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Category: Villanova

  • Villanova promos for football semifinal include $2 concessions, a chance at basketball season tickets, and more

    Villanova promos for football semifinal include $2 concessions, a chance at basketball season tickets, and more

    Villanova is playing its biggest football home game in 16 years on Saturday, and the program is pulling out all the stops to pack Villanova Stadium.

    The Wildcats are hosting their first Football Championship Subdivision semifinal since 2009, the season they won their only FCS championship. The 12th-seeded Wildcats will take on unseeded Illinois State under the lights at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

    Villanova upsets Tarleton State and advances to FCS semifinals with comeback win

    With finals concluding the day before, many students are headed home for break, and the campus is emptying. That is why Villanova is offering students the ability to extend their housing until Sunday at noon in order to attend the game, rather than Saturday at noon. It is one of a long list of incentives set up by Villanova’s athletic program and the university to try and increase attendance.

    All fans with a ticket, not just students, will also be treated to $2 concessions. From when the gates open until the end of the first quarter, fans will be able to purchase select beers and hot dogs for $2 each.

    Students at the game will have the opportunity to be entered in various giveaways. The first 100 students to stop at the table for “The Nation,” Villanova’s official student fan group, will receive a free chicken sandwich from Federal Donuts.

    Villanova, despite being the No. 12 seed, has advanced to the FCS semifinals.

    The first 1,000 students will get free Villanova-themed Santa hats, and the first 4,000 will be provided free hand-warmers. If students scan in using their student QR codes, they will receive a ticket for the Villanova men’s basketball game against St. John’s at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Jan. 17.

    During the fourth quarter, 50 students will win tickets for all remaining home men’s basketball games this season. One student will also earn a pair of tickets to the Big East men’s basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden in March. Lastly, one student will receive a $500 shopping spree to Villanova’s team store.

    Inside, there will be a Christmas Village in the southwest corner of Villanova Stadium. There will be holiday inflatables to take pictures with, face painting, photos with mascot “Will D. Claws,” more commonly known as Will D. Cat, and ornaments to decorate. Children can participate by writing letters to Santa.

    Before the game, Villanova’s president, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, will host a 4 p.m. Mass at St. Thomas of Villanova Church. The Mass will fulfill the Sunday Mass obligation for the fourth Sunday of Advent, according to Villanova’s website.

    Fans are encouraged to check out Villanova’s Christmas lights in the middle of campus on the Rowen Campus Green. On the Campus Green, there will be free food trucks for ticket holders.

    Throughout the day leading up to kickoff, all food and drink purchases at The Refectory, Villanova’s on-campus restaurant, will be 10% off with a ticket to the game.

    A win over Illinois State would earn Villanova an appearance in the FCS championship game on Jan. 5 in Nashville, where they would play the Montana-Montana State winner. It would be just the second appearance for the Wildcats football program in the championship game.

    Villanova is playing its best complementary football at the right time: ‘We have a good nucleus’
  • Penn receiver Jared Richardson is a second-team FCS All-American

    Penn receiver Jared Richardson is a second-team FCS All-American

    Fresh off the best season of his career at Penn, Jared Richardson was named Tuesday as a second-team Football Championship Subdivision All-American by the Associated Press.

    The senior wideout posted a career-best 1,033 receiving yards for the 6-4 Quakers this season. He ranked in the top five in the FCS in receptions (80) and receiving touchdowns (12).

    Richardson’s breakout performance came against Marist on Oct. 10. The Monroe County native tallied 15 catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns in Penn’s 28-9 victory.

    Richardson was a finalists for the Walter Payton Award, given each year to the outstanding offensive player in the FCS. He finished 23rd in voting by the media and sports information directors.

    In addition to Richardson, three Villanova players earned honorable mention on the AP All-America team. Left guard Temi Ajirotutu and center Jake Picard were honored along with all-purpose player Ja’Briel Mace.

    Penn State’s Kaytron Allen and Olaivavega Ioane named to AP All-American teams

    Mace has starred as the Wildcats’ kickoff return specialist this season. The speedy running back ranked third among FCS players in kickoff return yards (723) and No. 12 in all-purpose yardage. He also has 887 rushing yards and 152 receiving yards.

    After last week’s 26-21 victory over Tarleton State, Villanova (12-2) will host Illinois State in a national semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Villanova Stadium. The winner advances to the FCS championship on Jan. 5.

