Ajani Sheppard is taking all of Temple’s first-team quarterback reps ahead of Friday’s game against Army, and coach K.C. Keeler isn’t planning on rotating quarterbacks.
The decision comes as the Owls face a short week to prepare for Army’s triple-option offense and correct the missed assignments that contributed to their late collapse at Toledo.
Sheppard replaced Jaxon Smolik after Temple’s opening possession in Saturday’s 49-48 overtime loss to Toledo and led three consecutive touchdown drives. Smolik, who left the game with a foot injury, moved around at Monday’s practice, but Keeler said he hopes the quarterback could do more Tuesday.
“Our mindset right now is to get Ajani ready to go,” Keeler said. “He’s getting all the first-team reps. Let’s get Jaxon back as soon as possible, and then we’ll figure it out.”
Sheppard’s next test
Sheppard passed for 164 yards and three touchdowns against Toledo, and added a score on the ground. But his two-point conversion pass in overtime sailed out of bounds, beyond Peter Clarke’s reach, and sealed the Owls’ loss.
Keeler said Sheppard needed to give the 6-foot-6 tight end a chance to make the catch. He also noted both quarterbacks will improve with game experience.
Colin Chase praised Sheppard’s performance. “He had that fire,” the receiver said Monday. “He went hard for the team every single play.”
Temple quarterback Ajani Sheppard threw three touchdowns against Toledo.Isaiah Vazquez / For The Inquirer
Sheppard will have a healthier backfield around him Friday. Sam Brown scored three touchdowns — two rushing and one receiving — in his season debut at Toledo after missing Temple’s first two games. Keeler said Brown grew more patient and explosive as the game went on, and Sheppard’s running ability gives defenses another threat to account for.
“The run game is going to be important for us the rest of the season,” Keeler said. “It gives our defense a chance to get off the field, catch its breath, and regroup.”
Preparing for Army
Temple has little time to process its second loss of the season. Keeler said the Owls began preparing for Army’s triple-option in the spring because they knew the game would come on a short week after a road trip. Army is coming off a bye week.
“We couldn’t be installing how they run their motion or block a scheme then,” Keeler said of Sunday’s walkthrough. “That stuff had to be in before Sunday’s walkthrough.”
Chase said Temple’s offense may have fewer chances with the ball against Army than it had at Toledo, so sustaining drives will be important.
“We just got to make the most of every opportunity when we have the ball,” Chase said.
Getting back to assignments
Temple’s defense faces a different test after allowing Toledo to erase a 14-point deficit late in regulation. Linebacker Eric Stuart said the problems went beyond the final minutes.
“You’ve got 10 guys doing something one way, and then you’ve got somebody doing something a different way — it’s not going to work,” Stuart said. “Everybody’s got to be on the same page.
“Army is a very physical team. We’re very physical up front, so I think we match up there. But mentally, knowing our assignments is probably our biggest thing this week.”
Keeler said Monday’s practice offered an encouraging response.
Temple linebacker Eric Stuart said “assignments is probably our biggest thing this week.” Isaiah Vazquez / For The Inquirer
“[Stuart] and [Curly Ordonez] were coaching the backup linebackers, helping them with their alignments and how to handle the motion,” he said. “They were getting mental reps themselves, reinforcing it for the other players, and bringing energy to practice.
“It was encouraging to see the kids bounce back and understand that every snap and every detail matters.”
In her first two seasons with Villanova, Jasmine Bascoe has established herself as one of the best women’s basketball players in the Big 5. Now, she’s establishing a role with Canada’s national team.
In August, Bascoe was named to Canada’s 12-player roster for a FIBA women’s basketball Olympic prequalifying tournament later that month in Guadalajara, Mexico.
While the tournament marked Bascoe’s senior team debut with Canada, she previously represented her home nation at the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2025. At 20 years old, the junior guard was now playing for the country’s top women’s team.
Canada went 5-0 in the tournament, capped by an 83-53 win over Mexico in the final on Aug. 23. With the tournament win, Canada secured the only available spot in the FIBA women’s Olympic qualifying tournament in March 2028.
Bascoe led Canada in assists with 5.4 per game, and was second in points with 10.8 per game.
At training camp for the tournament, Bascoe, who was coming off an injury, said she learned from watching those around her before she could get involved herself. By the time the tournament began in August, she was getting used to playing alongside Olympians like Yvonne Ejim, Sami Hill, Shaina Pellington, and Syla Swords.
She said the veterans’ constant communication allowed the team’s younger players, like Bascoe, to learn more.
