The Ursinus football team lost to Muhlenberg 39-36 on Saturday afternoon, letting a late fourth-quarter lead slip away. It was the team’s first loss, coming in an important conference game.
Tristan Machado ‘27 completed 29 of 45 passes for 329 yards and four touchdowns. Ryder Zukowski ‘27i grabbed four passes for 65 yards and a touchdown, while wide receiver Cody House ‘26 collected seven passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Markel Roberts-Jackson ‘26 also caught two receptions for 52 yards and scored a touchdown.
At the 7:19 mark in the first quarter, Machado found Zulkowski on fourth-and-goal for a touchdown throw, giving the Bears a 7-0 lead. The Bears capitalized on a late first-quarter interception by Kendall Robinson ‘27, and increased their lead to 14-0, as Machado hit Roberts-Jackson for a 28-yard touchdown reception. Muhlenberg led 19–14 at the break after scoring 19 points in a row to end the half.
After scoring on their first possession of the second half, the Mules increased their advantage to 25-14 in the third quarter on a 4 yard run by back Matthew Manning. The Bears then made it 25-22 with a 10-yard touchdown run from running back Keigan Barnes ‘26. On the opening play of the fourth quarter, House caught a touchdown pass to put the Bears ahead 29–25. Two possessions later, Robinson grabbed his second interception of the game to give Ursinus solid field position.
With 8:34 remaining in regulation, Machado found junior Aidan Donahue for a 5-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-Goal, putting Ursinus ahead 36-25. But in the last eight minutes, the Mules scored two touchdowns, one of which was the result of a Bears fumble.
Muhlenberg quarterback Dante Mahaffey’s three touchdown throws came in the fourth quarter, including a 26-yard pass to John Runfolo ‘26 at 1:06 that put the Mules ahead 39–36.
The Mules had not overcome a 14-point deficit to win since 2023, when they defeated Salisbury 29–17 after falling behind 14-0. It had not been accomplished in a Centennial Conference game since 2011, when they overcame a 26-7 deficit against McDaniel in the fourth quarter to win 34-26.
It was the fifth consecutive meeting between the two clubs that was decided by eight points or less, and the second consecutive high-scoring three-point game (Ursinus won 53-50 last season).
The Bears come back home on October 11th to face the McDaniel Green Terror, who are coming off a tough 56-7 blowout loss to the newest member of the Centennial Conference, the 3-1 Carnegie Mellon Tartans.