Wins for #9/7 Villanova and Penn, Temple Downed by #22 Tulane
November 22, 2025 –
All three teams played at home. Villanova extends their winning streak, Penn beats their arch rival at Franklin Field, Temple defeated by a nationally ranked opponent. Let’s take a look around the city.
Ja’briel Mace Sparks Villanova to a 34 – 10 Win Over Sacred Heart
The Villanova Wildcats are on an 8-game winning streak and have posted 22 consecutive victories at home. The final regular season game was against a non-conference opponent. The spark was running back Ja’briel Mace. He scored three first half touchdowns and ran for 165 yards on 9 carries. His 80-yard scoring dash was the first points scored by the Wildcats. Mace had 214 all-purpose yards.
On defense Villanova faced as Sacred Heart team that was ranked #5 in the nation in rushing yards. The Wildcats defense yielded just 88 yards on the ground.
Nova finishes the regular season record at 9 – 2, 7 – 1 in the CAA. Villanova will finish second in the league a game behind Rhode Island and a game ahead of Monmouth. The Wildcats await their selection committee fate on Sunday.
“The guys took care of business and we got the victory,” said Villanova Coach Mark Ferrante. “I’m really excited for whatever tomorrow brings. We’ll enjoy this one and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. We handled what we could control, today’s performance.”
Penn Beats Princeton, Little Else Matters to the Fans
Beat Princeton matters to the Penn students and alumni, and they did 17 – 6 at historic Franklin Field.
The University of Pennsylvania defense set the tone holding Princeton to 2 short field goals, 32 and 30 yards, in the first half. Keeping the Tigers out of the end zone was a key to the victory. Holding the opponent to a short field goal is a win for the defense.
Penn got the offense untracked. Two touchdowns passes by Liam Murphy, a 2-yard pass to Davis Ellis and a 39-yard strike to Bisi Owens in the third quarter, gave the Quakers control. Murphy threw for 243 yards while Princeton posted 144 through the air. Ty Coates intercepted a Tigers toss. Quakers wide receiver Jared Richardson caught 12 passes for 95 yards.
Penn finishes tied for third place in the Ivy League with Dartmouth.
#22 Tulane Capitalizes on Temple Mistakes for a 37 – 13 Win
Temple was playing a nationally ranked team who is looking to participate in the CFP, the Owls needed to out execute #22 Tulane. They did not and lost 37 – 14 at the Linc.
“I thought they executed at a high level and we did not,” said Temple Coach K.C. Keeler. “The errors early in the game just killed us. Our execution level versus their execution level was not the same.”
On their second play from scrimmage Tulane quarterback Jake Retzlaff found Shazz Preston for a 69-yard scoring strike just under two and a half minutes into the game. Temple got to within 10 – 7 in the first quarter. But the mistakes would prove costly.
Retzlaff scored on a 2-yard run and a 17 – 7 lead. The 5-play, 46-yard drive was aided by two Owls penalties. The second was a pass interference call against Jalen Castleberry that set the ball at the Owls 15yard line. Later in the quarter the Green Wave stretched the advantage to 20 – 7. The drive started with Zyil Powell interfering with the Tulane fair catch. Temple nearly had a catastrophic turnover at the end of the half. With the ball at their own 44, Temple tried to play rugby. The ball got loose picked up by Javion White of the Green Wave who sprinted towards the Owls goal line. He was tripped up 8 yards away from a score.
Temple quarterback Evan Simon threw for 168 yards and two scores. He found Peter Clarke in the first quarter. In the fourth quarter Colin Chase caught Simon’s 24th touchdown pass of the season to set the Owls record for the most touchdown passes in a single season. E.J. Warner held the previous record.
“We shot ourselves in the foot too many times to beat a ranked team,” said Simon.
The Owls gained 204 yards, only 20 on the ground, averaging 3.6 yards per play. The Cherry and White possessed the ball for 25:39. The Green Wave had 406 total yards of offense averaging 6 per ply while having the ball for 34:21.
Temple stands at 5 – 6 on the season, still one win away from bowl eligibility. Their last chance comes on Friday playing at North Texas.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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