“They weren’t on us right away to be perfect, which obviously gives us a lot more confidence as well,” Bascoe said. “They were everything we needed them to be. They were leaders, but then at the same time, they were great friends. Like they honestly were some of my closest friends this whole summer, which was just amazing, and just getting to hear stories from them and their other pro experiences and their NCAA experiences, I mean, what more could you ask for?”
Villanova women’s basketball junior guard Jasmine Bascoe (right) is back with the Wildcats after a summer representing her home nation.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The fifth Olympian on the team was Kayla Alexander, who represented Canada in Tokyo in 2020 and in Paris in 2024. At 35, she currently plays for the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo and holds Canada’s all-time career rebound record. She’s also from the same hometown as Bascoe: Milton, Ontario.
After the tournament, Bascoe told Alexander just how much fun she had playing with someone she said is “an amazing person” and “a great leader.”
“I’ve always looked up to her as a person, but it’s so great,” Bascoe said. “She keeps everyone so level-headed and always on the same page. And she’s a great lifeline between us and the coaches. And so it just made the whole summer very smooth.”
In her sophomore season at Villanova, Bascoe led the Big East in assists (4.9) and scoring (18.9), finishing ahead of UConn’s Azzi Fudd, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft this year, and Sarah Strong. She also was named the Big 5 Player of the Year.
Bascoe said the pace and physicality of a tournament involving professionals further improved her game, and it’s something she hopes to implement during her junior year with the Wildcats. As an upperclassman now, Bascoe said sheer speed is no longer going to work for her, and she wants to start incorporating physicality into her style of play.
“I just think it was a summer full of learning for me,” she said. “Playing at that level is not easy. It’s physical, it’s fast, and it just prepares you so good for everything else, like NCAA, everything. So it was amazing, and I was just fortunate to be able to get some games under my belt with the senior team and end on a good note. … It was a very fulfilling summer, and now I’m ready to bring everything back here to Villanova.”
Mississippi moved into the top five with its win over LSU, the Tigers stayed in the top 10, and Florida and Mississippi State cracked the rankings to give the Southeastern Conference 10 teams in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll released Sunday.
The Rebels, who held off Lane Kiffin and LSU, 32-24, on Saturday night, jumped over the Tigers and three other teams to land at No. 4 for their first top-five ranking since they were No. 3 in the final poll last season. LSU slipped three spots to No. 10.
Texas was No. 1 for the second straight week and followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, and Indiana. Miami, Ohio State, Alabama, BYU, and LSU completed the top 10.
The Longhorns followed up their win over Ohio State with a solid 30-6 victory over UTSA and topped the ballots of 58 of the 69 media members on the Top 25 voting panel. Indiana got four first-place votes, Georgia and Ole Miss three apiece and Miami one.
Louisville was the biggest gainer, rising seven spots to No. 16 after its 41-31 victory over SMU, which dropped six rungs to No. 22. Texas A&M took the biggest fall, going from No. 9 to No. 23 after its 31-21 home loss to unranked Kentucky.
In and out
No. 21 Florida made its season debut in the rankings following a 44-39 road win over Auburn. The Gators are 3-0 for the first time since 2019 under first-year coach Jon Sumrall and in the Top 25 for the first time since Sept. 2, 2025.
No. 24 Mississippi State is in the Top 25 for the first time since 2022, when its coach was Mike Leach. That team was No. 20 in the final poll. Jeff Lebby’s Bulldogs, led by rising star quarterback Kamario Taylor, has won back-to-back road games for the first time since 2014, erasing a 16-point deficit to beat South Carolina 41-34.
Oklahoma struggled offensively for a second straight game in its 14-6 win over New Mexico and went from No. 24 to out of the Top 25. Virginia, which had been No. 25 two straight weeks, was knocked out after losing 38-27 to West Virginia.
Every morning, Koby Howard’s alarm goes off at 4:45 a.m. By 5:30 a.m., the sophomore wide receiver is at Penn State’s facility catching balls off of the JUGS machine.
Howard follows that up with a workout, breakfast, and then practice. It’s been the same routine each day since the spring.
And those early mornings of putting in extra work seem to be paying off for Howard, who continued his great start of the 2026 season with 135 total yards and two touchdowns in Penn State’s 55-13 win over Buffalo.
“None of it surprises me because of how I’ve watched him,” said head coach Matt Campbell after Saturday’s game at Beaver Stadium. “He’ll be the first guy [Sunday] morning in the facility and probably beat three-fourths of the coaching staff, and he’s catching the JUGS, and he’s that kind of football player that has this conviction to be great.”