  • Judge dismisses lawsuit by Villanova’s Kris Jenkins against NCAA

    Judge dismisses lawsuit by Villanova’s Kris Jenkins against NCAA

    A federal judge in New York ruled Monday to dismiss the antitrust suit brought earlier this year by former Villanova basketball player Kris Jenkins against the NCAA and some of its member conferences.

    Judge Denise Cote of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York said Jenkins’ suit against the NCAA and conferences, including the Big East, which he played in, was brought too late and is barred by the 2017 Alston v. NCAA class action settlement.

    “It is undisputed that Jenkins was a member of the Alston class and did not opt out of that litigation,” Cote wrote.

    Jenkins did not immediately reply to a request for comment. His attorney, Kevin T. Duffy Jr., said they planned to appeal but declined to comment further.

    Jenkins, whose three-point buzzer-beater lifted Villanova to the 2016 national title over North Carolina, filed the lawsuit in April and sought damages for the name, image, and likeness compensation he was unable to receive while at Villanova. In addition to the NCAA, Jenkins sued several conferences: the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and Southeastern.

    Villanova coach Jay Wright with Kris Jenkins, who hit the buzzer-beating shot to win the national title in 2016.

    The suit argued that the named parties violated “antitrust laws and common law by engaging in an overarching conspiracy” that fixed the amount student-athletes could be paid and cut them out of the market.

    Jenkins wanted the money he “would have received” if not for the NCAA and its conferences’ “unlawful restraints on pay-for-play compensation,” a share of television revenue and media broadcast uses of his name, image, and likeness, and money he may have received from other third-party opportunities, according to the initial suit.

    “You want your respect as a man, as a human being,” Jenkins told The Inquirer in April. “Obviously all the other stuff that comes with it. More importantly, to just continue to fight for what’s right.”

    Monday’s ruling stands to make that more difficult. Judge Cote wrote that because Jenkins was a member of the Alston class action, he was barred by that December 2017 settlement from pursuing legal action.

    Why Kris Jenkins filed a lawsuit that could ‘blow up the House settlement’ if successful

    Alston v. NCAA, which challenged the “interconnected” set of NCAA rules that capped the amount of compensation an athlete could receive for his or her athletic services, went all the way to the Supreme Court. Along with the O’Bannon v. NCAA case, it was among the groundbreaking proceedings that eventually laid the groundwork for the landmark House v. NCAA settlement that forever changed college sports.

    Villanova’s Kris Jenkins celebrates his game-winning three-point basket against North Carolina in the national championship game on April 4, 2016.

    Jenkins argued that his claims were not barred because he challenged some rules not raised in the Alston case, but his suit relied on “facts that post-date Alston,” Cote wrote, such as when the NCAA in 2021 suspended its bylaw that prohibited athletes from receiving payments for their name, image, and likeness.

    “None of these arguments permits Jenkins to escape the effect of the Alston release and judgment,” Cote wrote. “Jenkins was a student-athlete from 2013 to 2017. Therefore, any claims that he may have had are claims that arise from anticompetitive conduct that occurred during that period. The NCAA’s suspension of a Bylaw in 2021 did not alter either the substance of his claims [nor] the breadth of his release of those claims.

    “The fact that Jenkins may have identified components of that framework, specifically two NCAA rules, that may not have been the specific focus of the Alston class pleading is immaterial.”

    Cote also ruled in favor of the NCAA and the conferences named in the suit when they motioned to dismiss the case based on the grounds of timeliness, saying Jenkins’ suit was barred by a four-year statute of limitations.

    The House v. NCAA settlement was at the crux of why Jenkins filed his suit. The settlement left the Big East out of the lion’s share of back payments dating to 2016. Jenkins, whose career at Villanova ended in 2017, would have been in an “additional sports class” that would receive minimum payment compared to football players and men’s and women’s basketball players from the power schools. He decided to opt out of the House class.

    It is difficult to quantify exactly how much money Jenkins’ championship-winning shot was worth, although his initial 127-page filing made an effort to. It said Jenkins’ shot, literally nicknamed “The Shot,” and Villanova’s championship victory were the reason behind William B. Finneran’s $22.6 million gift to renovate the now-named Finneran Pavilion and support the men’s basketball program. The filing notes that Villanova received an uptick in applications to the university. The campus footprint has greatly expanded since 2016.

    The NCAA and Big East, the suit said, have benefited greatly from the shot and continue to use it in promotional videos.

    “Everybody can see the value,” Jenkins, 32, said earlier this year. “Everybody knows the value.”

