“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!

Apologies for the late post. Had a very busy weekend and busy Monday.

Szczur was unstoppable for 'Nova.

Here is the game recap and box score for those who missed the game.

Villanova (5-1, 2-1) overcame an early 16-point deficit early in the 3rd quarter, but it couldn’t hold on as New Hampshire (5-0, 2-0) notched a pair of field goals in the 4th quarter to steal the game away from the visiting Wildcats.

It wasn’t the best day by any means for ‘Nova, and their head coach was quick to voice his displeasure.

“We have shown at this point in time in the season that we do not have the ability to go on the road and win a tough game,” Villanova head coach Andy Talley said. “Until we do that, we’re not a serious football team. I’m very upset with this football team because we had a great opportunity for ourselves and we didn’t get off the bus ready to play.”

Matt Szczur was the star on the day for ‘Nova, totaling 283 yards of offense, including his 58-yard scamper that gave ‘Nova it’s first and only lead of the day. Antwon Young and Chris Whitney again split time, and both seemed to perform admirably well, although it was a Whitney interception inside his own 20-yard line that led to the final FG for New Hampshire.

New Hampshire QB R.J. Toman finished just shy of 300 yards passing (292) on a day when he picked apart the Wildcat defense. ‘Nova returns to action next weekend for yet another Top-10 matchup when they travel to James Madison.

…Hard not to be disappointed…but when you fall behind early on the road it is always difficult to pull out a win, and we nearly did it…now it is time to refocus for next weekend when they travel to JMU…another tough matchup and one that a team with National Championship aspirations does not want to lose…

…Keep your heads up fellas and rebound and kick the piss out of JMU next weekend!…

The Game: #2 Villanova (5-0, 2-0) at #5 New Hampshire (4-0, 1-0)

Location: Cowell Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire

Time: 12:00 p.m.

Broadcast: 950-AM ESPN Radio

Brief Rundown: Villanova is coming off the 1st game of a brutal stretch, but they made it look relatively easy last week disposing of then #5 William & Mary at home. Villanova’s rushing attack didn’t live up to it’s season averages, but they made it count scoring 3 rushing touchdowns. Chris Whitney and the passing attack picked up the pace though, scoring on a long pass on the 1st offensive play of the game. ‘Nova’s defense continued it’s opportunistic ways, holding William & Mary under it’s season averages in points despite giving up huge chunks of yardage.

New Hampshire moves into the Top 5 after they remained undefeated last week by crushing Towson 57-7 on the road. New Hampshire hasn’t played the stiff competition that Villanova has thus far, but they are a solid program with a very good defense, which currently ranks 1st in all of FCS. Keep an eye on QB R.J. Toman, who is suffering from a bout with turf toe.

3 Keys to Victory:

1. May the best defense win - I’ve got a feeling this one isn’t going to be particularly high-scoring, despite both programs averaging over 30 points per game. New Hampshire has forced 18 turnovers on the year, and like Villanova, can get after the QB and force bad decisions. Whichever defense comes out and sets the tone for their team is probably going to be the difference in this game.
2. Stick with the run – It’s the strength of the team, with 5 guys capable of impacting the game with their legs (including both QB’s). It wasn’t the easiest time on the ground last week for Villanova, but that should only motivate the OL and RB’s to really bring it this week. Aaron Ball has been the main workhorse for ‘Nova.
3. Unity – This is the first conference road game of the year, and as Coach Andy Talley described it, a pseudo-playoff game. Rally around each other and scrape out a win. It isn’t supposed to be pretty on the road. Grind this one out and come home with a  win.

Links:

• Villanova Game Notes (PDF)
• New Hampshire Football Report