Update: At the request of Sean, the download link has been updated.
Thanks to Sean Donovan, we have the some great highlights of the football’s team run to glory this year! Also, if you want to download the video for yourself, you can do that here. Enjoy!
Whitney and Szczur hoist it up.
Hopefully you planted yourself in front of a TV on Friday night. If you didn’t, you missed Villanova’s 2nd National Championship of the year, and first ever in football. You missed a great game, one in which our boys were down 14-3, and everything looked to be slipping away. But in classic Villanova fashion, they rallied back, thoroughly dominated Montana in the 2nd half, and took home the title, 23-21.
Matt Szczur was spectacular, totaling a career-best 159 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 270 all-purpose yards. Oh, and if you didn’t know, he’s a pretty decent guy off the field too. Chris Whitney went over 100 yards on the ground and through the air, and the defense put up one of the most dominating 2nd half performances I’ve ever seen. I could be wrong, but in the 4th quarter I’m pretty sure I saw ‘43′ under total yards for Montana in the half. That’s quite good.
So now that we’ve won it all, what’s next? Are you content with our FCS program or do you want to see the team (and school) reach new heights? With word spreading that the Big Ten conference is about to raid the BIG EAST for a football team, the BIG EAST is going to be looking for new members, and we already know they’ve reached out to Villanova. So doesn’t it make sense to make the move now?
Our program has currently reached the status of top-tier in the FCS. There is no debating that, and when you look at the talent on our roster, we’re going to be at the top for a while. We CAN compete in the FBS, as we saw when we beat bowl-bound Temple earlier in the year. And let’s be honest, the BIG EAST isn’t exactly known for great football. I’m fairly certain we could step in and be very competitive (top-half finishes) in the first few years.
So just a few problems in my eyes, and we’ll tackle these one at a time:
In terms of the fanbase, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It’s bad. And I can’t even point the fingers at others. I probably only attended 7-8 games over my entire 4 years at school. I was anything but loyal. In my defense, we were bad up until last year. Good teams will draw crowds. So it’s a good thing this team has become good, and more importantly exciting to watch. We still need more support from the students if it is going to work. And I mean at least 5,000 at every home game. This isn’t a basketball lottery. We can all fit. And football is f*cking awesome. Come on kids.
Then comes the alumni aspect. I don’t know what our current numbers look like. But they aren’t pretty. But in talking with my friends at the basketball game on Saturday, if Villanova announced a move to FBS, we would immediately buy our season tickets, and I have to think a lot of other people would too. So I think a move would definitely result in more attendance.
In terms of the stadium, we would need an expansion, but this isn’t that difficult. I originally thought the minimum size was around 30,000, but after looking around, there are plenty of FBS teams with stadiums under 20,000. I think the minimum is probably somewhere around 15K. Right now, we’re sitting at an official capacity of 12,500. Just add some endzone bleachers, solve the track problem somewhere else, and you’re good to go. Originally I thought this was a major issue. It’s not as bad as I thought.
Lastly, the money. I’ve heard that our football team currently loses money every year. Not surprising. While it would initially cost more to move to the FBS ranks, I think the long-term benefits make this a no-brainer. Besides the revenue-sharing you’d get from the conference, if you can successfully build up your program, there is no telling how great it could get. Sure, it’s a risk. No denying that. But it’s a risk worth taking. And when your students/alums see you are taking that risk, they’ll back you. At least I would. And I know all my friends would. And the various alums I’ve met, I know they would too.
It’s time, baby.
Sorry for the lack of a preGame post guys. Work has been crazy this week. Villanova is taking on Montana (bunch of inbred hill people) tonight at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN2 for the FCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!
Make sure you tune in, as this would make it 2 national titles for ‘Nova in the young athletics season.
…Lets Go Nova!…
No, not the basketball team. The Villanova football team will be hosting the National Semi-Final game vs. William & Mary at Villanova Stadium this Friday night. The game begins at 8:00 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally by ESPN2.
