Category: Penn

Penn lost, 14-10, to Dartmouth following a fourth-quarter flurry on Saturday in the Ivy League opener for both teams in Hanover, N.H.

For three quarters, it was a defensive battle. Dartmouth took a 7-3 lead into the fourth quarter before the Quakers put together a 16-play, 80-yard drive capped by senior running back Sean Williams Jr.’s 1-yard touchdown run to go up 10-7. The lead was short-lived, however, as Dartmouth responded with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to regain the lead.

Penn battled back with a 12-play, 59-yard drive that ended with an incomplete pass on fourth down from the Dartmouth 16-yard line with 1 minute, 20 seconds left. After both teams used timeouts on Dartmouth’s ensuing three-and-out, the Quakers got the ball back at their own 46 with 9 seconds left. But an incompletion and a sack of Penn freshman quarterback Miles Teodecki sealed Dartmouth’s first win of the season (1-2).

Figuring it out

Penn head coach Rick Santos stressed the importance of first- and second-down efficiency entering Saturday’s game, but the first quarter looked like a repeat of last week’s loss for Penn’s offense. The Quakers (1-2) punted on both of their drives and struggled to sustain offensive momentum while Dartmouth scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Grayson Saunier to Ky’Dric Fisher. Saunier threw for 173 yards on 13-of-15 passing.

But Penn’s offense woke up in the second quarter. The Quakers put themselves in field-goal range twice and converted one, a 26-yarder to cap a 10-play, 71-yard drive. Meanwhile, they held the Big Green to just 59 yards in the quarter.

Teodecki looked more comfortable this week and flashed the dual-threat abilities he impressed fans with against Bucknell. He was Penn’s leading rusher with 54 yards, and completed 27 of 39 passes for 214 yards on Saturday compared to 133 last week against Lehigh.

The quarterback also started to find his passing rhythm with a fellow freshman, wide receiver Mason Page. Page had eight receptions for a game-high 64 yards, including a 19-yard pass from Teodecki.

Fourth-quarter flurry

Dartmouth missed a trio of field-goal attempts in the second and third quarters, and, while Penn’s field goal put them on the board, untimely penalties erased the potential for more.

But the Quakers finally got an edge on their opening drive of the fourth quarter, when Williams’ 1-yard touchdown run gave them their first lead of the day.

But Dartmouth responded quickly, gaining 75 yards on eight plays and scoring a rushing touchdown of their own via a 2-yard run by Myles Craddock, whom Santos pointed out as a player Penn’s defense needed to watch.

Though Craddock scored the winning touchdown for the Big Green, the Quakers held him to 85 rushing yards. He put up 140 yards in Dartmouth’s previous game against Monmouth.

Up next

Penn returns to Franklin Field to face nonconference opponent Howard (2-3) next Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN+).

Seconds before halftime, Penn freshman quarterback Miles Teodecki ran for a 1-yard gain to his own 2-yard line. As the clock wound down to zero and players stood up to head into the locker rooms, Teodecki remained laying on the turf for an extra second.

The other end zone remained elusive for Penn as it lost its home opener to Lehigh, 20-7.

At halftime, Penn (1-1) trailed just 3-0. But the Quakers’ last drive of the first half foreshadowed an offense unable to press forward for most of the game.

Second-half collapse

Two Lehigh touchdowns in the third quarter sealed Penn’s fate. The Quakers struggled to break through the Hawks’ swarming defense and recorded just 12 first downs.

Lehigh quarterback Derek Morgan scored the Hawks’ first touchdown on an 11-yard run about a minute-and-a-half into the third quarter. A little over four minutes later, a 20-yard pass from Morgan to wide receiver Jamaire Harden put Lehigh up, 17-0.

Teodecki couldn’t find his rhythm. He was sacked four times, was picked off twice, and completed just 49% of his passes (18-of-37) for 133 yards..

“We need to be better on first down,” Quakers coach Rick Santos said. “So it’s third-and-manageable, not third in obvious passing situations, and that seemed to be the entire third quarter.”

But in the last five minutes, several long passes by Teodecki powered Penn’s drive in an attempt to put points on the board. Sophomore running back Tommy Lafayette, whose name garnered “boos” from the Lehigh crowd, scored Penn’s only touchdown on a 1-yard run with 2 minutes, 47 seconds to go.