    Jenkins had a brief professional career before a hip injury forced him to stop playing in 2020. He rejoined the Villanova basketball program in a support staff role that year and has been around the program off and on at times since then.

  • Duke Brennan’s career night displays Villanova’s inside-out game as conference play looms

    Duke Brennan’s career night displays Villanova’s inside-out game as conference play looms

    Villanova took its lumps earlier this week when it traveled to Ann Arbor to face what is probably the best team in the country in second-ranked Michigan.

    Duke Brennan’s night had to have been discouraging. The Wildcats’ senior center, who leads the nation in rebounding, scored five points on four shots and grabbed a season-low six rebounds. He had four fouls and two turnovers in 22 minutes. Michigan is big and athletic. Its center, Aday Mara, is 7-foot-3, five inches taller than Brennan. Villanova lost by 28, and was really never in the game.

    But the Wildcats flew home from Michigan, landed around midnight on Tuesday night, took Wednesday off, and returned to the practice floor Thursday.

    “You’ve got to bounce back, especially after bad losses,” Brennan said Saturday. “We had two great days of practice. That prepared us for the game.”

    Villanova coach Kevin Willard concurred. He said the practices were strong, and he felt his team showed Saturday that it had let a tough loss go in the way it performed.

    Brennan set a new career high with 24 points, and Bryce Lindsay also scored 24 as Villanova controlled the game and pulled away from Pittsburgh in the second half in a 79-61 victory.

    From left, Villanova guard Acaden Lewis, forward Matt Hodge, and forward Duke Brennan celebrate as guard Bryce Lindsay is interviewed after the team’s 79-61 win against Pittsburgh on Saturday.

    The Wildcats, who are in the top 50 in college basketball in three-pointers attempted, showed a balanced inside-outside attack in the process. Brennan wasn’t up against Mara, but Cameron Corhen was no slouch at 6-10, 235 pounds, averaging 14 points and nine rebounds heading into Saturday. Brennan had his way inside. He made all eight of his attempts from the floor and was 8-for-10 from the free-throw line, a positive development for the transfer from Grand Canyon, who entered Saturday having made just 52% of his free throws.

    Villanova upsets Tarleton State and advances to FCS semifinals with comeback win

    Brennan, who played a season-high 34 minutes, was active. The Wildcats used him as a screener and fed him when he rolled. Their guards executed dribble handoffs with Brennan and, because Brennan had it going, it freed up shooters like Lindsay, who was 4-for-11 from deep, and Matt Hodge, who made two of his four attempts from three-point range.

    “I think Duke’s biggest strength is his energy, how hard he plays, his rebounding,” Willard said. “But when we can get him some points down low, I think it rewards him for how hard he plays throughout the game. It also keeps him involved and keeps him happy a little bit, to be honest with you

    “I think the more we can get Duke involved in pick-and-rolls and get him on rolls, it just puts pressure on the weakside defense. When you have young guards and you have a team that hasn’t been together overly long, sometimes it just takes a little time to kind of know what works and what doesn’t work.”

    Kevin Willard coaching Villanova during the second half against Pittsburgh on Saturday.

    It is all clicking right now for Villanova, save for the 40-minute hell that is playing Michigan right now.

    Freshman point guard Acaden Lewis kept his positive play going with 11 points and seven assists. He had just one turnover, and the Wildcats had just three on the day. They had 20 assists on 26 makes.

    The performance needs to be put in the proper context, though. While Pitt may be a power-conference opponent, the Panthers have struggled so far in 2025. They dropped to 5-6 with Saturday’s loss, and they entered Saturday ranked 163rd in the NCAA’s NET rankings. That made Saturday’s victory of the Quad 4 variety for Villanova, which at least for now makes it as valuable come March as Villanova’s Nov. 11 victory over Sacred Heart.

    Villanova is 8-2, and its best win, at least according to KenPom metrics, is Saturday’s victory over Pitt, which was ranked 118th after the game.

    Despite its rebounding efforts, St. Joe’s shooting woes prove costly in loss to Syracuse

    There’s something to be said for winning the games you’re supposed to. Villanova’s three-year NCAA Tournament drought is dotted with slip-ups. But it’s never too early to start looking ahead to March, especially with the Wildcats through 10 of their 11 nonconference games.

    ESPN bracket master Joe Lunardi had Villanova as his first team out of the NCAA Tournament field as of Saturday morning before the Wildcats played a game that couldn’t help them by winning and could only hurt them by losing.

    Villanova guard Acaden Lewis passes the ball against Pittsburgh on Saturday.

