playing.

    Fans online had demanded the Irish boycott their bowl game, cancel their scheduling agreement with the ACC and reassess future slates. Some called for Bevacqua to be fired.

    Notre Dame lost consecutive games to open the season against teams that made the playoff — Miami and Texas A&M, by a combined four points — and has been as good as anyone in the country since.

    Alabama, meanwhile, became the first three-loss team to make the CFP field. Yurachek explained the logic after the Crimson Tide lost 28-7 to Georgia in the SEC championship game.

    “Their strength of schedule was the highest in the top 11, and (it) felt like in spite of their performance yesterday in the conference championship, they deserve to stay within that nine spot,” Yurachek said.

  • How Kaytron Allen broke out of his shell to emerge as a star in Penn State’s backfield

    How Kaytron Allen broke out of his shell to emerge as a star in Penn State’s backfield

    STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — It has been a breakout 2025 season for Kaytron Allen, who etched his name into Penn State history as the program’s all-time leading rusher.

    But the senior running back’s path to stardom was bumpy.

    Allen rushed for 1,769 yards and 16 touchdowns across his first two seasons in Happy Valley. He thrived next to Nicholas Singleton, his fellow Class of 2022 running back. But he was missing a key element, the final hurdle to becoming a true No. 1 running back.

    While Allen’s runs were loud, his voice and presence within the Lasch Building were nonexistent. He attended team meetings and film sessions, but a simple head nod was the only interaction he had with most teammates and coaches.

    That was, until one kind gesture changed his demeanor.

    When Allen had nowhere to go for Thanksgiving during his sophomore year, Terry Smith, who then was Penn State’s associate head coach and cornerbacks coach, invited him to join his family for Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh. Allen got to see his coach in a different light, as a family man.

    Kaytron Allen (13) reacts after scoring a rushing touchdown against Rutgers.

    It marked the start of a bond between the shy running back and the now-interim coach known as “the truth teller” inside the program. And it marked the beginning of Allen’s ascent.

    “Kaytron is a man of very few words,” Smith said. “Up until that point, I would see him in the building and say, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ And he gave me one of those [head nods] and kept it moving. Then we had Thanksgiving with him, and he saw me in a different light. And from that day forward, Kaytron and I became [close].”

    Smith’s friendship seemed to unlock a new side of Allen, one that was more open and honest, not only with his teammates and coaches, but also with himself. And with that honesty came increased production.

    The Norfolk, Va., native rushed for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns in his junior campaign. He saved his best football for the College Football Playoff, when he rushed 47 times for 286 yards and two touchdowns in three games as Penn State finished with a program-best 13 wins.

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    While Allen’s breakout season mirrored that of Singleton’s, who rushed for 1,099 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, the latter remained Penn State’s prized running back. It was Singleton who made ESPN and CBS Sports’ 2025 preseason All-America teams.

    But through the first six games of the 2025 campaign, Allen’s production took center stage. While the duo split carries at 70 apiece during that stretch, Allen’s 467 rushing yards far outpaced Singleton’s 259. He ran for seven touchdowns to Singleton’s six behind the same offensive line, same blocking, and same play calls.

    James Franklin’s firing on Oct. 12 signaled a drastic shift in Penn State football. Smith took over as interim head coach and quickly made a promise to Allen: He would do everything to get his star running back the program’s rushing record.

    Penn State running back Kaytron Allen (13) celebrates with Nicholas Singleton and head coach Terry Smith after breaking the all time rushing record for Penn State.

    “It means a lot when you have a coach who believes in you. It makes you want to go hard for him, gets [me] going,” Allen said. “I appreciate [Smith] a lot for giving me that boost in confidence.”

    Smith made good on his promise in his first contest as interim head coach. Against Iowa, Allen rushed a career-high 28 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns while Singleton tallied just six carries (15 yards). And despite the Nittany Lions’ 25-24 loss, one thing was certain: Allen was the team’s RB1.

    His uptick in production didn’t stop in Iowa City, Iowa. Over the team’s next five games, Allen rushed 112 times to Singleton’s 47. His confidence was building with every carry, every broken tackle, every touchdown.

    After years of sharing a backfield but not the praise or spotlight associated with his production, it was fitting that Allen’s signature touchdown celebration — kicking down an imaginary door — encapsulated this moment in his career. And the best part: His best games were still ahead.

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    “Kaytron is my guy. We’re roommates, we’ve been through a lot, we stuck together,” Singleton said. “We made each other better. He made me better every day just by competing with him.”

