The defending FCS champion Villanova Wildcats drew #5 Stephen F. Austin away in the second round of the FCS playoffs. A tough draw and a long trip for the main liners… or so it seemed. Nova QB Chris Whitney threw for five TDs and WR Matt Szczur had 128 yards receiving as the Wildcats dominated the Lumberjacks 54-24 in their home of Nagodoces, Texas.
"Having him on the field makes us a different team," said Whitney. "Even if he’s not getting the ball he’s drawing a lot of people to him."
Next up, Villanova goes on the road again to face #1 Appalachian State.
The other locals actually played each other and Delaware crush Lehigh 42-20 behind four TD passes from QB Pat Devlin, who Blue Hens coach KC Keeler calls the best in the country.
"Lehigh gave us everything we thought they were going to give us," said Delaware head coach Keeler, "We always say that the CAA prepares us for tournament play and I think that was certainly true today. I don’t think Lehigh saw a passing game like ours in the regular season this season. Pat is the best quarterback in the country and does such a great job reading the field. The offensive line did a great job protecting him today like they have all season."
"It’s surprising," said Coen. "When the first-round games started to come out I knew it was going to be interesting. We’ve been on a plane to Iowa once before this year but so it’s not going to be totally foreign to our guys."
"Hopefully we can go and represent Lehigh and the Patriot League well," Coen said. "That’s our first goal. We’re going to roll up our sleeves. I don’t think there’s a ton of pressure on us right now. The kids are going to go out and play hard and we’ll see what happens."
The winner of that game will travel to Delaware to take on the Blue Hens in the second round on Dec. 4. Blue Hens Head Coach K.C. Keeler says this team is as good as they've ever had.
"We have always done a good job in the playoffs so were are excited," said coach K.C. Keeler, who is 8-2 in tournament games at UD. " This team has a lot to it. We are talented, we have a lot of heart, and we have great leadership. And we are fortunte to have the best quarterback in the country without question in Pat Devlin. This team is every bit as good as any team we have had here."
Villanova will travel to No. 5 ranked Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in Nacogdoches, Texas, also on Dec. 4. The cats will be looking to defend their national title.