    Up next is Wisconsin, though. A victory over the Badgers in Milwaukee on Friday night would be Villanova’s only win outside of Quad 4 before Big East play starts. It would be a good feather in the cap of the Wildcats, who entered Saturday 37th in NET and were at No. 34 in KenPom after the win.

    Big East play will be here soon enough — Dec. 23 to be exact, a road game at Willard’s old school, Seton Hall, which improved to 10-1 with a win over Rutgers on Saturday.

    The Wildcats have essentially two bubble games next before the holiday break. They at least avoided a major blunder Saturday by handling Pitt, and their balanced attack, with Brennan’s scoring inside, should prove valuable moving forward.

  • Villanova upsets Tarleton State and advances to FCS semifinals with comeback win

    Villanova upsets Tarleton State and advances to FCS semifinals with comeback win

    Villanova advanced to the FCS semifinals for the first time since 2010 with a 26-21 comeback victory over Tarleton State on Saturday in Stephenville, Texas.

    The visiting Wildcats played from behind throughout the first three quarters before taking down the fourth-seeded Texans, who entered Saturday’s contest boasting the No. 1 scoring offense in the FCS, averaging 44.1 points per game.

    Villanova graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide passed for 180 yards and one touchdown, while freshman wide receiver Braden Reed was integral to the victory in multiple ways, including throwing a touchdown pass on a second-quarter trick play and catching the game-winning score on an 11-yard pass early in the fourth quarter. Sophomore running back Ja’briel Mace led the ground attack, rushing for 151 yards and one touchdown on a team-high 18 carries.

    Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide throws the ball on Saturday.

    With the win, 12th-seeded Villanova (12-2) claimed its second straight upset and extended its playoff run, which already saw defeats of Harvard and No. 5 seed Lehigh in previous rounds. The Wildcats now ride an 11-game win streak into the semifinals in their most successful season since winning the 2009 national championship. They’ll host Illinois State (11-1) next Saturday night (7:30 p.m.).

    “They’ve been doing it all year, so [I’m] really proud of this team,” coach Mark Ferrante said during a postgame interview on ESPN. “We probably had some teams in past years with a little more talent across the board, but these guys have been as together as I’ve ever seen. The locker room is tight, they break down [huddles] on ‘Family’ all the time, and they believe it. So, I’m real excited about these guys.”

    Tarleton takes over early

    Villanova found itself down early after a pair of costly turnovers. Tarleton (12-2) took full advantage and raced to a 14-0 lead on back-to-back drives.

    A promising opening drive took a turn for the worst when McQuaide threw an interception in the end zone on first-and-goal from the 7-yard line. On the first play of Tarleton’s possession, Texans senior quarterback Victor Gabalis hit Peyton Kramer with a deep pass that went for an 80-yard touchdown.

    On the ensuing possession, the Wildcats went three-and-out, before Tarleton blocked their punt, took over at the Villanova 12-yard line, and found itself back in the end zone six plays later.

    Villanova gets creative

    In the second quarter, Villanova began to respond to Tarleton’s early burst.

    Graduate kicker Jack Barnum hit a 31-yard field goal, putting Villanova on the board to open the quarter.

    On the first play of Tarleton’s next drive, Wildcats redshirt defensive back Anthony Hawkins picked off Gabalis and returned the ball to the Texans’ 45-yard line, setting up another scoring opportunity for Villanova, which wasted little time.

    Two plays later, McQuaide handed the ball off to Reed, who launched it to graduate wide receiver Lucas Kopecky in the end zone for a 27-yard TD. The trick play was Reed’s first-ever pass in a game.

    After the touchdown, Villanova trailed, 14-9 — thanks to a blocked extra-point attempt — with 11:20 left until halftime.

    Villanova’s defense kept Tarleton out of the end zone throughout the second quarter and limited the Texans to 125 yards of total offense across the half. And before the break, the Wildcats were able to tack on a 41-yard field goal from Barnum to cut further into Tarleton’s lead.

    Reed for the lead

    The Texans opened the second half extending their advantage to 21-12 on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Gabalis to Trevon West.

    After the Wildcats were limited to just 65 rushing yards in the first half, their ground game picked up in the third quarter. Mace started Villanova’s first drive of the half with a 21-yard run. On the next play, McQuaide again handed it off again to Mace, who sprinted 47 yards to the end zone.