    Allen rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns in his team’s 28-10 victory over Michigan State. The next week, he had 25 carries for 160 yards against Nebraska to set the program’s all-time rushing record, surpassing Evan Royster’s mark of 3,932 yards. Allen’s total stands at 4,180.

    He could add to that total since Penn State qualified for a bowl game with its 6-6 record, but Allen has not indicated if he would play at the risk of an injury that could impact his NFL potential.

    Allen said his goal as a freshman was simply to make a difference and help his team win football games. Mission accomplished.

    “We’re just so proud of him,” center Nick Dawkins said. “We wanted to get this done for him. We knew preseason that this was an accolade that we wanted to achieve for him as an offensive line, and for him to get his flowers is amazing because he works so hard.”

    Kaytron Allen (13) runs the ball into the end zone against Nebraska.

    In a fitting end to his final college regular season game, Allen rushed 22 times for 226 yards and a touchdown in Penn State’s 40-36 win over Rutgers. He earned three consecutive Big Ten Player of the Week awards after averaging 189 rushing yards per game over his final three contests.

    Allen finished the regular season with career highs in rushing yards (1,303) and yards per carry (6.2). He rushed for more touchdowns (15) than he had in his previous two seasons combined (14). At last, his ascent to becoming Penn State’s top running back was complete.

    “There have been a lot of ups and downs, more downs than ups,” Allen said. ”The adversity I had to come through, I learned a lot off the field just trying to buy in, trying to open up and do things differently from what I’m used to. I appreciate everyone [at Penn State].”

  • Drexel wrestling took a loss Friday night vs. top-ranked Penn State, but it was ‘incredible’ anyway

    Drexel wrestling took a loss Friday night vs. top-ranked Penn State, but it was ‘incredible’ anyway

    After winning its fourth consecutive national championship at what then was the Wells Fargo Center last March, No. 1 Penn State returned to Philadelphia to face Drexel in a dual meet Friday night at a sold-out Daskalakis Athletic Center.

    While the Nittany Lions claimed a 43-3 win over the Dragons, both teams gained something else from the meet. It was an opportunity for Drexel to draw a crowd of 2,000-plus to the DAC. And it allowed Penn State to make an appearance in Philadelphia, where the Nittany Lions have a large alumni base. It also was an opportunity to play an in-state rival early in the schedule, which Penn State coach Cael Sanderson tries to do as frequently as he can.

    “We don’t have a lot of open spots in our schedule with our conference, but you try to wrestle with as many schools in Pennsylvania as you can,” Sanderson said.

    Jordan Soriano had the Dragons’ lone win in the 141-pound match. The senior claimed an 8-5 decision over Penn State’s Cael Nasdeo. The loss drops Drexel to 2-1 in duals this season, while Penn State improves to 2-0.

    Lions in the East

    Friday night’s match marked the end of a home-and-home series between Drexel and Penn State. The top-ranked Nittany Lions hosted the Dragons in State College, Pa., last season. The Dragons lost that dual, 41-3, with their lone match win belonging to Soriano.

    Friday’s dual meet was the first time Penn State has reappeared in Philadelphia since it won its 13th overall national title in March.

    “I think it’s fun,” Sanderson said. “It’s a different experience. A lot of the national tournaments are in the city, and it’s a little different kind of feel as far as getting around … I think it was good for us. We’ve got a lot of alumni from the area.”

    Penn State has fewer local connections on its roster, though. Of the 10 wrestlers who took to the mat on Friday for the Nittany Lions, none were from within 50 miles of Philadelphia. 11 of the athletes on Penn State’s roster are from the state, and a few hail from the collar counties, like Doylestown’s Tyler Kasak or Harleysville’s Sam Beckett.

    Sanderson said he does not usually recruit athletes within Philadelphia’s city limits, but that the Lehigh Valley and South Jersey typically are fertile recruiting grounds.

    “Usually, the wrestling isn’t huge in the city areas as much,” Sanderson said. “Wherever the best wrestlers are, that’s where we’re recruiting from. But when you can get kids from Pennsylvania, that’s obviously No. 1, just because we’re Penn State.”

    Raising goats in Doylestown helped Penn State’s Tyler Kasak become one of the NCAA’s best wrestlers

    Old friends

    The opportunity to play an in-state rival in Philadelphia is one of the reasons the Nittany Lions made the trip to University City, but it also helps that Sanderson and Drexel coach Matt Azevedo are former teammates who overlapped for two seasons at Iowa State.

