Penn State v Villanova
- © Keystone Sports Extra
- Sep 13
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 3
State College, PA - September 13, 2025: The last meeting between in-state rivals Penn State and Villanova was in 2021 at Beaver Stadium. That game resulted in the Nittany Lions easily defeating the Wildcats 38-17. Saturday’s meeting, also at Beaver Stadium, ended very similar with Penn State winning the 11th all-time meeting 52-6. The Penn State victory set the all-time series record, since 1902, at 7-3-1 in favor of Penn State. The win for the Nittany Lions improved their season record to 3-0.
A strong Penn State running game and a solid defense propelled the win. Running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for 170 yards on 30 carries and 3 touchdowns. Trebor Pena added 33 yards on 4 carries from his wide-receiver position.
Quarterback Drew Allar also rushed for 18 yards on 2 carries. Allar was 16-31-1 in passing with 209 yards and 1 touchdown. Most importantly, the offensive line, anchored by Parkland High School graduate Nick Dawkins at center, protected Allar and he was not sacked or hurried throughout the game.
Allar’s primary targets were Luke Reynolds and Pena. Reynolds caught 4 passes for 73 yards while Pena caught 4 passes for 60 yards. Pena had a touchdown. Penn State had a total of 465 yards of total offense and had 28 first downs to Villanova’s 11.
Scoring for the Nittany Lions were: Singleton in the 1st quarter on a 4-yard run, Ryan Barker hit a 45-yard and a 28-yard field goal in the 2nd quarter, Pena caught a 23-yard pass in the 2nd quarter, Barker hit a 42-yard field goal in the 3rd quarter, Singleton on a 3-yard run in the 3rd quarter, Allen on a 18-yard run in the 4th quarter, Joey Schlaffer caught a 19-yard pass in the 4th quarter, and Jahmir Joseph returned an interception 49-yards for a touchdown in the 4th quarter.
Villanova scored on the last play of the game to prevent the shutout. Brandon Binkowski made an amazing one-hand grab in the back of the end zone and got one foot down for the 8-yard touchdown reception.
On the defensive side for Penn State, Amare Campbell had 7 solo tackles and 1 sack. Dejuan Lane added 5 solo tackles. Elliot Washington II and Joseph each had an interception for the Nittany Lions.
Villanova was led on offense by David Avit who had 53 yards on 10 carries. The Wildcats had a tough going on offense as they only had a total of 83 yards rushing and 96 yards through the air.
On defense, Villanova was led by Shane Hartzell who had 9 tackles and Christian Sapp who had 6 tackles. Omari Bursey had an interception. There were no fumbles in the game.
Penn State Head Coach James Franklin after the game said: “We had a great crowd.” “The one turnover, that one drives me crazy,” but he said: “I do think we’re playing winning football.” Coach Franklin thought the defense “took a step” today, “more confidence, more command, more control.” Coach Franklin said the upcoming bye week is going to be really important for the team in order to face the tremendous challenge ahead of the team.
Villanova Head Coach Mark Ferrante after the game said: “When you play a team like that, where you’re pretty much outmatched in every position, you have to play nearly perfect, and we didn’t do that today.”
Villanova, with the loss, falls to 1-1. They will face Monmouth University on September 20th in West Long Branch, NJ.
Penn State has a bye on September 20th before opening their Big10 schedule against Oregon on September 27th at Beaver Stadium for a prime-time “White Out” game at 7:30 PM.
