VILLANOVA, Pa.—A repeat playoff matchup is on tap this weekend as #8 seed and No. 6 ranked Villanova (10-2) goes on the road to take on top-seeded and top-ranked South Dakota State (12-0) in an FCS quarterfinal game on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN to a national audience.
 
This is the second time in the past three seasons that the Wildcats and Jackrabbits will meet in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. In addition to the television broadcast, the radio call with Ryan Fannon and Kevin Reilly can be heard on the Villanova Sports Radio Network found on the iHeart radio app. The ESPN broadcast features Connor Onion on play-by-play, Tom Luginbill as the analyst and Lericia Harris on the sidelines.
 
Villanova is riding a seven-game winning streak and began its postseason run with a 45-28 win at home over No. 21 Youngstown State last week. It marked the eighth time in 15 appearances in the FCS playoffs that the Wildcats played at least one home game. Villanova is 14-13 all-time in the playoffs and has won 10 of its last 16 postseason contests beginning with its national championship run in 2009. During the Mark Ferrante head coaching era (since 2017), the Wildcats own a record of 15-8 in the months of November and December.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY
Villanova is making the 20th postseason appearance in program history this season and its 15th in the Division I Football Championship since becoming an FCS program in 1985. From 1937 to 1962, the Wildcats made five bowl game appearances and were 2-2-1 while winning the 1949 Harbor Bowl against Nevada (27-7 in San Diego, Calif.) and the 1961 Sun Bowl versus Wichita State (17-9 in El Paso, Texas).
 
FCS PLAYOFFS
Villanova is making its 15th appearance in the Division I Football Championship and its third in the last five seasons. The Wildcats are 14-13 all-time in the FCS playoffs but have won 10 of their last 16 playoff games as well as 13 of the past 21 postseason contests. The recent 16-game stretch (10-6 since 2009) includes the 2009 national championship season as well as a semifinal appearance in 2010.
 
Villanova has played just over half of its FCS playoff games (14 of 27) at home and has gone 11-3 in those contests. When the Wildcats hosted Youngstown State in the second round last week it marked the eighth time in 15 playoff appearances that the Wildcats played at least one game at home.
 
FERRANTE HAS SEEN IT ALL
Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante has been a part of all 15 of the Wildcats appearances in the FCS playoffs, including 12 times as an assistant coach and three times since he took over as head coach beginning with the 2017 season. Ferrante spent 30 seasons as an assistant coach on Andy Talley's coaching staff. Including those years and his time as head coach Ferrante has been a part of Villanova teams that have won eight CAA titles, three Lambert Meadowlands Cups and three ECAC Team of the Year awards.
 
At the end of the 2015 season Ferrante was named the FCS Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) just a few weeks before he was announced as Andy Talley's successor. Since becoming head coach, Ferrante has been named the CAA Football Coach of the Year (2021), the AFCA FCS Region 1 Coach of the Year (2021) and a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award (2023) which is presented to the top coach in the FCS. each season
 
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Villanova earned the automatic bid from CAA Football the the FCS playoffs after posting a 9-2 regular season record, including a 7-1 mark in conference play. The final regular season conference standings resulted in a three-way tie between the Wildcats, UAlbany and Richmond. The three teams did not all play each other and had the same results against common opponents during the year, resulting in point differential being used as the third tiebreaker to determine the league's automatic bid.
 
In addition to earning an automatic bid to the playoffs, the Wildcats were selected as the #8 seed in the 24-team playoff bracket and received a coveted first round bye. Villanova began its postseason run last week with a 45-28 victory over Youngstown State — its first postseason win in four tries against the Penguins.
 
CAA FOOTBALL IN THE PLAYOFFS
Villanova is one of four CAA Football teams in the FCS playoffs and was joined by regular season co-champions UAlbany and Richmond along with Delaware. All four teams played in the second round last week, with #5 seed UAlbany ousting Richmond in a CAA playoff matchup and Delaware falling on the road to #2 seed Montana.
 
This is the 33rd consecutive season that CAA Football has had multiple teams selected to the FCS playoff field, including the 13th time overall and the second year in a row that at least four conference teams have been selected. CAA Football has had at least one team advance to the semifinals of the playoffs in nine of the past 10 years and has had a team in the national championship game 11 times since 2003.
 
PLAYING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
Villanova and South Dakota State will be playing each other for the third time this week, with each of the two previous meetings coming in FCS playoff contests. The first game was in 2016 when the Wildcats made their only previous trip to Brookings, S.D. and were narrowly defeated by a 10-7 margin. Villanova hosted the Jackrabbits in a quarterfinal matchup two seasons ago and fell by a final score of 35-21 at Villanova Stadium. 
 