“We preached this entire week … ‘We have to win the run game. We have to win the run game. We have to win the run game,’” Lafayette said, “When you’re in a 2-minute situation like that … you have to get something going.”

Defense shows moments of promise

Before the matchup, Santos said “stopping the run has to be our No. 1 priority this week.” The defense took that to heart and kept Lehigh star running back Luke Yoder, who entered Saturday averaging 142.3 rushing yards per game, to just 74 yards.

Though the Hawks (5-0) leaned on their ground game throughout the first half, the Quakers’ defense kept them contained. A minute before halftime, senior linebacker Joey Holliday tackled Yoder a loss of 2 yards. Holliday also had both of Penn’s sacks.

When Morgan’s passes started connecting in the second half, the defense adjusted. In the Hawks’ first drive following halftime, senior defensive back Jayden Drayton broke up a pass to Lehigh wide receiver Nick Palumbo to force a punt. Zach Darche and Cole Olsztyn led the Quakers with 13 and 11 tackles, respectively.

“The defense clearly was the most dominant unit on our team today,” Santos said, “I think there is a continuity between the offense and defense, and, again, offensively we have a ways to go.

“We’ll take a hard look at what we’re doing schematically on offense, but I’m proud of the fight we had right now.”

Though Penn ended the game with just 49 rushing yards, it held Lehigh, which entered the game averaging 291.8 yards, to 168 yards on the ground. Overall, the Hawks outgained the Quakers, 217-182.

Up next

Penn faces Dartmouth (0-2) in Hanover, N.H., next Saturday (1:30 p.m., ESPN+).

The Ivy League was the last college football league to kick off its season, so Penn will play its second game against a team that has already played, and won, four.

Penn welcomes Lehigh to Franklin Field on Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN+) for its first home game under new leadership in coach Rick Santos and freshman starting quarterback Miles Teodecki.

“It is what it is,” Santos said of the Ivy League’s scheduling. “We don’t have as much access to the student-athletes in the summer. So you can look at it like it’s a competitive disadvantage, but for us, we always want to look at it [as], ‘What can we control?’”

Senior defensive back and team captain Josh Narcisse also didn’t think the later start gave Penn a disadvantage.

“Obviously, they have a few more weeks of film that we can watch on them, so if you want to talk about advantages, that’s one,” he said. “Then, obviously, we’re coming in probably a little bit healthier than they are. [They are] probably a little more banged up after four weeks.”

Beginning next season, the Ivy League announced that it will start earlier, however. Week 1 will be Sept. 11, 2027, and there will be a bye week in October.

“I think that’s pretty big for us as a program,” senior tight end Dante Barone said, “but … it doesn’t really change our mentality.”

The mentality, according to Narcisse and Barone, is “to be great.”

“To be a great team, you have to play great teams,” Barone said.

Lehigh (4-0) currently is ranked sixth in the FCS and won back-to-back Patriot League championships in 2024 and 2025. The Mountain Hawks also have a new head coach, Richard Nagy, the team’s former defensive coordinator.

“They are one of the best teams in the country in all three phases, extremely well-coached,” Santos said.
“I know Coach Nagy very well from battling against him. … So tough-nose[d] team, really well coached. They play hard.”

Santos also mentioned Lehigh running back Luke Yoder, the 2025 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, who’s already rushed for 569 yards (142.3 per game), good for second in the FCS.

“[Yoder] never gets tackled by the first guy,” he said, “So we need to wrap up. We need to rally the football. Stopping the run has to be our No. 1 priority this week.”

Hayden Johnson, Lehigh’s starting quarterback, was injured against William & Mary on Sept. 12 and has not returned to action.

“It will be interesting to see if their starting quarterback plays or not. I think both of those guys, though, their signal-callers are elite with their legs, and they can really run,” Santos said.

“With [Lehigh] running the ball as much as they do, they like to control the clock, so that’s going to be something for us is to sustain drives. … We got to make this a four-quarter game.”