Howard has 344 receiving yards and three total touchdowns through three games this season. He’s averaging 28.67 yards per catch and is on pace to break the Nittany Lions’ single-season receiving yards record, currently held by Allen Robinson, who had 1,432 yards in 2013.
And all of this success is coming in just his second season as a collegiate wide receiver.
Howard played in nine games last season, but had only 133 receiving yards across those appearances. He received praise from his teammates and coaches throughout the 2025 offseason, but still barely saw the field under James Franklin, even when things had gone sour for Penn State’s season.
“We’re in a position right now where we don’t have plays and drives to just throw somebody out there and see how it goes,” Franklin said last October when asked about Howard. “We’ve got to get our best guys on the field. Every rep is like gold, every drive is like gold, and we’ve got to maximize that.”
Penn State football wide receiver Koby Howard (6) catches a punt in practice.Craig Houtz / For The Inquirer
Howard pushed himself in the offseason after the “learning moment” that was last season.
“I feel like God put me through that to learn patience,” Howard said. “Everything isn’t going to go the way I planned, or I’m not going to get the ball all the time.”
Part of the reason for Howard’s success this year is the relationship he developed with his quarterback. He and Rocco Becht went to California in the offseason to train and build chemistry. They also asked Campbell to share a room during fall camp to continue learning more about each other.
So when Howard was lined up in the slot with less than three minutes remaining in the first half on Saturday, both Becht and Howard knew where the ball was going. The result was a 70-yard touchdown to put the Nittany Lions up 34-3.
“I knew the ball was coming to me,” Howard said. “They ran like a Cover 2 look, and me and Rocco just got on the same page with it. We were able to connect on it.”
Howard’s other touchdown of the day came when he was lined up at running back. Running back Carson Hansen took the snap and handed it off to Becht as he dished it to Howard, who ran 20 yards for the score.
The sophomore wide receiver said he played running back during his little league days and didn’t think the coaching staff knew he could line up there until they tried it out.
Howard’s glad he stayed at Penn State despite the coaching change, and his worth ethic is paying off.
“If you put your mind to it and you work for it, you can do anything that you want to do,” Howard said. “I feel like that’s something that I’ve been trying to prove this year, trying to prove that I’m an explosive receiver.”
Penn football kicked off its 150th season against Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa., on Saturday night.
The game was one of firsts, with new Penn head coach Rick Santos opening a new chapter for the program after Ray Priore’s departure and freshman quarterback Miles Teodecki making his debut on the collegiate field.
On Bucknell’s Family Weekend, Penn won 20-7, with two touchdowns in the first quarter.
Penn (1-0) won 33 of its last 38 games against Bucknell (1-3), which is also entering the season with new head coach Jeff Behrman. The Quakers have won 10 straight against the Bison since 2003, with their latest matchup being in 2024.
In the first game under Santos’ leadership, the team showcased its renewed offensive line with Teodecki at the helm and a defense built on speed.
Teodecki settles into role
The freshman quarterback made a strong collegiate debut, showcasing his ability to run and roll out of the pocket or throw long passes.
“Getting your first college win is always special,” Teodecki said, adding, “I got to see my parents for the first time in a couple [of] weeks so that was awesome.”
Teodecki focused on his rush game in the first quarter, setting off on a 36-yard run, using a fake handoff play that he used again at the 1-yard line to secure his first touchdown. But the quarterback got loose, flinging a 37-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Mason Page to secure Penn’s second touchdown at the end of the first quarter.
“Props to the offensive line for playing their [butts] off all game,” Teodecki said, “Obviously, we did some good things, had some success in some aspects, but we’re a couple plays away from scoring 14, 21 more points in that game.”
Teodecki showed poise and excellent vision. On a third-and-20 in the second quarter, he took his time before seeing sophomore wide receiver Luke Johnson to complete a 25-yard pass and get a first down.
But the freshman Teodecki still looks to improve, saying, “I think I can just be a little more comfortable in operating the offense,” he said, “getting them comfortable and making sure they’re good with their alignment, assignment.”
Defense stifles Bucknell
As senior defensive back Josh Narcisse said, Penn’s defense was “fast, violent, relentless.” The defensive line quickly collapsed onto the opponent, blocking Bucknell’s attempts to run the ball.
“That’s something we really harped on all fall camp is that we were going to be the most physical team it could be,” sophomore linebacker Luke McIlhon said.
FIRST CATCH, FIRST TD
Dante Barone scores on a 10-yard TD pass from Teodecki.
