VILLANOVA, Pa.—The second round of the Division I Football Championship offers a throwback matchup of sorts as #8 seed and No. 6-ranked Villanova (9-2) hosts No. 21 Youngstown State (8-4) on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. at Villanova Stadium and the game will air live on ESPN+ while the radio broadcast can be heard on the iHeart radio app.
 
Saturday's game will be the fourth postseason meeting between the Wildcats and the Penguins, who faced each other three times in a span of six years from 1991-97. The first of those games took place in 1991 and was only the second FCS playoff contest Villanova had ever played in. Youngstown State won the three playoff games between the teams by a combined total of just seven points and the teams have not played each other since a regular season matchup on the Main Line in 1999.
 
Despite the years that have passed since those playoff games in the earlier years of the Wildcats tenure as an FCS program, each team's current head coach was on the sidelines for the first playoff matchup in 1991. Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante was in his fifth season as a Wildcats assistant coach that year, while current Penguins head coach Doug Phillips was in his first year as a graduate assistant on the Youngstown State staff.
 
They will lead their respective squads into a new chapter in the all-time series on Saturday afternoon with a spot in the quarterfinals of this year's bracket on the line. Villanova begins its postseason run after earning a first round bye fueled by its second CAA Football championships in the last three years and aa six-game winning streak to end the regular season. During the winning streak the Wildcats have outscored the opposition by a margin of 219-77 and have won their games by an average of 23.7 points per contest.
 
Villanova is balanced on both sides of the ball, ranking seventh in the FCS in total defense and eighth in total offense. Led by fifth year quarterback Connor Watkins (Williamsport, Pa.), the Wildcats rank fourth in the country in passing efficiency, seventh in rushing offense, 10^th in time of possession and 15^th in scoring offense. The offense has amassed 64 plays from scrimmage for 20 yards or longer, including 17 pass completions for 40+ yards.
 
Fifth year wide receiver Rayjuon Pringle (Woodbridge, Va.) leads the country with an average of 25.7 yards per reception. Watkins is second nationally in yards per pass attempt (10.14) and yards per completion (17.41), while sixth year running back Jalen Jackson (Richmond, Va.) is third in the country with an average of 7.44 yards per carry. Eight of Villanova's nine wins have come by 20+ points and the Wildcats have already set a single-season program record with an average of 7.1 yards per play.
 
The numbers on the defensive side of the ball are just as impressive. Villanova ranks fourth in the FCS in fewest first downs allowed as well as ninth in passing efficiency defense and 10^th in scoring defense. Six defensive players were named to the CAA Football All-Conference teams, including the trio of senior linebacker Brendan Bell (Basking Ridge, N.J.), senior cornerback Isas Waxter (Newark, N.J.) and senior safety Ty Trinh (Owings Mills, Md.) on the second team. Bell leads the team with 73 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss on the year.
 
Villanova's six-game winning streak featured three wins in both October and November, making it the first time since September-October 2014 that the Wildcats reeled off back-to-back undefeated calendar months. Villanova has often played its best in the biggest games of the year in recent seasons, going 14-8 in November and December during Ferrante's head coaching tenure (since 2017).
 
Youngstown State won its first round playoff game against Duquesne last week by a 40-7 score on its home field. During the regular season the Penguins were 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, with two of their three losses in league play coming by just six total points.
 
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs and take on the winner of a second round game between #1 seed South Dakota State and Mercer.