    The Wildcats took their first lead early in the fourth quarter on a 12-play, 78-yard drive. Mace again helped Villanova advance downfield with six carries on the drive, including a 26-yard run. McQuaide then found Reed in the end zone from 11 yards out to set the final score, 26-21.

    It was Reed’s second game-winner of the playoffs, after he also caught the final touchdown against Lehigh last Saturday.

    The Wildcats made key stops down the stretch, surviving several late-game scares. On Tarleton’s final drive, Villanova was charged with holding and unsportsmanlike conduct on the same play, advancing the Texans 25 yards downfield to Villanova’s 27-yard line. Tarleton got inside the red zone, with a first-and 10 from the 15, but Ferrante’s defense held strong.

    On fourth-and-6 from the 11, following the two-minute warning, Gabalis appeared to have a running lane to pick up a first down, but instead found West in the left side of the end zone for what initially appeared to be the go-ahead score. But after review, officials concluded that West’s right foot landed just out of bounds, while his trailing left foot never touched down in bounds.

    Villanova ran out the clock from there.

    “Well, you know, because you asked me earlier, the whole ‘Tap The Rock’ mentality,” Ferrante said on the field after the game, before getting emotional. “You know, be resilient, persevere no matter what’s happening, and our guys do that. I’m really proud of this group.”

    Off to the semis

    Villanova faces Illinois State, who beat No. 8 seed University of California Davis, 42-31, on Saturday night.

    The Wildcats will have another home game at Villanova Stadium in the semifinal round next weekend.

    Villanova celebrates with its fans after defeating Tarleton State, 26-21, on Saturday.
  • Villanova is playing its best complementary football at the right time: ‘We have a good nucleus’

    Villanova is playing its best complementary football at the right time: ‘We have a good nucleus’

    Throughout the season, coach Mark Ferrante has aimed for Villanova to play “complementary football.”

    He saw that concept come to fruition in the final three minutes of Villanova’s 14-7 victory over host Lehigh last Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

    It started with Lehigh going three-and-out late in the fourth quarter. On the next drive, Villanova freshman wide receiver Braden Reed scored a 28-yard touchdown. The energy transferred back to Villanova’s defense, as graduate defensive lineman Obinna Nwobodo forced a fumble in the red zone during Lehigh’s final possession.

    “[Lehigh] shut us down for a good portion of the game, but our defense showed up,” said graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide. “Our defense picked us up when we were down and gave us short fields. We were fortunate that both our touchdowns came off of huge stops and turnovers. Those guys have been incredible all year.”

    When graduate linebacker Shane Hartzell recovered the fumble, the Wildcats’ sideline erupted. It was ultimately the game-winning moment for Villanova as it escaped Lehigh.

    What to know about Tarleton State, Villanova’s next matchup in the FCS playoffs

    “It’s not just the defense getting excited, the whole sideline is getting excited,” Ferrante said. “I think the team is doing a great job of playing together, playing for each other, and playing complementary football. That’s what needs to continue.”

    No. 12 seed Villanova (11-2) looks to carry its momentum of a 10-game winning streak into its Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal against fourth-seeded Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas, on Saturday (noon, ESPN).

    ‘Let’s do this together’

    Graduate players like Nwobodo and Hartzell form the backbone of Villanova’s defense, guiding the team through one of its most successful seasons in recent history.

    Ferrante credited the team’s level-headed leadership with generating a thrilling finish against Lehigh.

    “When we went into the locker room at halftime in past years, sometimes the defensive guys would complain about how we haven’t scored. But there was none of that,” Ferrante said. “There was no blame. There was no finger-pointing. It was all, ‘Let’s do this together and play a better second half collectively.’ Fortunately, we were able to do that.”

    Villanova and Lehigh faced off in the second round of the FCS playoffs on Dec. 6.

    Villanova’s defense relied on its veteran players early in the season, but the secondary is made up of primarily underclassmen. Heading deeper into the playoffs, Ferrante no longer sees the youth of the unit as a potential weakness.

    “[The secondary] is where we’ve made some of the biggest growth this year, because that was what everyone was worried about,” Ferrante said. “They don’t lack confidence; they just lacked experience.”

    College Football Playoff controversy, Villanova’s tough task in FCS quarterfinals, and more

    Some of the graduate players spearheading the offense are newcomers this season.

    McQuaide took over the starting position as a transfer from Nicholls State, and wide receiver Luke Colella, a Princeton transfer, is averaging a team-high 72.5 receiving yards a game.