The defensive line used its speed to pressure Bucknell quarterback Chris Dietrich, who was sacked onthe first drive of the game. The Bison eventually sent in freshman quarterback Emmett Dowling to replace the junior Dietrich at the start of the second half..
“We didn’t really care who was in the game,” McIlhon said, “We were gonna play the same regardless.”
In the first half, the Bison had only one first down to Penn’s 12. Penn kept Bucknell to just 40 rushing yards compared to the Quakers’ 170 and only 1 of 14 third down conversions to the Quakers’ 9 of 19.
McIlhon made a key interception in the third quarter that cemented the defense’s prowess.
“[I] saw the ball come at me, right to my hands, got the pick,” McIlhon said.
When his teammates surrounded him after the play, celebrating the interception, he said, “I’ve never seen so much juice like that. It was so cool to be in the middle of that. It’s really cool how much juice our team has brought, and how much energy we have on the sidelines.”
Teodecki said, “This one’s great. We’re gonna go celebrate, but on to the next one.”
Up next
Penn will play its first home game against defending Patriot League champion Lehigh at 1 p.m. next Saturday. In their last matchup, Penn lost 30-44 on Sept. 27, 2025 at Goodman Stadium.
TOLEDO, Ohio — Temple’s 14-point fourth-quarter lead had disappeared. Its first road game had stretched into overtime. Yet after Ajani Sheppard escaped a sack and ran 25 yards for a touchdown, the Owls stood one play from taking it all back.
K.C. Keeler kept the offense on the field for a two-point conversion that would decide the game. Sheppard’s pass sailed over Peter Clarke in the back corner of the end zone, allowing Toledo (2-1) to complete a 49-48 comeback victory over Temple (1-2) Saturday at the Glass Bowl.
The failed conversion capped a reversal that began after Sam Brown’s third touchdown gave Temple a 42-28 lead with 6 minutes, 43 seconds remaining. Toledo scored, recovered the ensuing onside kick, and scored again to force overtime, where Connor Walendzak’s touchdown left the Owls chasing the game once more.
Keeler entered the week expecting Jaxon Smolik to direct most of Temple’s offense, with Sheppard appearing when his mobility suited a particular package. That plan lasted one possession.
Smolik opened the game with a three-and-out. Sheppard entered after Jaylon Joseph forced a fumble on Toledo’s first offensive snap, although Temple failed to gain a first down and settled for Carl Hardin’s 40-yard field goal. Smolik later went to the locker room and eventually returned to the sideline, but Sheppard remained behind center.
Temple’s Jaxon Smolik missed a portion of Saturday’s game after suffering an apparent leg injury. Matt Slocum
“Jaxon went out with a foot issue,” Keeler said. “By the time he was ready to come back in, we were in the throes of things. We put a lot of points on the board with Ajani, and he did a good job.”
Sheppard rewarded that decision by throwing touchdown passes to Joey Schlaffer and Brown before delivering his most emphatic response. His fourth-quarter fumble gave Toledo possession at Temple’s 32-yard line and led to Walendzak’s touchdown reception, which put the Rockets ahead, 28-27. On Temple’s next possession, Sheppard answered with a 69-yard touchdown pass to Colin Chase and a two-point conversion to Clarke.
The rotation was over. For better and, ultimately, for worse, Temple’s offense belonged to Sheppard.
Sam Brown: A monster of the Midwest
Brown did not ease into his Temple debut. His first two carries gained 15 yards, immediately giving the Owls another powerful option alongside Keveun Mason. His receiving ability also provided Sheppard with an outlet when Toledo crowded the line of scrimmage.
Brown scored once as a runner and once as a receiver before halftime, but his biggest contribution came with Temple protecting a seven-point lead. He broke through Toledo’s defense for 50 yards, carrying the Owls to the Rockets’ 15-yard line, then finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run. His third score appeared to put Toledo on the brink.
Instead, the Rockets erased the deficit before regulation expired.
After Brown’s third touchdown, Temple needed to protect a 14-point lead for 6:43. Instead, Toledo attacked the weakness the Owls had spent much of the afternoon surviving.
John Alan Richter found CJ Miller in the flat for a touchdown, and Toledo recovered the ensuing onside kick. A completion to Terrel Crosby moved the Rockets to Temple’s 22-yard line before Richter connected with Daryl Barnett Jr. for the tying score. Given 50 seconds to answer, Temple had a potential 50-yard completion to Chase ruled out of bounds before Sheppard was sacked as regulation expired.
