These crucial matchups highlight this weekend’s local college football schedule
Villanova and Penn are still in respective title races. Against South Florida, Temple is looking for its first win on the road in the Stan Drayton era
Villanova has revenge on its mind.
When the No. 13 Wildcats (7-2, 6-1 CAA) faces Towson (4-5, 3-3) on Saturday in its regular-season home finale (1 p.m., FloSports) it will be with the memory of the Wildcats 27-3 road loss to the Tigers last season.
It was a game in which quarterback Connor Watkins was held to seven completions for 68 yards, while Villanova’s rushing attack was held to a mere 2.7 yards per carry. It also was the only game last season the Wildcats were held without a touchdown. Head coach Mark Ferrante mentioned Monday that his players remember last year’s loss — and they’re motivated by it.
However, a bigger matchup is looming. Next Saturday, the Wildcats will play at No. 8 Delaware (7-2, 5-1) with a conference title possibly on the line (1 p.m., FloSports).
Five teams in the CAA are tied with 5-1 conference records.
While No. 18 Albany (7-3, 5-1) holds the FCS playoff auto-bid tiebreaker after beating the Wildcats earlier this year, the “Battle of the Blue” rivalry game between Villanova and Delaware would serve as a de facto championship if the Great Danes lose either of their remaining games.
Even if Albany wins out, two wins would allow Villanova to share the CAA title with the Great Danes and potentially Richmond (6-3, 5-1) or Elon (5-4, 5-1). Regardless of the conference race, a win over Towson would put the Wildcats in position for an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs. Wins over Towson and Delaware could earn Villanova a first-round bye, regardless of the CAA auto-bid.
» READ MORE: Here’s what a win (or a loss) against No. 2 Michigan could mean for No. 9 Penn State
Harvard a true test for Penn’s Ivy title hopes
It’s a game that bears massive weight on Penn’s Ivy League title chances.
There are just two games left in the regular season for the Quakers. First up, a trip to Cambridge, Mass., to face No. 24 Harvard (7-1, 4-1) on Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN+).
No team has earned a share of the Ivy title with two losses since 1982, but because of the in-conference parity, Penn (6-2, 3-2 Ivy) just needs to win out to claim a share of the crown.
A road tilt with Ivy-leading Harvard (7-1, 4-1) will serve as the more difficult of the two contests, though Penn’s season finale with Princeton (4-4, 3-2) — the team that gave Harvard its only loss — will be no small task, either. To win the title outright, however, the Quakers will need some significant help. Penn would need:
Dartmouth (4-4, 3-2) to lose one of its final two games,
Yale (5-3, 3-2) to lose this week at Princeton, and
Yale to beat Harvard in the final week of the season.
More pressing for Penn than any hypothetical scenario is dealing with the Crimson, who ran all over the Quakers last year in a 37-14 blowout. Harvard also boasts the highest-scoring offense in the Ivy League, with 34.4 points per game. The Crimson’s strength comes from their run game, where they averaged 5.5 yards a carry and 217.8 yards per game.
Junior tailback Shane McLaughlin leads Ivy League rushers this season with 692 yards, while junior quarterback Charles DePrima is a dangerous dual threat who averages 64.4 rushing yards. The Quakers, though, are one of only two teams in the conference that hold offenses to under 100 rushing yards, so look for Penn to compete in that area.
Could Temple pick up its first road win of the Stan Drayton era?
It’s a two-line stat, really.
8: The number of road games Stan Drayton has been on the sidelines as Temple’s head football coach.
0: The number of those games he’s won.
This season, the Owls are 0-3 on the road and have lost by 29, 22, and 31 points. Of those eight road games under Drayton, only two of them were one-possession losses. While the Owls still are mathematically bowl-eligible, they would still need to win their final three games of the season, including Saturday’s game against South Florida (noon, ESPN+) are on the road.
A season ago in this matchup, Temple dominated the game at Lincoln Financial Field and came away with a 54-28 victory. Temple running back Edward Saydee had the best game of his college career to date, racking up 334 total yards and three touchdowns.
The 2023 Bulls are much improved. In 2022, South Florida finished with one win and went winless in conference play. Now under new head coach Alex Golesh, they run a fast-paced no-huddle offense. The Bulls are second in the AAC in rushing, averaging 194.8 yards. South Florida has a dynamic quarterback in Byrum Brown, who is fourth in the AAC in rushing with 673 yards and ranks seventh in the conference in passing yards per game (246.9).
After Temple got back on track by stopping the run in the win over Navy last week, the Owls will need to replicate that performance in South Florida as they look to remain bowl eligible — and get that elusive first road win for Drayton.
Inquirer staff writers Colin Beazley, Matthew Frank and Max Dinenberg contributed to this report.