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LEWISBURG, Pa. – The University of Pennsylvania football team begins its 150th season Saturday afternoon at Bucknell. The game is set for 3 p.m. EST and ESPN+ will stream live from Christy Mathewson Stadium. Doug Bidsong will be on the call (play-by-play) alongside Charlie Fisher.
This will be game one of the Rick Santos era of Penn football after he took over for former head Coach Ray Priore in December of 2025. Santos spent the last five years as the head coach at New Hampshire, leading his alma mater to three FCS playoff appearances.
Penn and Bucknell have met 38 times in the history of the two programs, with Penn taking 33 of those matchups. Since 2003, Penn is on a 10-game winning streak, with their last matchup coming in 2024. The Quakers are 25-3 at home and 8-2 on the road against the Bison. Penn has won the last five road games at Bucknell, dating back to the 1997 season when the Bison took a 20-16 victory.
GAME 1 – PENN (0-0, 0-0 Ivy) at STONEHILL (1-2, 0-0 Patriot League)
Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026 | 3 p.m.
Christy Mathewson Stadium | Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats
RICK SANTOS ERA BEGINS
Rick Santos was named the George A. Munger Head Football Coach at UPenn on Dec. 13, 2025. He replaces Ray Priore, who spent 11 years as head coach at Penn and 39 in total with the program.
Santos, who guided New Hampshire to three NCAA FCS Playoff appearances as head coach, is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in FCS history. He posted a 37-24 (.607) record at UNH, posting winning seasons in all five years.
Santos held a 28–12 mark in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), earning NCAA FCS Playoff berths in 2022, 2024, and 2025. In his first season at the helm, he guided UNH to a share of the CAA title, a No. 15 national ranking, and a berth in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.
“I am incredibly excited and humbled by the opportunity to lead the football program at the University of Pennsylvania,” Santos said. “Penn represents excellence at the highest level—academically, athletically, and institutionally—and I am grateful for the trust placed in me to steward such a proud and prestigious program. The chance to work with outstanding student-athletes at a world-class institution, while competing for championships and developing leaders for life, is truly special. I cannot wait to begin this next chapter and fully embrace the Penn football community.”
2025 IN REVIEW
Penn finished the season 6-4 overall and tied Dartmouth for third place in the Ivy League standings at 4-3. The Quakers had wins over Princeton (17-6), Brown (28-21), Columbia (35-21), Marist (28-9), Dartmouth (36-24) and Stonehill (24-21). Penn fell to #9 Lehigh (44-30), Yale (35-13), Cornell (39-17) and #11 Harvard (45-33).
LAST TIME OUT
Penn (6-4, 4-3 Ivy League) took down Princeton (3-7, 2-5 Ivy League) 17-6 to end their 2025 season at Franklin Field. Penn’s third place finish in the Ancient Eight standings was its best finish since a second-place finish in 2022.
The Quakers topped the Tigers at Franklin Field for the first time since 2017 (38-35) and snapped a two-game losing streak overall. Liam O’Brien threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns while Jared Richardson caught 12 balls for 95 yards.
Penn led 7-6 at the half before tacking on a Bisi Owens 39-yard TD and a Mason Walters 22-yard field goal to cap off the scoring. The defense shut out the Tigers in the second half and allowed just 227 total yards on the game.
TEODECKI NAMED QB1
The Rick Santos era will kick off with true freshman Miles Teodecki as the starting quarterback. The Austin, Texas native led Vandegrift H.S. to the 2024 6A Texas State and District 25-6A championships and 2025 6A Regional and District 25-6A championships. He was named Podilla Poll 6A Offensive Player of the Year and Texas High School State Championship Offensive MVP. During his time in high school, he was 27-4 as a starter.
WR CORE OVERHAUL
The top four pass catchers from last year’s Penn team all departed due to graduation. Jared Richardson, an All-American last year, finished with 1,033 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago. He finished his career ranked third all-time at Penn in receiving yards (2,505), fourth in receptions (193), and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (27).
Bisi Owens went for 696 yards and five touchdowns in 2025 on his way to being a First Team All-Ivy League selection. Davis Ellis (17/175/1TD) and Alex Haight (11/102/0) were the third and fourth leading receivers last season.
Tight end Jack Donnelly (5/68/0) is the leading returning pass catcher for 2026.
PRESEASON ALL-IVY
Senior offensive lineman Luke Sacchetti was named Second Team All-Ivy in Phil Steele’s annual preseason rankings. Jayden Drayton was named first team for special teams as kick returner. He averaged 22.54 yards per return last season, good for second in the Ivy League.
SCOUTING THE BISON
The Bucknell Bison (1-2, 0-2 Patriot) are coming off of a fourth quarter comeback win over VMI. Bucknell earned its first win of the 2026 season 14-3 over the Keydets with back-to-back touchdown drives and an interception in the fourth quarter.
Bucknell is in their first season under head coach Jeff Behrman. This new era of Bison football also comes with a mostly new coaching staff under Behrman with the lone returner to the staff being safeties coach McNeil Parker.
Picked to finish 10th in the Patriot League poll, Bucknell returned a total of 65 players from the 2025 season and lost 32 athletes from the roster. The Bison rounded out the roster with 35 newcomers ahead of the 2026 season.
OL ANCHORED BY SACCHETTI AND KRUSE
Senior offenisve lineman Luke Sacchetti and Aaron Kruse are the pair of returning starters for the Quakers.
Sacchetti has started 17 games in the last two seasons, playing both left and right guard. Last year, he helped block for an OL that let up just 16 sacks on the year. His quarterback, Liam O’Brien, and top receiver, Jared Richardson, went on to win All-Ivy League and All-American honors.
Kruse has started the last 20 games at right tackle. Last year he paved the way for an offense that averaged 378.1 yards per game and scored 271 points on the year. In 2024, he helped block for a line that allowed just 15 sacks all seaosn, the ninth lowest in the FCS. Kruse and Sacchetti make up the right side of Penn’s offensive line.
DEFENSIVE STANDOUTS RETURN
Junior defensive back Ty Cortes returns to lead the defense after ranking second on Penn with 72 tackles last season. He tied for the team lead with one interception while also registering 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
Fellow DB Jayden Drayton is back for his senior year after going for 44 tackles and a team-best 11 pass breakups a year ago. Josh Narcisse is here for his senior season as well after totaling 37 tackles and three breakups with an interception as well.
Cole Olsztyn anchors the linebacking core to begin his senior season. He was fourth on the team in tackes with 48 last fall. He had three pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
No returning Penn player had more than one sack last year, so emerging pass rush production will be a huge emphasis this season.
RB BY COMMITTEE
Junior Donte West returns to lead the running back room in 2026. He led all backs with 417 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Sean Williams Jr. also rushed for 215 yards and two touchdowns in 2025. Each back averaged over 4.8 yards per carry a year ago.
UP NEXT
Penn will host Lehigh in its home opener at Franklin Field on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m.
For the latest on Penn football, follow @PennFB on X (formerly Twitter), @PennFootball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.