Villanova Football Crushes Harvard to Open Playoff Run

Villanova Football opened their playoff run with a dominant win over Harvard on Saturday, Nov. 29, taking down the Crimson 52-7 at Villanova Stadium. The No. 9/No. 6 Wildcats held the Crimson, who entered the matchup averaging close to 400 yards and 40 points per game, to just 213 yards: 182 of those came in the second half with the game already well in hand. Villanova’s offense, meanwhile, ran all over Harvard even with the continued absence of No. 1 running back David Avit, pushing their winning streak to nine games.

Tailback Isaiah Ragland set the tone with a 45-yard touchdown rumble on the Wildcats’ opening drive, putting a hand on the ground to keep his balance through contact as he burst into Harvard’s secondary. Ragland went on to finish his day with a team-high 152 yards on 17 carries, including another chunk play of 32 yards. The Crimson marched downfield in response, but sophomore cornerback Newton Essiem came down with his first career interception in the end zone, keeping them off the board.

Facing fourth-and-10 from the Crimson 30-yard line on the following drive, Villanova rolled the dice and won, with quarterback Pat McQuaide backpedaling out of a sack before launching the first of three touchdowns passes on the day to receiver Lucas Kopecky. The Wildcats continued to apply heavy pressure, forcing a three-and-out that defensive lineman Obinna Nwobodo sparked with a tackle for loss on first down.

Wildcats Pile On

Harvard’s defense managed to hold in the red zone, forcing a Villanova field goal early in the second quarter, but the Crimson managed just one first down in the rest of the half, allowing the Wildcats to push their lead to 31-0 on rushing touchdowns from McQuaide and Ja’briel Mace.

The Crimson scored their lone touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter, a fourth down scoring pass, but Villanova didn’t let them build any momentum, racing to the end zone on a four play drive that ended when McQuaide connected with Luke Colella on a 29-yard deep shot. Defensive lineman Capri Martin came up with a fourth down sack on the next drive to prevent a Harvard response.

The Wildcats closed out their win with two fourth quarter touchdowns, a pass from McQuaide to tight end Antonio Johnson and a 5-yard rush from depth running back and senior special teamer Julian Glantz as head coach Mark Ferrante got his bench involved. Up next, Villanova will stay in Eastern Pennsylvania, travelling to face No. 5 Lehigh at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6.