While Santos was “very, very encouraged” with Teodecki and the offense in last week’s 20-7 win over Bucknell, he also sees things to tighten up this weekend. The Quakers outgained the Bison, 367-124, and Teodecki threw for 197 yards on 18-of-34 passing with two touchdowns and an interception. He also was Penn’s leading rusher with 87 yards and another touchdown.

“We’ll clean up some things mechanically in the passing game. …
We need to finish better in the red zone, and that starts with myself and our offensive staff in terms of play calling, putting the guys in better situations,” he said.

For Narcisse and Barone, it will be their last home opener.

“This is what we look forward to all season,” Narcisse said. “This is why you come out here in the winter when it’s 6 a.m. and nobody sees you working. You’re rolling around the snow. This is why you do that, right? For opportunities like this to shine when the lights are the brightest.”

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.

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.

Penn freshman quarterback Miles Teodecki hesitated when he extended his hand for a handshake. His palm and fingers were covered in a thick coat of white chalk, to give him a better grip on the football. Though he had just ended nearly five hours of team practice, his freshly dusted hands looked like he was about to throw for the first time that day.

On Monday, Penn coach Rick Santos announced that Teodecki would be the starting quarterback, reversing the August decision to start junior Karson Siqueiros-Lasky.

“Those two have battled all camp,” Santos said ahead of Saturday’s season opener at Bucknell (3 p.m., ESPN+), “and honestly it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had as a coach.”

Santos is entering his first season as head coach after Ray Priore stepped down in November, capping an 11-year tenure that included Ivy League titles in 2015 and 2016. Last season’s stars — quarterback Liam O’Brien and wide receiver Jared Richardson — are at Cincinnati and Duke, respectively, following their graduation from Penn.

Many questions loom over this new team, and the Ivy League preseason poll placed Penn fourth. Not that Santos cares.

“In ’22 at New Hampshire, we won the [conference] championship and we were picked ninth out of 13 team[s],” said Santos, who was the head coach at his alma mater from 2022 to 2025, “So at the end of the day, that’s up for the media to talk about and decide what they think. … The rankings matter at the end of the year, so that’s what we got to focus on one week at a time.”

Anyone’s name can stand out on the team’s blank slate, and Santos found that Teodecki, Penn’s highest-rated recruit since 2000, fit what he and his staff had been looking for.

“He’s very competitive. He’s got a moxie about him and a confidence, and we’re excited to see him going game day,” Santos said.

Teodecki, who’s from Austin, Texas, was thankful for the opportunity.

“First off, just got to thank God,” he said. “I got to thank Coach Santos and the coaching staff for believing in me, giving me this chance. I got to thank my teammates for supporting me and going out there doing their jobs, putting trust in me, allowing me to trust in them. I’m fired up for the opportunity.”

Santos said he’s been “encouraged with the senior leadership” on the team, which includes captains Siqueiros-Lasky and senior defensive back Josh Narcisse, and Narcisse noted that relationships have been built across all levels.

“[The coaches have] been really intentional with getting to know each of us on a personal level outside of football,” he said, “And as a player, I can say that goes a long way when it’s Friday night, the lights are bright, you look to the sideline, you want to see people that have your back on and off the field.”

For Narcisse, that’s the identity of this year’s team.

“I think a lot of old Penn teams were more individualized, and it was about what this guy or this guy is going to do any given Saturday, but now when you watch the team, you’re going to be more focused on, ‘What is our defense going to do? What is our offense going to do? How are they going to handle themselves on special teams?’” he said.

Even with the change in starting quarterback, Santos and Teodecki were quick to say that the plays remain the same, regardless of who is under center.

“We have two bona fide studs at quarterback, two guys that can start at this level, two guys that are good enough to lead us to a championship,” Santos said. “So I would expect both of them to play at some point this year, but we decided to give Miles the nod for the opener.

“There [are] no solidified jobs here. Every single day you need to earn the right to be on the field.”

“Confidence through preparation” seems to be the motto of the Santos era. The team hits the field every day at 6:15 a.m. — “We want to get up before the enemy and get a bunch of work in while everyone’s still sleeping,” Santos said — and has been methodical in watching film, running plays, taking notes, and adopting the right mindset.

“I feel 1,000% confident, not only in my own ability, but also our game plan and what our coaches have dialed up for us to be able to make plays and be successful on Saturday,” Narcisse said.