No, I never thought I’d see the day when our football team was on national TV. Now that it has arrived, I’m beyond excited to watch this team continue it’s march towards a National Championship!
…That stadium better be packed with students, alums, and fans in general…this team has been amazing all year and we need to take advantage of the homefield edge and make sure W&M doesn’t have a chance…
“Villanova finished the game with a 387-84 margin in total offense yards. The Wildcats held the ball for nearly 36 minutes of the game and didn’t allow New Hampshire to pick up positive offensive yardage for the game until late in the third quarter.”
Villanova beat the brakes off of New Hampshire today in the FCS quarterfinals this afternoon. I couldn’t watch the game, but I watched on GameCast and saw that John Dempsey returned a fumble for a touchdown on the first play of the game. It was over from there.
On a day where the snow came down like the game was in Green Bay, the Wildcats asserted themselves from the get-go and never made this a close game. We’re on to the semi-finals to face William & Mary next Friday or Saturday (game-time TBA).
Apologies for the abbreviated post. I wasn’t able to see the game. That should change next weekend. Go Cats!
The Game: #2 Villanova (10-1, 7-1) vs. Holy Cross (9-2, 5-1)
Location: Villanova Stadium in Villanova, PA
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Broadcast: 950-AM in Philadelphia
Brief Rundown: Since their only loss of the season at New Hampshire (a possible rematch in the 2nd round), Villanova has been on a great run, including an “upset” at #1 Richmond. The Wildcat defense has been suffocating and forcing a lot of turnovers, and behind a more efficient Chris Whitney, the offense continues to rack up the yardage, and the points. Matt Szczur was named the CAA Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Year this week. Villanova earned the #2 seed in the FCS Playoffs and has a legitimate chance at a National Title if they keep up their strong play.
Holy Cross went 5-1 in the Patriot League this year en route to their first conference title since 1991. QB Dominic Randolph was recently named the Patriot League’s Offensive Player of the Year for the 3rd straight season. The kid can ball, and he leads a very, very good offense that averaged over 32 points per outing and over 430 yards of offense as well. Villanova’s defense has been stout, but they should have their hands full with a talented senior looking to go out on a high note.
Interestingly enough, both coaches in this game won their conference’s Coach of the Year award. So if you’re a coaching fanatic, you’re in for a doozy.
Links:
…Lets Go Nova!…this is the 1st game of a football-basketball double-header on Saturday…get out there and show everyone what ‘Nova Nation is all about!…
Terrible job on my part for just completely abandoning football coverage around here. That team deserves the coverage after a stellar regular season. The football team went out on Senior Day and pounded rival Deleware 30-12 for their 4th straight victory over the Blue Hens, and a win that increased their series lead to 22-20-1.
Whitney had a career day.
The win meant a lot of things for Villanova — most notably a CAA Championship. The conference title means that Villanova was automatically invited to the FCS playoffs, and earned the #2 seed in the process. That ensures homefield advantage all the way to the Championship game in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Wildcats reached 10 wins for the 6th time in school history.
As for the game that got them there, it was the usual cast of characters putting in the majority of the work. Chris Whitney ran for a career-high 138 yards, Matt Szczur recordd 179 all-purpose yards and the Villanova defense was it’s usual stifling self limiting the UD offense to just 12 points.
The football team takes on Holy Cross this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. as part of a dual-sport double-header with the basketball team who hosts LaSalle at 3:30 p.m. Make sure you get out there early and support the football team. A National Championship is on the horizon!
…You can see the FCS Playoffs bracket here…we got a good draw because of the #2 seed…but we also avoided Richmond, who would have been out for revenge, and we potentially get another crack at New Hampshire, who is our only loss this season…
…I really do feel bad about not covering this team more…they are a special group…I was raised on basketball at ‘Nova and when I came in the football team was an afterthought…ironically many of my freshman classmates helped and are still helping this program turn into a national power…
…So I just want to congratulate the entire team on a great season — you’re not done yet though…let’s have a solid run through these playoffs and win it all…
Here is the recap and box score for anyone who missed the game.
