Villanova among area teams in playoffs

National - For the second straight week, the FBS record for rushing yards in a game that had stood for 15 years was broken. This time it was Oklahoma freshman Samaje Perine, with 427 against Kansas.

Local - Ryan O'Hara kicked a 32-yard field goal with 10 seconds to go to give Widener (11-0) a 36-35 win over visiting Muhlenberg (9-2) in a Division III playoff opener.

Villanova 35, Delaware 28

This is what can almost happen in rivalry games.

In Newark, John Robertson threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Guylas with 23 seconds left to cap a 10-play, 68-yard drive that took 1:35, after the Blue Hens (6-6, 4-4 CAA) had taken their first lead.

The sixth-ranked Wildcats (10-2, 7-1), who are two missed kicks away from possibly being unbeaten, have been given a first-round bye in the FCS playoffs and a second-round home game on Dec. 6 against the winner of Saturday's Liberty (8-4) at James Madison (9-3) game. The Wildcats beat JMU at home on Sept. 20, 49-31, but the Dukes have won their last seven. Villanova is on the same side of the bracket as second-seeded North Dakota State, which has won the last three titles.

The Dec. 6 game will start at 4:30 because Villanova's basketball game against Saint Joseph's at the Pavilion is scheduled for 1.

The Wildcats led 27-7 with 6 minutes left in the third quarter, despite not scoring just before halftime after a 72-yard interception return by linebacker Dillon Lucas gave them a first-and-goal at the 2 (blocked 32-yard field goal). Lucas injured his knee at the end of the run and might be done.

Robertson passed for 217 yards and three TDs and rushed for 117. But he did throw his third interception.

Villanova has won eight of the last nine and five in a row at UD.

The Wildcats were 0-for-9 on third down, 3-for-4 on fourth, including two conversions on the final drive. On a fourth-and-15 from their 27, Robertson hit Poppy Livers for a 23-yard gain. And on a fourth-and-1 from the UD 31 Robertson ran for 10 on the play before the winning score.

Penn 34, Cornell 26

At Ithaca, N.Y., the Quakers sent retiring coach Al Bagnoli out the right way.

It was his 148th victory in 23 seasons in West Philly, 234th in 33 years overall and 111th in the Ivy League (second-most), where he won a record nine outright titles.

The Quakers (2-8, 2-5) led 21-18 at the half and 34-18 with a little under 8 minutes to go. Cornell (1-9, 1-6) cut the deficit in half 4 minutes later. The Big Red would get the ball back with 35 seconds left at their 20 but couldn't get past the 42.

Penn sophomore Alek Torgersen threw for 331 yards and ran for 86. Spencer Kulcsar had 11 receptions for 187 and three TDs. The senior finished with 83, two shy of the program's season record.

It must have been some bus ride home.

Longtime assistant Ray Priore is succeeding Bagnoli.

In the first round of the Division II playoffs No. 15 West Chester (11-1) beat Slippery Rock (9-3) at home, 46-20. It was 32-6 at the half. Sean McCartney threw for 405 yards and five TDs. Tight end Tim Brown caught three of them. The Rams, who made it to the semifinals a year ago, now head to unbeaten, 10th-ranked Concord (Athens, W.Va.). The Rock, which beat Bloomsburg (the only team to beat West Chester) in the PSAC final, was playing without its starting quarterback and three defensive starters due to injuries.

Widener - which improved to 6-0 at Quick Stadium - will next host Christopher Newport (8-3). The Captains (from Newport News, Va.) went on the road and rallied from a 19-point third-quarter deficit to beat Delaware Valley (9-2), 29-26, on a 38-yard field goal as time expired. Widener got a safety with 1:32 left to get within two. Following a free kick that was returned 16 yards, the Pride drove another 24 in nine plays to set up O'Hara for the winning kick. The junior is 7-for-11 this year. This is the one that'll be remembered most.

Also in D-III, Rowan (7-4) traveled to Baltimore and lost to unbeaten, No. 6 Johns Hopkins, 24-16. Junior Withler Marcelin did rush for 136 yards to finish with a school season-high 1,447. He'd set the record as a sophomore.

Wake Forest hadn't beaten Virginia Tech in 30 years. The 6-3 double-overtime win was former Villanova assistant Dave Clawson's first in the ACC. And the first FBS game to remain scoreless through regulation since 2005 (Arkansas State-Florida Atlantic). But Tech did keep its non-shutout streak, which goes back to 1995, intact. "We put offensive football back a hundred years," Clawson said.

* Lafayette-Lehigh drew 48,256 to Yankee Stadium for the 150th meeting. Ross Scheuerman rushed for 304 yards and three TDs in Lafayette's 27-7 win.

* Roberto Aguayo's 26-yard field goal with 3 seconds left gave Florida State a 20-17 home win over Boston College in pouring rain, 2 days after a gunman opened fire in FSU's library and shot three students.

* Mississippi State finished unbeaten at home for the first time since 1999. Its 37-0 halftime lead over Vanderbilt was a program record against an SEC team.

* Unranked Arkansas got a second straight shutout over a ranked opponent, its first back-to-back conference shutouts since joining the SEC in 1992.

* Auburn beat FCS Samford, which is coached by former Tiger QB Pat Sullivan, the 1971 Heisman Trophy winner.

* Missouri set a school record with its 10th straight road win.

* Minnesota won at Nebraska for the first time since 1960.

* Colorado State is 10-1 for the first time since 1994.

* Kansas lost its 29th straight true road game, and 32nd in a row outside of Lawrence.