Temple’s Saboor Karriem, seen here in a game earlier this season, and the Owls, saw a lead slip away against Toledo on Saturday. Matt Slocum
Toledo then needed two plays to score in overtime, with Walendzak following Sam Lee’s gain to the 1-yard line with a touchdown run.
“We definitely didn’t play very clean defensively,” Keeler said. “There is some improvement that needs to be made on the defense. We can’t let up that many points.”
Temple forced Toledo to punt for the first and only time with 10:41 remaining. The Owls never stopped the Rockets again.
Pat McQuaide connected with Ja’briel Mace on a 13-yard touchdown pass with just 1 minute, 8 seconds remaining to lift Villanova to a 20-16 win over Long Island University on Saturday in Brookville, N.Y.
McQuaide, the team’s fifth-year quarterback, directed an eight-play, 85-yard drive after Will Johnson gave the Sharks the lead with a 29-yard field goal with 2:44 remaining. On LIU’s first play after the Wildcats’ touchdown, Ethan Greenwood was intercepted by defensive back Jamie Tyson.
Mace also scored on a 20-yard run early in the third quarter to give Villanova a 10-3 lead. LIU tied the game at 13 with 9:51 to go on Braylon Vincent’s 50-yard interception return for a touchdown.
12 carries for a season high 77 yards today for Mace and he scores his second touchdown of the season to give us the lead! pic.twitter.com/1Wh3aiXFUA
Villanova (2-2, 1-1 Patriot League) leaned on its defense to secure the narrow win and held LIU (0-4) to just 126 passing yards and no offensive touchdowns.
McQuaide passed for 223 yards to go with his touchdown, and Mace rushed for 97 yards on 14 carries and had 35 yards receiving. Brandon Binkowski caught six passes for 113 yards.
Villanova has won 21 straight regular-season nonconference FCS games since a loss to Penn in 2015.
Between Villanova’s early touchdown and the two fourth-quarter scores, the teams traded field goals.
Dominic LeBlanc was 2-for-3 on field goal attempts, with the sophomore’s longest make coming from 31 yards. It marked LeBlanc’s first missed field goal of the season. For LIU, Will Johnson was 3-for-3, and his longest was from 34 yards.
LeBlanc is now 6-for-7 on field goal attempts this season. He transferred to Villanova from Tennessee Tech this offseason, replacing Villanova’s 33-year-old kicker Luke Larsen, who ran out of eligibility after last season.
Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante applauded his team’s improved defense, specifically in the tackling department. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Tackling a strength
Christian Caballero led the way with 10 tackles (including three for a loss) for the Wildcats. Sophomore linebacker Omari Bursey followed with eight tackles. Bursey entered the week tied for sixth in the FCS with 34 tackles.
Coach Mark Ferrante noted how Villanova’s tackling looked good after the loss to William & Mary in the season opener. Against LIU, Villanova had eight players with four or more tackles.
Secondary a work in progress
Through the first four games of Villanova’s season, its secondary has struggled at times with blown assignments or miscues. The mistakes led to multiple big-yardage plays. Some even resulted in deep touchdowns.
The Wildcats limited big plays to just one against LIU, a 47-yard reception by Sharks receiver Jayden Simpson.
The highlight for Villanova’s secondary? Two interceptions off Greenwood, courtesy of junior defensive backs Newton Essiem and Jayvon Williams.
Up next
The Wildcats will host Patriot League opponent Colgate next Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN+). This will be the fourth consecutive season the teams will meet.
Inquirer staff writer Dylan Johnson contributed to this report.
The Nittany Lions came out of the Beaver Stadium gates firing on Saturday and beat Buffalo, 55-13, behind the best performance from Penn State’s running backs this season and another 100-yard performance from sophomore wide receiver Koby Howard.
Penn State (3-0) forced the Bulls (1-2) to fumble four times and recovered two, while it has yet to commit a turnover this season.
“[We’re] not where we need to be, but I think a team that has certainly grown in different entities each week and is still a team that, in my opinion, has got so much ability and growth to go,” Penn State coach Matt Campbell said. “We grew in some areas that were really critical focal points. This is college football, and I think our ability to grow from Week 3 to Week 4 will be really important.”
Run game gets going
Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser expressed his frustration with the run game this week, calling out “mediocrity” and taking the blame for the running backs’ struggles through three weeks.
Mouser surely was much happier with Saturday’s performance. Penn State had 304 rushing yards, led by redshirt sophomore Quinton Martin Jr., who had 100 yards on 10 carries.
Martin, who didn’t record a snap against Temple last week, recorded the Nittany Lions’ longest rush of the year with a 61-yard run on just his second carry of the day at the end of the first quarter.