The only three Missouri Valley Football Conference foes the Wildcats have played in their history are South Dakota State, Youngstown State and Illinois State. Villanova has an all-time record of 3-10 against these teams, although four of the losses — three to Youngstown State and one to Illinois State — came prior to the Wildcats FCS era. 
 
Saturday's game will be the fourth time that the Wildcats are facing the No. 1 ranked team in the country in a playoff game. The previous postseason games against top teams were in 2002 (McNeese), 2008 (James Madison) and 2010 (Eastern Washington).
 
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YOUNGSTOWN STATE WIN
Villanova faced Youngstown State for the first time since a 1999 regular season game and for the fourth time since 1991 in a playoff setting. For the first time in the four playoff meetings the Wildcats came out on top with a 45-28 victory to advance to this week's quarterfinal round. Villanova had not beaten Youngstown State since 1978, prior to the Wildcats becoming an FCS program.
 
The difference in the game last week came down to 21 unanswered points scored by Villanova in a stretch of nearly 16 minutes that spanned most of the second quarter and the early part of the third period. After the Penguins went ahead 10-7 in the opening minute of the second quarter, Villanova answered at the 11:36 mark of the period to take the lead for good at 14-10.
 
Fifth year quarterback Connor Watkins led the way against Youngstown State last week with 331 yards of total offense and three total touchdowns. He was 12-of-21 through the air for 275 yards, including half of his completions going for 20 yards or longer. Watkins also rushed nine times for 56 yards and two touchdowns. He threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Jaylan Sanchez (2 catches, 91 yards), while sixth year running back Jalen Jackson ran for 81 yards and two scores.
 
Sophomore linebacker Shane Hartzell paced a strong defensive effort by the Wildcats last week with a season-high 14 tackles, including seven solo stops and seven assisted tackles. Hartzell and senior linebacker Brendan Bell each registered a career-high three quarterback hurries. Senior cornerback Isas Waxter recorded an interception for the second straight game and sophomore Christian Sapp also notched his second pick of the season. The team defensive effort included six tackles for loss, three sacks, three pass breakups and six quarterback hurries.
 
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Villanova has gone 19-3 (.864) against non-conference FCS opponents since 2016, including a perfect 16-0 regular season record. The trend continued this year with wins over Lehigh (38-10) and Colgate (42-19) to begin the season. The Wildcats have not lost a regular season game to a non-CAA Football team since a 24-13 loss to Penn on September 24, 2015.
 
SCORING FIRST
Villanova has scored first in 11 of its 12 games this season, a trend that continued last week when sixth year running back Jalen Jackson scored on a five-yard run at the 11:31 mark of the first quarter against Youngtown State. The Wildcats have scored within the first eight minutes of the game nine times this season. During Mark Ferrante's head coaching tenure, Villanova is 41-10 when it scores first and has grabbed the lead by the end of the first quarter 46 times.
 
EXPERIENCE WINS
Villanova has 19 players (out of 92) on its 2023 roster who are graduate students in their fifth or sixth years of playing college football. All 19 graduate students began the season on the Wildcats depth chart as either starters or prominent reserves. Entering play this week the 92 members of the Wildcats roster have combined to play in 1,603 college football games, including 633 games started.
 
IN THE RECORD BOOK
Villanova has already set four single season school records during the 2023 campaign:
TEAM — Total Offense, Average Yards Per Play (7.27)
TEAM — Average Yards Per Punt (44.4)
Jaylan Sanchez (WR) — Average Yards Per Reception (25.6)
Connor Watkins (QB) — Total Offense, Average Yards Per Play (8.79)
 
CAA FOOTBALL POSTSEASON HONORS
Villanova was rewarded for its stellar regular season with 12 players earning recognition on the CAA Football All-Conference teams. The list was highlighted by a pair of first team picks in sixth year offensive lineman Michael Corbi and fifth year wide receiver Rayjuon Pringle.
 
This is the third time in the last five years that Villanova has earned 10 or more All-CAA selections and the 27th time in the last 28 seasons that the Wildcats have garnered at least four postseason all-conference accolades. This year's honorees include Corbi and Pringle on the first team as well as five second team selections, three third team choices and two honorable mention picks.
 
Michael Corbi is only the third offensive player in Villanova history to be a three-time first team all-conference selection after previously being a first team pick in 2020 and 2021. He joins Wildcats legend Brian Westbrook (1998, 2000, 2001) and another former offensive lineman in Ben Ijalana (2008, 2009, 2010).
 