    Sanderson, who was undefeated in four seasons at Iowa State was on the 2000-01 and 2001-02 teams with Azevedo, who was a three-time NCAA qualifier two seasons at Arizona State and two with the Cyclones. Azevedo also was teammates with Sanderson’s older brother Cody, who is an associate head coach for the Nittany Lions.

    Drexel coach Matt Azevedo (left) and Penn State coach Cael Sanderson were teammates in college.

    Azevedo said that even though he’s the older of the two head coaches, he looks up to Sanderson and what he’s accomplished in 16 seasons at Penn State.

    “Cael has always set a great example as a teammate and as a competitor,” Azevedo said. “We all marveled at what he could do, and now as a coach, he’s doing incredible things. Honestly, I watch from a distance, you know, try and learn and try to pick up things. They do an amazing job, and I’m happy for them.”

    Sanderson shared a mutual respect for his former college teammate, saying he’s cheering Azevedo’s squad on when they are not matching up head-to-head.

    “They’re in really good shape, and they’re tough,” Sanderson said. “They fought the whole time. They were challenging us in every position, so that’s kind of what we were expecting. We’d like to see them doing well moving forward. They were tough.”

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    Packing the DAC

    Drexel announced Wednesday that its meet vs. Penn State was sold out. There appeared to be a few empty seats Friday night, but the crowd neared the DAC’s 2,509-seat capacity. It was a relatively split crowd, too; Penn State fans appeared to have a slight majority. The Nittany Lions are among the biggest draws in college wrestling, thanks to a run of success that includes 12 national titles since Sanderson took over in 2010.

    Azevedo said the opportunity to host Penn State was an opportunity to shine a spotlight on his own program. The Dragons are coming off their best Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association finish in Azevedo’s tenure at the school, finishing the season 11-10 and second in the conference. Drexel sent three wrestlers to the NCAA championship as individual qualifiers last season.

    How do you build a wrestling program from scratch? Ask Arcadia.

    “When we can host a dual meet here at Drexel, and sell it out as a mid-major wrestling program, I think it says a lot,” Azevedo “It says a lot about our fan base, that our fans are excited to come out and watch us wrestle. Right, there’s a lot of Penn State fans here, but there were just as many Drexel fans.”

    Azevedo said while he knew putting Penn State on the schedule likely wouldn’t result in a nonconference dual win for the Dragons, he could not refuse an opportunity to host the Nittany Lions.

    “I feel fortunate to be able to create an environment like this for our guys to compete in,” Azevedo said. “It gets a lot of attention and eyeballs on our program. For me, it’s like, I can’t pass that up. You know it’s going to be tough, but this was an incredible event.”

  • The women’s Big 5 Classic is back at Villanova’s Finneran Pavilion, and it features a historic rivalry

    The women’s Big 5 Classic is back at Villanova’s Finneran Pavilion, and it features a historic rivalry

    The Villanova women’s basketball team had vengeance in mind as it beat Temple to open Big 5 play on Nov. 22.

    While the teams’ history spans decades, anticipation of the annual Big 5 Classic tripleheader has added a new layer to the competition.

    And for some Villanova players, the 30-point win was personal. Temple beat Villanova by 14 to win last year’s inaugural women’s Big 5 Classic championship.

    “[The Big 5 championship] was a tough loss last year,” Villanova senior guard Ryanne Allen, a Bucks County native and Archbishop Wood graduate said. “That was a huge impetus for us, especially losing on our home floor. We didn’t want it to happen again, so it was nice to get that win back for us.”

    Three days after the Wildcats’ 88-58 win, they secured a return to the Big 5 championship game with a win over La Salle. In the other “pod,” St. Joseph’s (6-2, 0-1 Atlantic 10) came out on top with wins over Penn and Drexel. The Wildcats (7-2, 1-0 Big East) will face the Hawks on Sunday at Finneran Pavilion (4:30 p.m., NBCSP).

    After back-to-back years at Finneran Pavilion, the Big 5 Classic will change locations next season, Villanova confirmed. The Palestra, a focal point of Philadelphia basketball history, would be a fitting host as the venue prepares for its its 100th birthday.

    Villanova’s Jasmine Bascoe goes up for a layup as Temple’s Tristen Taylor defends on Nov. 22.

    “It’s a great rivalry,” said Cindy Griffin, who is in her 25th season coaching the Hawks. “We’ve been battling [with Villanova] for the last couple of years, and we’re ready to come on top of this battle … I think our players are hungry to not only compete, but to win. It’s going to be a great game.”