“It was great to see Quinton really had a great moment,” Campbell said. “I think if you ask Q, Q would tell you [he had] maybe one of his best weeks of practice.”
Junior James Peoples and senior Carson Hansen scored their first touchdowns of the year on 16- and 12-yard rushes, respectively, and Peoples added a second TD in the third quarter. Both averaged 7.4 yards per carry.
Hansen again was the announced starting running back, but the carries were split as evenly as could be before Penn State began playing its backups. By the end, Peoples had eight carries (58 yards) and Hansen had five (37 yards) to Martin’s 10.
Redshirt junior Cam Wallace got in on the fun as well with a 59-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
“All four guys really did some great things with the ball in their hands at some critical moments,” Campbell said. “So I think that part I thought there was growth, but I also thought there was growth because there was some really good blocking on the perimeter.”
While the run game shined, the production from the passing game matched it. Quarterback Rocco Becht finished 11 for 19 for 212 yards and two touchdowns. Howard had three catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Campbell said Tuesday that his team was “getting healthier,” but it was without two of its most valuable offensive starters for most of the win over Buffalo.
Center Brock Riker left the game in the first quarter and didn’t return. He was seen shaking an ankle out on the sideline.
“We really didn’t know exactly where we would be with Brock going into the game,” Campbell said. “We wanted to at least put him out there. It still didn’t feel like he was at 100%. That just didn’t feel like it was the right situation to leave him in the game.”
Redshirt freshman Vaea Ikakoula filled in for Riker the rest of the game. Ikakoula transferred from Iowa State this offseason, where he played in four games (two starts) last year.
Ikakoula had some slip-ups while filling in, including missing a rusher on a third-and-15 that forced Becht to throw the ball away late in the first half.
Tight end Andrew Rappleyea appeared to hurt a shoulder midgame. The redshirt junior went to the locker room and returned in street clothes.
Rappleyea had three catches for 24 yards and a touchdown before he left. Campbell said Rappleyea could have returned to the game, and the staff held him out as a precaution.
Up next
Penn State opens Big Ten play next Saturday at home against Wisconsin (5 p.m., Peacock). The two last faced in 2024 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., where the Nittany Lions won, 28-13.
Bob Sumner was reffing a high school basketball game years ago when Speedy Morris, then the coach at St. Joseph’s Prep, waved him over.
Perhaps the legendary coach wanted to discuss a call or ask the ref to look for something on the court. Nope. He just wanted to tell Sumner what he thought of the ref’s beloved college football team.
Sumner’s passion for the Irish runs so deep — Saturday’s game against Michigan State marks his 50th annual pilgrimage to South Bend, Ind. — that even black-and-white referee stripes can’t hide his love for the blue and gold. Most don’t even know his name.
“People will say, ‘Bob Sumner is doing the game,’” Sumner said. “They’ll say, ‘That wasn’t Bob. That was Notre Dame Harvey.’”
Sumner, like so many Irish supporters, didn’t attend Notre Dame. But that didn’t stop him from falling for the Irish in the 1970s as a kid in Grays Ferry, where it seemed like half the neighborhood was split between Penn State and the Golden Domers.
The neighborhood — just like pockets of Northeast Philly and Delaware County — often felt like a Notre Dame satellite campus.
Sumner’s Uncle John took him as a kid to see the Irish at JFK Stadium and he used to race home with his brother after church at St. Gabriel’s to watch the ND highlight show.
In 1977, Sumner flew to South Bend with a bunch of older guys from the neighborhood who watched Notre Dame every Saturday at Dean’s Bar. Notre Dame Harvey — no one quite knows why his family started calling him Harvey, but it’s easy to explain the Notre Dame part — was born.
Notre Dame Harvey and the “Gang From Grays Ferry” during a trip to South Bend in 1981. They’ve made 50 straight trips to see the Irish.Bob Sumner
The Grays Ferry clan — “The Notre Dame Club of Grays Ferry,” they called themselves — went out every season as they drove Winnebagos, rented buses, and boarded airplanes to turn South Bend into South Philly.
One guy said he told his wife before they got married that the annual trip was part of the deal. Sumner even played the fight song at his wedding.
They hang in the bars, walk around campus, go to church, and even once helped paint the gold helmets. It’s hard to explain, Sumner said, until you make the trip. The school became his identity as there’s no hiding his love for ND. Even when he’s trying to ref.
“I knew I couldn’t ‘T’ Speedy up,” said Sumner who ends every phone call with a ‘Go Irish.’ “He’s a legend.”
