Early must win for Villanova
The Wildcats play host to William & Mary. A loss would seriously hurt its postseason chances.
THE FCS playoffs don't start until the last weekend of November. But tomorrow there will be what almost amounts to an elimination game at Villanova Stadium, when the 14th-ranked Wildcats (2-2, 1-0 Colonial Athletic) host William & Mary (2-2, 1-1).
The season won't be over for the loser. But its postseason aspirations will take a serious hit, one that might prove impossible to overcome.
A CAA team that goes 7-4, 6-2 could make it into the 24-team field, especially if one of the losses was to an FBS opponent. But there's no guarantees. It could depend on how things go elsewhere. And if you're 2-3, that doesn't leave much margin for error. Both these teams still have to play No. 5 James Madison (5-0, 2-0), which won by three two weeks ago at SMU. William & Mary hosts the Dukes on Halloween, while Villanova closes at Harrisonburg (Va.). Not an easy assignment.
On paper, Villanova's other toughest hurdle before then is Richmond (3-1, 1-0) at home on Nov. 14. The Tribe finishes at Richmond and also has New Hampshire (3-2, 1-1) next week at home.
The Wildcats have been off since Sept. 24, when they lost 24-13 at home to Penn (1-2) in their first game without four-year starting quarterback John Robertson, who's out for good with a knee injury. They were also missing three starters on the offensive line that night. Two are back.
"I've never had a layoff this long," said coach Andy Talley. "Traditionally, when we've had a layoff, we've usually come back strong. If you have two weeks to get ready, you should do a really good job of preparation.
"The only negative is you could get stale, lose game speed playing against scout-team guys. Other than that, I think it's much more of a plus to have that (extra time). Especially where we were with the injuries. We needed time. The loss to Penn was deflating. But we've had really good practices."
The Tribe lost last week at Delaware by one, on a field goal as time expired, after leading by nine midway through the fourth quarter. Their other loss was by six on Sept. 19 at Virginia. Villanova beat Delaware by seven that day, after Robertson got hurt late. Redshirt freshman Zach Bednarczyk came in and passed for a touchdown before scrambling for the winning score.
"We have a lot of belief in Zach," Talley said. "He can run and throw. We didn't run him against Penn because we didn't have a backup quarterback (now it's true freshman Adeyemi DaSilva). So we need to get him running (too). That's fixable.
"Anytime you lose three (linemen), that's not a good deal. We're patched up a little bit there. That should help. Now we have to see if we can come back and step it up and get after it. We've had time to stew about (what happened), get over it. We really need to play, see if we can come out of our malaise."
Or else they'll be running out of lifelines.
Agenda
William & Mary at Villanova
Noon Saturday, Villanova Stadium
TV: Comcast SportsNet. Radio: WTEL (610AM)
Records: William & Mary 2-2, 1-1 CAA. Villanova 2-2, 1-0.
History: William & Mary leads, 16-15-1. Villanova's won the last two, and six of the last seven at home.
About William & Mary:
About Villanova: Wildcats, ranked 14th in FCS, have been off since Sept. 24 home loss to Penn ... They've won 12 of their last 14 coming off a bye ... Has converted seven of 10 fourth downs, including their last four ... LB Austin Calitro had a career-high 13 tackles against Penn ... John Hinchen is averaging 44.7 yards on 16 punts ... They've been held to under 100 yards rushing in each of last two games ... Next week they're at Albany.