Chris Whitney came up big and delivered one of the best performances of his career, finishing with 277 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air. He was backed by a Villanova defense that continued to stand on its head throughout the game and deny the Spiders the endzone.
Brandyn Harvey will go down as the hero in this one for his game-winning TD grab with 59 seconds left. On 4th an 10, Andy Talley drew up a play for the senior WR, and Harvey delivered with a one-handed catch. But there was still plenty of game left to be played after that.
Richmond was able to drive back down the field and get into field-goal range. It wasn’t meant to be for the Spiders though, as the kick went wide left. The moment will be remembered in Villanova football history forever.
Some quotes:
“The play was designed to go to me. [Whitney] saw me and I was open,” Harvey said. “I should probably have caught the pass with two hands but you can’t put your arms as far out as with one hand. Once I made the catch, I knew someone was behind me but I just wanted to make sure I scored.” -- Brandyn Harvey
“Like Brandyn said, the play was designed to go to him,” Whitney added. “On fourth-and-10 I didn’t have much choice but to go to him. We have counted on Brandyn all year. He is 6-4 and a big target. I thought I might have overthrown it at first but I am glad that it worked.” -- Chris Whitney
“The game pretty much went accordingly to what we expected coming in.” “I thought both teams were very evenly matched and we were comfortable playing here because we thought we had a chance to get after [Richmond] if we could shut down their running game. We maybe had an opportunity to close it out earlier but Richmond is a very good team and they were everything we thought they would be. We have a lot of respect for them. They did a great job and the game could have gone either way.” -- Andy Talley
Here’s a bonus, dug up by Brian of VUHoops. One less person is employed today.
Here’s the recap and box score for anyone who missed the game.
Brandyn Harvey had 7 catches for 77 yards and a TD.
Even with a steady rain putting a damper on the Homecoming festivities, the football team made it look easy en route to a 36-7 win over Rhode Island. It was the 200th career victory for Andy Talley, and he had to be proud of the way his team played.
Both the offense and defense put forth dominating performances. The defense held the Rams to just 30 yards rushing and 151 yards overall and the offense racked up over 500 yards of offense, including 376 on the ground (the 3rd time this year they’ve eclipsed the 300 mark).
Matt Szczur was again at the forefront of the ‘Nova attack as he ran it in from 1 yard on the team’s first possession of the game and then later threw a 3-yard pass to Mikey Reynolds as ‘Nova built a 21-0 halftime lead. Aaron Ball and Chris Whitney both ran the ball well, finishing with 99 yards and 124, respectively.
The rain seemed to have an effect as Villanova’s scoring slowed down as the rain picked up in the 2nd half, but their dominating rushing attack ensured that their was no comeback in the minds of the Rhode Island players.
It was a solid win, and they did what was expected against a weaker opponent. They now head into their bye week sitting at 7-1 overall, and 4-1 in the conference. In 2 weeks they travel to Richmond to face the #1 team in the country, and a team they’ll be looking to take revenge on after losing to them at home last year.
Game: #4 Villanova (6-1, 3-1) vs. Rhode Island (1-5, 0-3)
Location: Villanova Stadium in Villanova, PA
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Broadcast: 950-AM ESPN Radio
Brief Rundown: Villanova is coming off a solid bounceback win as they trounced James Madison 27-0 and spoiled their homecoming festivities last weekend. They remain one of the best teams in all of FCS.
On the other side, well, the Rams just aren’t very good. Their lone victory was against Fordham to start the year, and they’ve lost all of their games since. Defense has been the main issue, as the Rams are giving up nearly 34 points per outing. On paper, this one shouldn’t be very close.
3 Keys to Victory:
Links:
…Lets Go Nova!…