    “We have a good nucleus of guys who have been here for five or six years,” Ferrante said. “But [McQuaide and Colella] just add a different level of maturity. Even though they’re first-year guys with our program, they bring different perspectives because they’ve been somewhere else.”

    Underdog mentality

    The Wildcats enter their third game of the playoffs as the underdog.

    In the first round, Villanova trounced Harvard, 52-7, despite some predictions saying the Crimson would win. The victory over Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa., gave Villanova a further confidence boost.

    “We’ve been an underdog every week so far,” McQuaide said. “So we kind of embrace it. It doesn’t really matter. Once the ball is kicked off on Saturday, it’s a four-quarter fight, and we’ll be ready to go.”

    Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide (7) celebrates with wide receiver Luke Colella (1) after scoring a touchdown against Albany on Oct. 25.

    Villanova is up against its toughest challenge yet in Tarleton State (12-1), which has the most productive scoring offense in the nation, averaging 44.1 points per game.

    “I don’t really see too many weaknesses in [Tarleton],” Ferrante said. “They score a lot of points, they play great defense, and they’re very opportunistic. They create a lot of turnovers.

    “So I think what the keys to the game comes down to is who’s going to make the fewest mistakes, who’s going to hang on to the football, and not give the other team extra possessions.”

  • Jalen Brunson gifts Villanova men’s and women’s basketball teams his new Kobe shoe

    Jalen Brunson gifts Villanova men’s and women’s basketball teams his new Kobe shoe

    On Thursday, current New York Knicks star and former Villanova guard Jalen Brunson and Nike officially released his first retail player edition shoe, the Kobe 6 PE “Statue of Liberty.”

    This is not the first time Brunson has created a player edition Kobe shoe, but it is the first to go to retail. The shoe went on sale Thursday morning at 10 a.m. on the Nike SNKRS app through the draw drop and in-store drops at the Nike Store and Foot Locker. It was first debuted by Brunson during the Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers.

    Brunson designed the shoes through Nike’s player edition collaborations. While it does not specifically mention the Statue of Liberty, it clearly draws on his New York ties, and is the same turquoise color as the Statue of Liberty and features bronze accents.

    Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart pick up $10,000 tab for Villanova students at Kelly’s Taproom

    Instead of getting a signature shoe, NBA players like Brunson get to choose one from Nike’s current lineup and design the colorway of it. Brunson is a longtime wearer of the late Kobe Bryant’s shoes. The Kobe 6 was originally designed and created specifically for Bryant in late 2010. Bryant, of course, was born in Philadelphia and went on to star for Lower Merion High School and later the Los Angeles Lakers.

    Brunson’s Kobe shoes are already sold out on the retail market and can now only be attained through third-party sellers. A pair currently runs for around $460 on popular third-party shoe reseller StockX.

    But Brunson was nice enough to save a few for his alma mater, gifting every Villanova men’s and women’s player a pair of the sneakers. Both basketball programs posted player reactions to the shoes on their social media.

    In February 2025, Brunson unveiled a pair of Kobe 4 Protro PE “The Natty’s” he designed that were inspired by Villanova’s championships from 2016 and 2018.

    In 2014, Brunson met Bryant in Chicago when the Los Angeles Lakers traveled to play the Chicago Bulls. While Bryant did not play, he ended up gifting Brunson a pair of red Kobe 9s that he was supposed to wear in the game. Brunson went on to wear them for his high school, Stevenson, during the team’s holiday tournament. The team won the tournament.

    Jalen Brunson says his Kobe shoes were inspired by his Villanova journey. They’re called ‘The Nattys.’

    Since then, Brunson has continued to wear Bryant’s shoes, and this collaboration with Nike marks the start of what possibly could be a long line of Brunson player edition Kobe’s.

  • What to know about Tarleton State, Villanova’s next matchup in the FCS playoffs

    What to know about Tarleton State, Villanova’s next matchup in the FCS playoffs

    Villanova football is riding a 10-game winning streak — its longest since the 1997 season — and will travel to Stephenville, Texas to take on fourth-seeded Tarleton State in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs on Saturday (noon ET, ESPN).

    Villanova (11-2), the No. 12 seed in the bracket, is coming off a 14-7 upset against then-undefeated Lehigh (the No. 5 seed) on the road. The Wildcats scored 14 points in the second half, including a 28-yard Braden Reed touchdown reception with just over three minutes remaining, to pull off the victory.

    Pat McQuaide led Villanova’s passing attack, throwing for 208 yards and the game-winning touchdown. The touchdown pass was the 50th of McQuaide’s career and 23rd as a Wildcat, meaning he has thrown almost half of his career touchdowns in his single season in blue and white.

