STEPHENVILLE, TX – On Saturday, Dec. 13, No. 12 Villanova football pulled off a 26-21 upset victory over No. 4 Tarleton State University on the road at Tarleton Memorial Stadium.
After trailing 14-0 minutes into the game, Villanova stormed back to win its 12th consecutive game of the season, advancing to the semifinals for the first time since 2010 and fourth time in program history. The Wildcats held the best scoring offense in the FCS, Tarleton St., to a season-low 21 points. Entering the game, the Texans averaged 44.1 points per game.
“I’m really proud of this team,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said. “They’ve given great effort all year long, regardless of where we’ve been early in the game, where we’ve been later in the game. We have a mantra called ‘Tap the Rock’, which is basically show up every day, put in the work, and good things will happen. Eventually, that rock will crack. And it’s about perseverance and resiliency. And this team has shown that, not just today, but all year long.”
Villanova’s defense entered the game allowing its playoff opponents an average of just seven points per game. Now through three games, Villanova’s opponents are averaging 11.6 points per game.
“I’m just super proud of the group that we have,” Villanova graduate linebacker Shane Hartzell said when asked about the defense. “And we’re just very resilient, right, going down 14-0 in this start, it’s kind of tough. But we keep clawing back. We keep fighting. We saw the offense moving the ball. We just trusted them that they were going to put the ball in the end zone. You know, we just got to do our part and let them do it, do their part.”
Villanova totaled 426 yards of offense, rushing for 219 yards. Redshirt sophomore running back Ja’briel Mace rushed for 151 yards and a 47-yard touchdown. It was the sixth time Tarelton St. allowed its opponent to rush for 200 or more yards.
Villanova drove down the field on the opening drive of the game and made it into the red zone. Graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide scrambled out of the pocket and tried to find a go-ahead touchdown by flipping it underhand towards the end zone. Instead, Tarleton St. intercepted McQuaide, handing him and the Wildcats their first turnover in the playoffs.
Tarleton St. used it as momentum to score on the back-to-back following drives, taking an early 14-0 lead. Villanova’s door to getting out early was quickly slammed shut.
“A majority of the reason [we trailed 14-0] was because of a pretty awful interception by me,” McQuiade said. Which doesn’t help us. [It] put the defense in a bad spot. And that’s just on me, but it’s the same as last week, we had trouble getting rolling. We went down early, and we just kept going. There was never any panic. We’ve seen that all year.”
McQuaide totaled 180 passing yards, completing 16 of his 33 pass attempts (48%).
Villanova then tacked on two field goals by graduate kicker Jack Barnum from 31 and 42 yards. The team’s first touchdown came at the start of the second quarter when freshman receiver Braden Reed found graduate receiver Lucas Kopecky for a 27-yard pass.
“He’s not a freshman anymore,” Ferrante said. “I don’t even know what our overall record is, to be honest, but he’s got that many games under his belt now. He’s one of those first guys on the field, last one to leave the practice field. So you’re seeing the fruits of his labor.”
At halftime, Tarleton St. led Villanova, 14-12.
Tarleton St. scored on the opening drive of the second half on a five-play drive and stretched its lead to 21-12. It was the final time the Texans would score.
Villanova eventually responded with a score of its own off a 47-yard Mace touchdown. It gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 19-21.
In the fourth quarter, Reed was a part of another Villanova touchdown, this time on the receiving end. Villanova drove 78 yards downfield on 12 plays and scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass from McQuaide to Reed.
The Wildcats suffered from multiple late-game penalties, including holding and unsportsmanlike calls on the same play. It gave Tarelton a free 25 yards and an end zone trip.
Tarelton St. quarterback Victor Gabalis found Trevon West for an 11-yard touchdown on 4th and 6. However, the call on the field was overturned, resulting in Villanova getting the ball.
The Wildcats picked up a first down and sealed the victory.
“Really proud of these guys, not only to my left, but everyone in that locker room and the handful of guys we had to leave at home,” Ferrante said. “We are blessed and fortunate to be able to be able to go out and practice next week.”
Villanova now awaits the winner of University of California, Davis and Illinois State University. A UC Davis win would send the Wildcats to the opposite coast for a road game on Saturday, Dec. 20. If Illinois St. wins, Villanova would host one final home game on the Main Line at Villanova Stadium.