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    Returning to the championship

    Villanova will install the Big 5 logo on its court at the Finneran Pavilion as it prepares to host the tripleheader for the second consecutive year.

    “I’m hoping this young crew recognizes how [the home court] can work in your favor, and just feed off that energy,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon said. “Our atmosphere here at the Finn is tremendous. We’ve got to feel it and know that it can give us a little bit of an edge in a tough battle against our city rival.”

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    The Wildcats will ride the high of a five-game winning streak — including wins over No. 25 West Virginia and Georgetown in their Big East opener — into the championship game.

    Since 2004, Villanova has a 15-4 record against the Hawks.

    “We had a couple disappointing losses to start the season, but you can just see this group figuring out who they are and what they’re doing. … Getting that tough La Salle win at their place to put ourselves in position was the first step,” Dillon said. “We’ll focus all of our attention on Saint Joe’s, hopefully redeeming ourselves and getting that win on Sunday in front of our fans.”

    Inside the Big 5 coaching fraternity

    Embracing local rivalry

    The Hawks are led by homegrown talent in returning junior guards Gabby Casey and Aleah Snead.

    Casey, who attended Lansdale Catholic, and Snead, a graduate of Penn Charter, will bring an extra level of intensity to the Big 5 matchup. Casey currently leads St. Joe’s with 15.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

    “Gabby [Casey] and Aleah [Snead] are the ultimate competitors and Philadelphia kids,” Griffin said. “ … they understand what [the Big 5] is. They understand the pride and the value of playing in Philadelphia and representing St. Joe’s.”

    St. Joseph’s guard Aleah Snead (left) celebrates with teammates Talya Brugler and Gabby Casey after a game last season.

    As dynamics between Big 5 schools shift entering the 2025 Classic, the tripleheader will serve as a platform for each school to promote its program.

    “There’s a lot of different brands of basketball in the Big 5,” Griffin said. “I think just with the growth of women’s basketball, the more we promote women’s basketball in our area, the better off all these young women are going to be.”

  • Mark Ferrante made Villanova into a regular playoff contender. Can it advance past the second round?

    Mark Ferrante made Villanova into a regular playoff contender. Can it advance past the second round?

    Mark Ferrante wore his usual visor with a smile, but his plastic toothpick, which normally sticks out of the side of his mouth at practices, was missing.

    It was Wednesday morning, and the Villanova coach walked off the field at Villanova Stadium after wrapping practice in preparation for his team’s game against Lehigh in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

    Despite the team’s inexperience after losing more than a dozen starters to graduation, Villanova demolished Harvard, 52-7, last weekend and has won nine straight. Ferrante said postgame that his players might lack experience, but they never lacked confidence.

    Ferrante, in his ninth year at the helm, and the program is making its fifth FCS playoff appearance in the last six seasons and 17th all-time. Ferrante has been around the team since 1987 and watched former head coach Andy Talley build the program from the ground up. That paid off in 2009, when Villanova won its lone FCS championship.

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    In the last three seasons, Villanova has won its first FCS playoff game and then fallen short in the second round. Last season, Villanova traveled to San Antonio, Texas, to face sixth-seeded Incarnate Word in the second round. The Wildcats held Incarnate Word, which last season averaged 33.6 points per game, to 13, but still lost, 13-6.

    Now, Villanova is back in the second round, and Ferrante is tasked with guiding his team over that hurdle on Saturday noon (ESPN+) in Bethlehem, Pa.

    Villanova’s FBS game — against Penn State this season — and tough Coastal Athletic Association matchups helped prepare the team to play into December.

    Wildcats running back Ja’briel Mace (4) carries the ball on Nov. 15.

    “Sometimes it comes down to the health of the team,” Ferrante said. “If you look at last year against Incarnate Word, we’re playing a ton of freshmen [defensive backs] in that game by the time we got to that point of the season. So right now, we’re better than we were a year ago when it comes to the health of the team. I’m not looking to make excuses, because you have to go 1-0 each week. And this idea is to survive and advance.”

    Villanova has lost starters intermittently because of injuries this year. Notably, standout running back David Avit has missed the last three games with a knee injury. Ja’briel Mace and Isaiah Ragland stepped up with no issue, both rushing for career highs during that stretch. Mace even broke the program’s 24-year-old single-game rushing record.

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    On defense, the team started the season without graduate linebacker Richie Kimmel and lost junior linebacker JR Strauss after the Penn State game.

    During Villanova’s 2009 championship season, meanwhile, it lost one notable starter to an injury.

    While injuries are uncontrollable, execution is not, Ferrante said.