    College Football Playoff controversy, Villanova’s tough task in FCS quarterfinals, and more

    It was also his eighth game of the season with 200 or more passing yards. McQuaide isaveraging 211.1 yards per game, which is 29th in the FCS.

    Tarelton (12-1) had a first-round bye and is coming off a dominant 31-13 win over North Dakota in the second round last weekend.

    Who is Tarleton State?

    Some schools in the FCS playoffs are not the most recognizable.

    Tarleton State is located in Stephenville, about a two-hour drive from Dallas.

    The Texans are part of the United Athletic Conference. They were formerly in the Western Athletic Conference since 2021, before it merged with the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2022.

    It became an FCS football program in 2020, when the program switched from Division II to Division I.

    Tarleton State has made it to the FCS playoffs in consecutive seasons, just five years after becoming a Division I program. Last season, the Texans won their first FCS playoff game against Drake, but fell to No. 4 South Dakota in the second round. Eagles rookie wide receiver Darius Cooper starred for Tarleton State from 2020-24.

    Limit the turnovers

    Villanova has prided itself on winning the turnover battle, and it has done so consistently this season. Its five total turnovers are currently an FCS low.

    McQuaide has thrown just two interceptions, and only one in FCS play, this season. He has thrown 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions over his last five games.

    Villanova has only lost three fumbles. Over the course of its 10-game win streak, Villanova has won the turnover battle, 16-2.

    Defense needs to be near perfect

    Villanova’s defense has shut down efficient offensive teams of late. The unit held Lehigh to one touchdown and its second-lowest offensive output this season (339 total yards).

    The week before, the Wildcats held Harvard to a season-low 213 total yards.

    Tarleton State is averaging an FCS-high 44.1 points. The Texans recorded a 61-0 blowout win against North Alabama on Nov. 15 and have scored 30 or more points in each win this season.

    Wildcats linebacker Shane Hartzell has a team-high eight sacks for a loss of 49 yards this season.

    The Texans scored a season-low 28 points in their only loss against then- No. 24 Abilene Christian in early November.

    Villanova has held opponents to an average of eight points in its last three games.

    Graduate linebacker Shane Hartzell leads the Wildcats’ defense by a wide margin, with 87 total tackles (50 solo). Hartzell scooped up his first fumble recovery of the season against Lehigh and recorded six total tackles (five solo). This season, Hartzell has a team-high eight sacks.

    Villanova needs to run the football

    Villanova has some of the best running back depth in the FCS. Even with standout David Avit missing the last four games, Ja’briel Mace and Isaiah Ragland have stepped up.

    Mace and Ragland have rushed for career-high games during Avit’s absence due to a knee injury. Mace even broke Brian Westbrook’s 21-year-old single-game rushing record on Nov. 8 with 291 yards against Towson.

    Tarelton currently allows 163.6 rushing yards per game, which ranks 69th in the FCS.

    Villanova has leaned on its rushing game all season. It averages 177.8 rushing yards per contest, which is 32nd nationally. Despite rushing for a season-low 27 rushing yards last weekend, Villanova has averaged 194.4 rushing yards over the last three. Ragland rushed for a career-high 152 rushing yards against Harvard two weeks ago, when Villanova finished with a season-high 48 carries.

  • College Football Playoff controversy, Villanova’s tough task in FCS quarterfinals, and more

    College Football Playoff controversy, Villanova’s tough task in FCS quarterfinals, and more

    What has happened since Sunday’s College Football Playoff selection show could begin to shape the future of the sport this year and beyond.

    Miami and Notre Dame, both 10-2 and ranked 12th and 10th, respectively, ahead of conference championship weekend, were essentially vying for one spot in a 12-team playoff that was mostly set with the top eight teams seeing little movement.

    After No. 9 Alabama lost to third-ranked Georgia by three touchdowns and No. 11 Brigham Young lost by 27 to No. 4 Texas Tech and No. 17 Virginia dropped the ACC title game to Duke, the debate then shifted to whether the Crimson Tide deserved to be in the field.

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    In the end, though, BYU dropped out of the top 12, Alabama remained at No. 9, and Miami jumped two spots to knock Notre Dame out of the playoff field, creating a firestorm in the process with Tulane and James Madison getting the final two spots.

    The committee pointed to Miami’s head-to-head victory over Notre Dame in Week 1 of the season as the ultimate deciding factor.