A nail in the foot
Sumner’s first trip to Notre Dame in October 1977 came a week after the Irish wore green jerseys and blew out fifth-ranked Southern California. The team ran onto the field that day behind a wooden Trojan horse, which was still on campus when the guys from Grays Ferry arrived.
“I was jumping on it and I stepped on a nail,” said George Sumner, Notre Dame Harvey’s older brother. “I had to go to the hospital on my first night on campus.”
A nail? No big deal. Sumner got a shot at the hospital and was back with the clan that night. The Irish played Navy the next afternoon and the guys returned to Dean’s at 29th and Tasker with a win.
Frank Henry, Notre Dame Harvey, George Sumner, and Joe “Whitey” Gibson at Notre Dame Stadium in 2017 for the 40th annual trip.Bob Sumner
“First time in the stadium, I had the tears running,” Sumner said. “It’s something that you grew up with and you saw it on TV. But when you’re there, it’s like, ‘Oh my God. I’m here.’”
The first trips were run by neighborhood pillars Jack Keenan and Greg Horan before Notre Dame Harvey took over. They connected with alumni, found ways to score tickets to sold-out games, and have met everyone from Ara Parseghian to Will Fuller.
Lou Holtz even wrote a letter to Bob Sumner after Sumner coached the St. Gabriel CYO football team — of course, they’re the Fightin’ Irish — to a 1992 championship.
“Just wanted to let you know that the ‘other’ Fightin’ Irish football team in South Bend has heard about your capture of the Parade of Champions,” Holtz wrote.
Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz wrote a letter to St. Gabriel’s CYO team after the other Fightin’ Irish won a football title in 1992.George Sumner
Most of the crew who have traveled with Notre Dame Harvey are Subway Alumni, the moniker worn with pride by ND fans who didn’t go to school there. They used to pack a bus with neighborhood guys and made sure they had enough beer and hoagies for the ride.
“Going out was phenomenal,” George Sumner said. “But coming home was a long ride. Win or lose. It’s brutal.”
The annual trip became an event. For years, they parked their Winnebago next to the stadium all weekend and showered in the basketball arena. They were living large, George Sumner said.
“People say, ‘You go there,’” said George Sumner, who went to Temple but cheered for the Irish against the Owls. “I say, ‘Yeah.’ My wife says, ‘Stop lying.’ I say I go every year. But I did sneak into two classes. I snuck into a philosophy class and a chemistry class so I’ve taken classes there. Dean’s list.”
Harvey planned to leave Thursday morning before dawn, which he figured would get him to the Linebacker Lounge by 4:30 p.m.
“We’re in ND,” Harvey texted Thursday at 4:38 p.m. “Go Irish.”
They planned to have a “a couple cold ones” at the Linebacker Lounge and “go as far as their body takes us.” The 68-year-old Harvey said the crew might not stay out like they used to and has learned the importance of a good breakfast.
But the bartenders at the spot by the football stadium still know the crew from Philly as the “Grays Ferry Gang” who always pile their cash together on the bar.
“We’re Philly people,” Sumner said. “We throw up a kitty. People don’t know what a kitty is. The bartenders we know in the Linebacker say, ‘They’re all right. That’s a kitty.’”
Notre Dame Harvey and the Grays Ferry Gang in South Bend in the late 1980s.Bob Sumner
The crew is about 700 miles from Grays Ferry, but they make an Indiana watering hole feel like Dean’s, where they still gather once a year to watch the Irish. They pool their money together and tell the bartender to pull from the pile whenever someone orders a drink. The leftover cash belongs to the bartender.
“Being from South Philly and Grays Ferry, you always took care of the bartenders and treated them with respect just like a police officer,” Sumner said. “We went to Pittsburgh one time for a game and threw up a kitty with 300 or 400 dollars on the bar. Guy goes ‘What’s that?’”
Sumner gave him a South Philly education. The crew stayed for two hours and left $100 on the bar.
“He goes, ‘What’s that?’ I said, ‘That’s yours. We’re leaving,’” Sumner said. “He was almost in tears. We’re walking out the door and says to the gang, ‘By the way, guys, I open up tomorrow at 8 o’clock.’”
Notre Dame Harvey and The Grays Ferry Gang even traveled to Hawaii to see the Irish play in a bowl game.Sumner
The trip is planned around the game on Saturday but it has become so much more than just the four quarters. It’s the kitty on the bar, the pep rallies, the excitement when the crowds begin to fill campus on Friday, and the tailgate on Saturday — “Bring your own food,” they say — as kickoff nears.
