THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
There can be a difference.
On Saturday, the fourth-ranked 'Cats (8-1, 5-1 Colonial Athletic Conference) won at No. 1 Richmond (8-1, 6-1), 21-20, when Andrew Howard was wide left on a 35-yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining.
The defending national champion Spiders had won 17 straight. But they'd lost at Villanova 14 months ago, when they also sat atop the polls.
If the 'Cats can beat Towson (2-7) and Delaware (6-3), there's every chance they would be a top four seed in the FCS tournament. Which means they would get to play at least two games on the Main Line.
"That would be huge for us," said coach Andy Talley. "I've always felt this team had the right stuff. We're peaking at the right time. In our league, a lot of games are playoff games. For us, so was the Temple game. It's great to beat a team like that on the road, because at some point you're going to have to do that. But we've put ourselves in a position where we can be at home. That's where you'd rather be."
Last season the 'Cats lost to then-No. 1 James Madison on a Hail Mary pass on the last play in late October. Because of that, in the quarterfinals they had to go to JMU, where they lost on a late TD. And don't forget the close losses at Youngstown State in 1991 and '92, or at McNeese State in 2002.
"Unfortunately, we've had some of those," Talley said.
Richmond took its first lead with just over 2 minutes to go, on a short touchdown run. But the snap on the extra point was high, and Howard's kick missed right.
Following a squib kick, 'Nova took over on its 44. Seven plays later, on fourth-and-11, Chris Whitney threw over the middle to Brandyn Harvey, who split two defenders and made a one-handed catch before heading into the end zone. Nick Yako's PAT put 'Nova back up by one with 59 seconds showing.
The Spiders then made it to the 'Nova 17, but Howard couldn't convert the opportunity to be a hero.
"I can't remember the last time the other guy's kicker missed one at the end," Talley said. "I'd like to think it evens out, if you hang around long enough.
"At that point, you think he's going to make it. What are you going to do?"
Other than change your locker-room speech.
"That's why we're at a Catholic school," Talley said. "We had a lot of prayers going for us, I guess.
"Our chaplain, Father Rob Hagan, in his [pregame] sermon he talked about tapping the rock. He talked about the stone cutter who just keeps banging that rock, day after day after day. Finally, that one blow at the end breaks the rock open.
"But you never know when it's going to break."
Or maybe even just bend a few feet outside the upright.
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