    In response to getting left out of the playoff field, the Irish decided to turn down a potential bowl game matchup against BYU in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, ending the season.

    The outrage is all too familiar. An undefeated Florida State team in 2023, ranked No. 4 in a four-team playoff format at the time, was dropped because of an injury to star quarterback Jordan Travis in favor of No. 8 Alabama, which had defeated Georgia in the SEC title game that year.

    That 2023 decision to leave the ACC champion out of the playoff has continued a negative trend for the selection committee: distrust. Distrust in the committee’s criteria. Distrust in what it values in playoff-caliber teams vs. what it does not. Distrust in how the panel measures the resumés of each team. Distrust in measuring programs by a different set of standards.

    Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman reacts on the sideline against Stanford on Nov. 29.

    To be clear, every conference should have a fair shot at winning the national championship.

    Tulane, which beat three Power Four schools, plays in the toughest Group of Six conference in the American, and its coach, Jon Sumrall, was hired to be Florida’s next head coach.

    James Madison, although it lost its lone game against a Power Four opponent, had Bob Chesney poached to be UCLA’s next head coach. Both Sumrall and Chesney are sticking with their teams through the playoffs.

    Notre Dame’s decision to sit out a bowl game could set a precedent. With Name, Image, and Likeness reshaping college sports, more programs built specifically with playoff aspirations may do the same if their seasons don’t go as planned.

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    Keeping Notre Dame out of the playoff is fine, but don’t have the school ranked ahead of Miami for five weeks only to flip it on Selection Sunday. What about keeping Alabama at No. 9 after losing by three touchdowns, but moving down BYU and Ohio State after their losses?

    After this, the CFP committee ought to figure out a better way to determine the best 25 teams every week — because this current format is not working and could have long-term ramifications for the sport.

    Villanova’s tall task

    The star of Villanova’s two wins to open the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs has been its defense, which allowed just seven points in each win, the lowest among the remaining eight teams.

    That defense will be put to the test Saturday against fourth-ranked Tarleton State (12-1) of Texas, which has one of the best scoring offenses in the FCS (44.1 points per game) and the No. 3 total offense (472.3 yards), led by Walter Payton Award finalist Victor Gabalis, the team’s quarterback.

    The Texans also have wins over an FBS school, Army, and are a perfect 7-0 at their Memorial Stadium in Stephenville, Texas, while averaging 41.8 points.

    Tarleton State, about 80 miles southwest of Fort Worth, also ranks in the top 10 in scoring defense (18 points) and passing yards allowed (160.5 yards) but has one glaring weakness: defending the run. On the season, Tarleton ranks 69th in rushing defense, giving up 163.6 yards per game, which should offer the Wildcats an opportunity to control the game in that aspect.

    Tarleton State’s Victor Gabalis in action against Army on Aug. 29.

    Saturday’s quarterfinal game (noon, ESPN) will ultimately come down to Villanova’s defense holding Tarleton State’s offense in check. Harvard and Lehigh each ranked inside the top 25 in total offense, but the Wildcats shut both teams down.

    The only game Tarleton State lost this season came against Abilene Christian, the only time the Texans scored less than 30 points.

    Villanova (11-2) will need big games from running backs Ja’briel Mace and Isaiah Ragland and the offensive line to clinch the program’s first semifinal appearance since 2010. The winner of this matchup will face the winner of UC Davis and Illinois State next Saturday.

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    Jackson earns an honor

    Although Delaware State’s season came to an end with a loss to South Carolina State two weeks ago that determined the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference’s representative in the Celebration Bowl, coach DeSean Jackson, the former Eagles wideout, earned some recognition after his debut season.

    On Monday, Jackson, after an 8-4 season was named the 2025 Boxtorow HBCU Coach of the Year for his efforts at Delaware State this season. The Hornets led the FCS in rushing yards per game (291.2 yards), and Jackson led his team to a win over Michael Vick’s Norfolk State on Oct. 30 at Lincoln Financial Field.

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    Game of the week

    Army vs. Navy (Saturday at 3 p.m., CBS3)

    For the 126th time, Army and Navy will meet, this year at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, with the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy on the line. Navy won last year’s matchup with a resounding 31-13 victory at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.

    Navy leads the series, 63-55-7, but Army has won six of the last nine matchups. The Midshipmen, though, have the best player in quarterback Blake Horvath and the nation’s top rushing offense (298.4).

    Navy quarterback Blake Horvath in last season’s game against Army.
  • 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.

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    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.

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    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.