Nov. 23, 2008
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova football team is headed for the Division I Championship for the first time since 2002 and received an at-large bid to the 16-team championship field. The Wildcats will host Colgate on Saturday, November 29 at Villanova Stadium. The tournament selections were announced on ESPNU live Sunday night. The time for Saturday's game will be announced at a later date.
Villanova enters the postseason with a 9-2 overall record and went 7-1 in regular season play in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Wildcats only losses this season came to FBS opponent West Virginia and via a hail mary pass in the final second against national No. 1 squad James Madison. The Dukes are the top overall seed in the championship and a total of five CAA teams are included.
There are several comparisons between the dominant regular season that Villanova had this year and the season it had in 2002 when the team made its last playoff appearance. The Wildcats won nine regular season games this year for the first time since then. Villanova finished the regular season ranked No. 6 in the final Sports Network Top 25 poll.
The opponent Villanova faces in its opening playoff game is a Colgate team which won the automatic bid from the Patriot League with a 28-27 victory over Holy Cross in the final regular season game. The Raiders are 9-2 entering the playoffs and were a perfect 5-0 in league play. Colgate's two losses this season came on the road to Stony Brook and at home to Furman.
The winner of Saturday's game will play a second round matchup on Saturday, December 6 against the winner of a first round game between James Madison and Wofford. That game is being played at James Madison on Saturday.
The Division I Football Championship includes automatic bids from eight different conferences as well as eight at-large selections. The first three rounds of the championship are all played at campus sites, while the championship game will be played on Friday, December 19 at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Wildcats have made six previous playoff appearances under head coach Andy Talley. The program earned playoff bids in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997 and 2002. Villanova is 3-6 in the Division I Championship over the years, with all three victories coming in its last two appearances. The Wildcats reached the second round of the 1997 tournament after an undefeated regular season and advanced to the semifinals in 2002.
Villanova is led this season by an offense that averages 213.9 rushing yards per game. The Wildcats have scored 27.3 points per contest and own a +7.4 scoring margin over the competition. Individually, sophomore Aaron Ball ranks sixth on the team's all-time rushing list for a single season with 960 yards. Meanwhile, sophomore Chris Whitney has run for 443 yards, the most ever by a Villanova quarterback under Andy Talley.
Also a dangerous and balanced defensive team, the Wildcats feature five players with at least 55 tackles and 10 players with 35 or more stops. Senior Darrel Young (Amityville, N.Y.) and junior Osayi Osunde (Bloomsburg, Pa.) are tied for the team lead with 63 tackles. Villanova has also accumulated 82 tackles for loss, including 28 sacks. The team has intercepted 14 passes and returning two of those picks for touchdowns. The Wildcats have also broken up 28 passes, forced 10 fumbles and blocked three kicks.
This year marks the third time since 2004 that the CAA has had at least four teams chosen to the championship field. Last team the league became the first ever to have five of its members selected to the tournament in the same season. Delaware and Richmond reached the national semifinals last season and the Blue Hens advanced to the title game before falling to three-time defending champion Appalachian State. A CAA team has advanced to the title game in four of the last five seasons. Delaware won the 2003 championship and James Madison was the 2004 champion.
2008 Division I Football Championship - FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS
All games are being played on Saturday, November 29
Colgate at Villanova
Wofford at (1) James Madison
South Carolina State at (2) Appalachian State
Eastern Kentucky at Richmond
Texas State at (4) Montana
Cal Poly at Weber State
Southern Illinois at New Hampshire
Maine at Northern Iowa
