Villanova poised for a strong season, rethinking Temple’s QB situation, and West Chester’s new stadium name

Most coaches across any sport would say moral victories are worth nothing, but Villanova can take solace in the effort it put forth Saturday despite losing to No. 2 Penn State at Beaver Stadium, 52-6.

When you peel back the layers of a lopsided game against a more talented Nittany Lions team with national championship aspirations, the Wildcats held firm for the first 29 minutes of the football game, and even well into the second half.

Penn State scored on its opening possession, but Villanova’s defense held the Nittany Lions’ offense to 41 yards over their next three drives. A bad punt by Luke Larsen set Penn State up in field-goal range, but the defense held the Nittany Lions without a first down two drives in a row, the former ending in a 45-yard field goal.

With 1 minute, 8 seconds left in the first half, Villanova missed a field goal and Penn State quickly turned a 13-0 lead into a 21-0 halftime advantage.

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The Wildcats, though, brought physicality to Penn State’s offensive line and ball carriers. They tackled well. The cornerbacks and safeties were fearless in man coverage against talented Nittany Lions receivers. Hybrid cornerback and safety Jamie Tyson and safety Anthony Hawkins had two pass breakups each, and when the secondary gave up receptions, Penn State rarely had room to create after the catch.

As for Villanova’s offense, quarterback Pat McQuaide (who missed a couple of series last Saturday because of an ankle injury) needs more live game reps to get comfortable. Running back David Avit finished with 53 rushing yards against Penn State, with 27 of them coming on a fourth-and-1 scamper to put the Wildcats in field-goal range.

With both McQuaide and backup Tanner Maddocks banged up — Maddocks suffered a shoulder injury last weekend — the Wildcats’ defense will be called upon to buoy this team, led by preseason All-Coastal Athletic Conference selections Obinna Nwobodo and Shane Hartzell, as it opens league play with Monmouth on Saturday (1 p.m., FloCollege).

Defense will be key for coach Mark Ferrante’s Wildcats as the offense finds its identity. If the Villanova defense plays like it did against Penn State, the season has promise.

» READ MORE: ‘Be the glue:’ The story of how Temple’s defensive line made a pact to return, no matter what

Temple’s defense left last week’s home game against No. 11 Oklahoma feeling strong about its effort, despite a 42-3 loss. On offense, though, it was a day to forget, amassing just 105 yards and seven first downs, with a dismal 3-for-16 on third-down attempts.

Quarterback Evan Simon averaged three yards per completion on 13-for-25 passing, and when Temple offensive coordinator Tyler Walker called his number to run, he didn’t have much room, nor did he have the speed to get away from Oklahoma’s front seven, finishing with -10 rushing yards on nine attempts.

Which begs the question: Why isn’t backup quarterback Gevani McCoy more involved in the run-heavy Temple attack? Part of McCoy’s allure was his dual-threat ability but he was only given one drive late in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma.

It’s understandable for head coach K.C. Keeler to give Simon most of the snaps. But the Owls don’t have to look far to see the effectiveness of using their backup quarterback in special run packages. Beau Pribula did something similar for Penn State last season, spelling Drew Allar at times to utilize his running ability, and that experience paid off against Wisconsin last season when Allar left the game in the second quarter with an injury.

Simon was efficient in the first two games — both of them victories — but was overwhelmed by Oklahoma. Temple travels to Georgia Tech on Saturday (4:30 p.m., CW17), and if Tech’s defense does the same, Keeler and Walker should consider giving McCoy snaps earlier in the game.

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Toppling a Power Four opponent is going to take more than motion deception and getting Temple’s athletes into space. A mobile quarterback is a weapon in modern college football, and Temple should take more advantage of having one.

496: The number of yards Rowan produced in a 56-0 rout of Moravian last Saturday. It was the most points the Profs have scored in a game in a decade, since a 59-0 win over Southern Virginia in 2015, and their first shutout since a 6-0 win against Widener in 2022. Rowan (1-1) will look to make it two in a row when they travel to face Lycoming on Sept. 27 (noon).

Ahead of its home opener this Saturday against Seton Hill (2 p.m.), West Chester will hold a field-renaming ceremony. Moving forward, the field at Farrell Stadium will be called Tomlinson-Fillippo Field in honor of former players-turned-university benefactors Robert “Tommy” Tomlinson and Tom Fillippo. Additionally, the school will unveil its new scoreboard during the ceremony.

No. 11 Oklahoma vs. No. 22 Auburn (3:30 p.m., 6abc)

Auburn is a program that fell from grace but has since cracked the Top 25 and enters this game 3-0, with its most notable win coming against Baylor to open the season. Oklahoma (3-0), coming off its rout of Temple, has an imposing offense led by quarterback John Mateer. A win would lift the Sooners into Top 10 conversation; for the Tigers, a victory would move them higher up the ladder and place the rest of the Southeastern Conference on notice.