“People still think we’re crazy,” said 71-year-old George Sumner. “But there’s so many people we’ve met and friendships formed all over Notre Dame.”
‘I felt like Rudy’
Sumner bartends each summer at Keenan’s — the North Wildwood bar Jack Keenan used to run — and one of his coworkers lives near Joey O’Brien, the star recruit from La Salle who is now a freshman at Notre Dame. Harvey needed to meet the kid and his parents so his buddy set up a dinner at a bar in Lafayette Hill.
“I didn’t even know where Lafayette Hill was,” said the guy who calls his South Jersey town “Little South Philly.”
He listened to O’Brien’s father Joe tell stories — “He’s like one of us,” Harvey said — and talked to the kid about playing at ND. Earlier this year, Harvey was wandering around campus the day before the Blue and Gold spring game when the football team walked by on their way to practice. O’Brien spotted him and asked Harvey if he wanted to come to practice.
“I felt like Rudy,” he said.
Notre Dame Harvey met Irish head coach Marcus Freeman before the 2026 spring game. The coach thought he was a player’s uncle.Sumner
A staffer brought him to head coach Marcus Freeman and introduced him as “O’Brien’s uncle.” He was in. Notre Dame Harvey — the guy who used to call into Howard Eskin’s WIP radio show to defend the Irish — watched practice on the sidelines. Eventually, he made it back to his crew after telling them he was making a coffee run. Three hours later, he had another story to tell.
“I was just out for a casual walk and one of the greatest thrills of my life happened,” Sumner said. “I was like a kid in the candy store. Everyone treated me great. Freeman must’ve really thought I was his uncle.”
Villanova is off to a similar start as last season following a blowout loss to No. 23 Louisville.
But compared to last year, when Penn State trounced Villanova, 52-6, coach Mark Ferrante expressed some positives to build on entering Saturday’s matchup at Long Island University (noon, NEC Front Row).
“This year, we seemed to be more competitive in the front end of the game,” Ferrante said of Villanova’s 59-13 loss to the Cardinals. “I think that will pay dividends down the road. I think our guys have gained confidence knowing that we could drive the ball down the field on our opening drive and put points on the board against a team like Louisville.
“You just got to do it more consistently, and you got to do it for four quarters so that’s really the learning curve.”
For Ferrante, that starts with his team’s approach and execution in practice.
After turnovers and penalties plagued the Wildcats in their season-opening loss to William & Mary, Ferrante turned his focus to reducing the “mental penalties” in practice. They have since allowed 12 penalties and committed one turnover across their last two games.
“If there’s going to be penalties, you want them to be aggressive ones during the play, not the pre- or post-snap penalties,” Ferrante said. “Those are some things we emphasize in practice and we have improved in that area. We’d like to create a few more turnovers in our favor, so we can steal a possession or two during the course of the game.”
Villanova coach Mark Ferrante talks with quarterback Pat McQuaide on Aug. 28.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
As the turnovers and penalties have lessened, Villanova’s offense has improved. Graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide and rushing duo of juniors Ja’briel Mace and Isaiah Ragland “keep getting better each and every week,” Ferrante said.
“No matter how many guys you got coming back from a previous year or how many you lost, it’s never going to be the same. Each team has to find its own identity, I think this team is still searching for it a little bit.”
He noted that around this time last season is when his team started to click. He feels confident about the direction this year’s Wildcats are heading and believes they are getting to a similar place.
“We were already in preseason practice when McQuaide joined us, so he missed the first couple [of] days, there was a little catch up there, but I’m sure it’s got to affect your mental psyche a little bit,” Ferrante said. “But now that he’s been here, and August camp into the first three games, now we need to see the continual and steady progress.”
Beyond the offense, Ferrante has been satisfied with special teams. Dominic LeBlanc has been perfect on field goals and PATs since transferring into the program this offseason, while sophomore Luke Myers has been impressive since taking over punting duties.
“He’s been doing a really nice job, he gets the ball out quick,” Ferrante said. “He averaged 44 yards a punt against Louisville, the unfortunate part is he had too many opportunities to go out against Louisville. We like to keep him off the field a little more than we did, but he did a great job.”
Heading into LIU, Ferrante emphasized that his defense needs to have patience and discipline.
“Don’t let the stuff around you get your eyes caught somewhere else, and all of a sudden, you’re not where you need to be,” Ferrante said. “I think this week especially, you can say it every week, but this week especially, how they maneuver the pieces that they have on the field around, we have to have really good discipline with our eyes and then just do your [job], play your assignment to the best of your ability.”