The defense this year, he said, would be “fast, violent, relentless.”

Santos said the defense is “really smart, instinctual in terms of being able to diagnose presnap reads and what the opposing team offense is doing. … And then ultimately when you get to the opener, it’s about how well we tackle.”

Even while the team seems poised and eager to kick off a new chapter this Saturday, Teodecki admits that “there’s a little bit of nerves; if you’re not nervous, that either means you don’t care or you just — you really don’t care.”

After practice ends at 11 a.m., he chalks his hands and throws the football with a teammate for a few extra minutes.

“We’re blessed to play this game, and we get to play this game,” Teodecki said.

The Ivy League is bringing its men’s and women’s conference basketball tournaments to Allentown.

On Tuesday, the league announced that it has agreed to a three-year deal with the PPL Center to make the arena home to Ivy Madness starting in 2028. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms arena was selected due to its “centralized location within the league’s geographic footprint,” according to a release. The conference previously employed a rotation for the tournament around all eight of its teams’ arenas.

“We are incredibly excited to bring Ivy Madness to PPL Center and the surrounding communities beginning in 2028,” Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris said in a release. “Ivy Madness has grown into an incredible celebration of our student-athletes, institutions and the competitive excellence of Ivy League basketball.

“The PPL Center provides a neutral site in a first-class venue, a vibrant downtown setting and a location that is accessible to so many of our alumni and fans. We believe this partnership creates an exciting opportunity to continue elevating the championship experience for our student-athletes and Ivy League basketball overall.”

Penn will host Ivy Madness this season as a part of the Palestra’s 100th anniversary celebration. Dartmouth was originally scheduled to host the tournament but relinquished the opportunity because of the celebration. The Big Green are the only team in the Ivy League to never host the tournament after the rotating schedule began after 2018.

In its release, the conference also noted that the PPL Center was selected due to its “premier arena setting.” The Ivy arenas, which previously held the tournaments, range dramatically in size. Harvard’s Lavietes Pavilion holds 1,636 people while the Palestra’s maximum capacity is 8,722. The PPL Center, which can hold up to 8,500 fans for Phantoms games, will provide Ivy Madness with consistent seating capacity.

“PPL Center is thrilled to welcome Ivy Madness to the Lehigh Valley,” PPL Center co-owners Rob and Jim Brooks said. “As a hub for our community, we take pride in hosting a diverse range of events that bring people together. Ivy Madness is an exciting new addition to our calendar, offering a great experience for local fans while also welcoming visitors from across the region.”

The Ivy League will be starting its football season earlier next season.

On Monday, the conference announced that it would be kicking off its 2027 season on Sept. 11 and instituting a leaguewide bye week during the weekend of Oct. 23. Each team’s first game will be against an Ivy opponent.

The Ivy League, which plays a 10-game season, is consistently the last conference in college football to kick off its season due to its shortened schedule. All other FCS teams play a total of 12 regular-season games.

Penn and the rest of the Ivy League will kick off the 2026 season Saturday. The Quakers are slated to take on Bucknell (1-2), a team already three games into its season.

The announcement comes after the conference’s first season participating in the FCS playoffs. The Ivies, in an effort to maintain a sense of tradition, had barred its schools from participating in the postseason since the 1945 signing of the Ivy Group Agreement. This changed after a proposal from the conference’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee was approved by the Ivy League Council of Presidents in December 2024. The league’s winner now receives an automatic bid to the playoffs.

When it was first announced that the Ivy League would be participating in the FCS playoffs, there was speculation that the conference would also adapt to a 12-game schedule. With Monday’s announcement, that now seems unlikely in the coming years.

Last season, competing for an FCS championship for the first time, the Ancient Eight sent two teams to the playoffs. Yale received an automatic bid after winning the Ivy title and Harvard received an at-large selection. While the Crimson were trounced by Villanova in the first round, the Bulldogs won their first playoff matchup against Youngstown State before falling in the second round to Montana State.

Including the playoffs, Yale played 12 straight games last season.

Next year’s change will allow the Ivy’s schedule to align better with the rest of the teams competing in the FCS. It will also ensure that the conference’s playoff teams do not have a competitive disadvantage due to a lack of rest. The Ivy League had traditionally played 10 straight games without a bye week.