Since joining what was then the Yankee Conference in 1988, the Wildcats have earned a total of 342 postseason all-conference honors and 20 major postseason awards.
 
SEVEN IN A ROW
Villanova has won seven consecutive games since a loss at UAlbany on September 30. All six of the wins have been by 12 points or more and the Wildcats have outscored their opponents by a 264-105 margin while averaging a +22.7 margin of victory during the streak. The seven-game winning streak is Villanova's longest since winning seven in a row in 2014.
 
Villanova's seven-game winning streak includes winning the final six games of the regular season. It is the first time since 1997 and only the fourth time in school history that the Wildcats have closed the regular season with six straight victories. Villanova compiled a perfect 11-0 regular season record in 1997 and also finished the 1937 and 1986 seasons with six consecutive victories.
 
Villanova was a combined 6-0 during the months of October and November. It is the first time since 2014 that the Wildcats have had back-to-back undefeated months. The 2014 squad was a combined 7-0 in October and November.
 
FIVE YEARS OF SUCCESS
Villanova has the most wins and the highest winning percentage of any current CAA Football school dating back to the start of the 2019 season. In the five-year stretch, the Wildcats have a record of 37-16 (.698) and have gone 25-11 (.694) versus league foes.
 
WINNING 10
Villanova is currently 10-2 on the year and has reached double digits in the win column for the second time in the past three years. This is the ninth time in school history and the eighth time in the Wildcats FCS era that they have won 10 or more games in a season.   The 2009 national championship team holds the school record with 14 wins (14-1).
 
REGULAR SEASON SUCCESS
Villanova compiled a 9-2 regular season record for the second time in the last three years. Prior to 2021 the Wildcats had not had a two-loss regular season since posting a 10-2 mark during the 2014 regular season. This is the eighth season with no more than two regular season losses since Villanova joined a conference in 1988.
 
Villanova went 7-1 in its CAA Football slate this year. It is the eighth season with at least seven conference victories for the Wildcats and the sixth year in which Villanova had no more than one loss in league play.
 
FERRANTE NAMED A FINALIST
Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante was one of 20 finalists for the 2023 Eddie Robinson Award which is presented annually to the national coach of the year in Division I FCS college football and presented by FedEx Ground. After the Wildcats were picked to finish seventh in CAA Football this year in a preseason poll of league head coaches, Ferrante guided his team to a 9-2 record, a share of the league's regular season title and the automatic bid from CAA Football to the FCS playoffs.
 
WINNING WHEN IT COUNTS
Head coach Mark Ferrante has done an excellent job of leading his teams to wins when they matter the most. Since becoming head coach in 2017, Ferrante has guided Villanova to a record of 15-8 (.652) during the months of November and December. That includes a perfect November (3-0) this season as well as a December victory in last week's second round playoff win over Youngstown State.
 
SECOND HALF SUCCESS — IT ALL STARTS WITH THE THIRD QUARTER
Villanova has kicked off to its opponent to start the second half in 10 of 12 games played this season, including each of the last nine contests in a row. It may seem like a disadvantage to not have possession of the ball coming out of halftime, but that has not been the case. Villanova's defense has stopped the other team eight times (seven punts, one INT) in the 10 games where the Wildcats kicked off to start the second half. The only exceptions were when New Hampshire scored a touchdown on the first drive of the second half and Towson kicked a field goal on the first possession of the third quarter. Villanova is outscoring teams 87-23 in the third quarter on the year.
 
PLAYING THE BEST
Villanova will be playing the No. 1 ranked team in the country on Saturday for the 10th time in its history as an FCS program. The Wildcats have three previous wins over top teams, with the most recent coming on November 20, 2010 when Villanova defeated then-No. 1 Delaware in the final game of the regular season to clinch a playoff berth.
 
 
BIG PLAY POTENTIAL
Villanova has recorded 74 plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or longer this season. That total includes 46 pass plays for 20+ yards and 28 rushes for 20 yards or longer. It comes out to an average of just over six offensive plays per game which go for at least 20 yards.
 
Of particular note, Villanova has 19 pass completions on the year for 40 yards or longer. The two most recent of those long passes came against Youngstown State last week when fifth year quarterback Connor Watkins connected with sophomore wide receiver Jaylan Sanchez for a 64-yard touchdown and with sophomore receiver Luke Daly for a 45-yard completion.
 
In 23 career starts under center since the beginning of last season, Connor Watkins has recorded 33 completions for 40 yards or longer.