    “The bottom line is it has to come down to execution,” Ferrante said. “You have to go out and perform at a high level, regardless of who you’re playing, regardless of the weather conditions, regardless of the health of your team.”

    Villanova coach Mark Ferrante, applauding his team on Nov. 29.

    Graduate linebacker Shane Hartzell has played in all of Villanova’s playoff games these past three seasons.

    “The experience of Shane, I’m sure [the vets] talk to guys behind the scenes,” Ferrante said. “I think we have a good locker room right now. So I think there’s a lot of that going on that we really don’t even see as coaches, but it’s their practice habits that help as well. You have guys that just go out there and practice hard all the time, and that filters down into the young guys.

    “So now you see some of our younger guys are having fairly good success. They see how practice is supposed to be, and then they follow suit, and then they end up becoming pretty good players.”

    It has become a standard for Villanova to retain players for four years or more. Ten of Villanova’s starters last season were five-plus-year players.

    Villanova reacts to earning a bid into the FCS playoffs

    “We just try to set a standard of being good students, good athletes, and good people,” Ferrante said. “Just work hard, be a good person, make good decisions, and good things will happen.

    “That’s our approach when it comes to the classroom. That’s our approach when it comes to practice and playing. If you have a good locker room and you have a team that could lead themselves a little bit, there’s not a lot of drama.”

    As college football coaches ride a merry-go-round of programs, Ferrante has not moved an inch from the Main Line, and that looks to be the case well into the future.

    “If you love what you do, you love where you do it, and you love the people you do it with, that’s a win,” Ferrante said. “And that’s what this place has been for me.”

  • 5 things to know about Matt Campbell, Penn State’s next head coach

    5 things to know about Matt Campbell, Penn State’s next head coach

    STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State is finalizing a deal to hire Matt Campbell as the 17th head football coach in program history, according to multiple reports on Friday.

    Campbell, 46, has served as Iowa State’s head coach since 2016, where he won three Big 12 Coach of the Year awards and three bowl games. The Massillon, Ohio, native emerged as a candidate in recent days following Penn State’s reported whiff on BYU’s Kalani Sitake, among other candidates.

    Here are five things to know about Penn State’s next head coach.

    Reports: Penn State to hire Iowa State’s Matt Campbell as next head coach

    Nick Sirianni connection

    Campbell and Eagles head coach Sirianni were teammates and roommates at Mount Union in the early 2000s. Sirianni caught 13 touchdowns as a wide receiver while Campbell starred on the defensive line.

    Both returned to the Purple Raiders’ staff to begin their coaching careers as assistants, Sirianni in 2004-05 and Campbell in 2005-06.

    He knows how to win

    During Campbell’s tenure as Toledo’s head coach from 2012-15, the Rockets went 35-15, including two nine-win campaigns. Campbell won the MAC Coach of the Year in 2015 and went to three bowl games before departing for Iowa State.

    In five of Campbell’s 10 seasons at Iowa State, the Cyclones won eight or more games, a mark the program had previously not reached since 2000. Iowa State won a program-record 11 games in 2024, and after eight wins in 2025, Campbell departs as the program’s all-time winningest coach (72 wins).

    The Cyclones have made two Big 12 championship game appearances in their 30 years as a member of the conference. Both of those appearances came under Campbell.

    A standout defensive end

    The 6-foot-2 Campbell spent one year at Pittsburgh before transferring to Mount Union, where he played defensive end from 1999-2002. He was an All-American and a two-time conference defensive lineman of the year.

    The Purple Raiders went 54-1 during Campbell’s four-year career. They won four conference titles and three NCAA Division III national championships. Campbell was inducted into the university’s Hall of Fame in 2018.

    Matt Campbell uses the motto “recruit, retain, and develop.”

    He can recruit

    Campbell leaves Iowa State after signing 247Sports’ No. 50 recruiting class for 2026, the highest-ranked class of his tenure. All 22 players in the class are three-star recruits, according to 247Sports composite rankings.

    Campbell’s recruiting motto is “recruit, retain, and develop.” The 46-year-old will likely bring that motto, and some of the players in his 2026 class, with him to Happy Valley as he stares down a roster overhaul in his first season as head coach.

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    Family life

    Campbell and his wife, Erica, met in sixth grade, started dating in their senior year of high school, and later married. The couple has four children: Katie, Izzy, Rudy, and Rocco.

    Campbell comes from a football family. His father, Rick, coached high school football at Massillon Jackson in Massillon, Ohio.