Lucas Byrd — a four-time All-American wrestler and a 2025 NCAA champion at Illinois — has been recognized “a handful” of times on the street. But it’s not for his dominance on the mat.

Byrd, who was recently hired as an assistant wrestling coach at Penn, has more than 570,000 followers on TikTok with his fiancée, Ellie Holzman. They met at Illinois with Byrd wrestling and Holzman starring for the Illini volleyball team. Shortly after, they began posting short videos about their relationship to social media — which quickly gained traction because of the couple’s difference in height. Byrd is 5-foot-5 and Holzman is 6-2.

“I think a lot of people find it interesting because it is such a different dynamic,” Byrd said. “Your typical relationships aren’t a girl that’s really tall and a guy that’s really short.”

Byrd and Holzman readily make reference to their height difference on TikTok. In one video, Holzman humorously pins Byrd to a wall, pretending to yell at him. The video’s caption reads, “If you see a 6’2 brunette yelling at me…. Don’t worry. That’s my girlfriend. I ticked her off on purpose. I’m exactly where I want to be.” In another, Byrd hops on Holzman’s shoulders to grab containers from a hard-to-reach shelf.

“We both believe we make a positive impact on relationship dynamics,” Byrd said. “Guys don’t like to be shorter [in a relationship], and women typically don’t like to be taller. It’s a good thing that we can show people that it doesn’t matter. Height, for some people, it could be a deciding factor, but there’s no point to limit yourself for the love of your life.”

The couple’s content is lighthearted. Many of their videos feature the two dancing together, lip syncing to viral songs, or trying new foods — including a recent review of the brunch menu at Fishtown’s Middle Child Clubhouse. In the videos, Byrd is constantly cracking jokes and making funny expressions — a side of his personality he does not show on the mat.

“When I take my glasses off and I have my shoes on, I’m in the wrestling world,” Byrd said. “I’m the guy that won a national title, and that’s who I am. But the minute I’m off, and I’m with Ellie and my family and friends, I’m just a big goof ball.”

‘Easier than breathing’

After graduating from Illinois this spring, Byrd looked to move to Philadelphia to live with Holzman, who recently finished up a nursing program at Drexel.

Byrd knew he wanted to stay in wrestling and gravitated toward coaching. During the 2023-24 season, when he was sidelined with a wrist injury, Byrd coached a kids wrestling club. He enjoyed the process enough to pursue coaching at the next level.

When the Penn wrestling staff interviewed Byrd, they asked what makes him stand out compared to other candidates.

“Wrestling is sometimes easier than breathing,” he responded.

Byrd joins a Penn wrestling staff led by second-year head coach Matt Valenti. Like Byrd, Valenti is a former NCAA champion at 133 pounds, winning the title twice for the Quakers in 2006 and 2007. Valenti took the over the program from longtime coach Roger Reina, who served as the “head coach emeritus” to oversee the transition. Last season, the Quakers finished 7-4 overall and placed third in the Ivy League.

“A lot of people feel like Big Ten programs do so many things differently,” Byrd said. “They feel like they eat nails, chew them up and spit them out. But in reality, they train hard. But it’s what we’re doing here [at Penn]”

One major difference between the Big Ten and the Ivy League is the lack of opportunities for Ivy athletes to cash in on their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The conference, in an effort to preserve a sense of amateurism, boasts a blanket ban on NIL collectives. Byrd sees this as a plus.

“I think it’s awesome that there is no NIL in a way because these guys truly want to wrestle,” Byrd said. “It’s different when you’re getting paid $300,000 to go wrestle … These guys, on top of being in Wharton, they want to come to practice.”

“I can tell you the classes I took,” he added with a laugh. “I took a yoga class and these guys aren’t taking yoga.”

Outside of coaching and growing his social media presence, Byrd is looking to pursue a mixed martial arts career — a transition many collegiate wrestlers make after graduating. He has sparred with UFC fighters, and is looking to learn more from his peers who have switched over to the sport.

“It’s the same mechanics [in wrestling and MMA],” Byrd said. “Just different ways to get there. In MMA, there’s more danger because if you don’t disguise what you’re doing, you’re probably getting kneed or punched in the face.”